It occurred to me on my way home from Mashable’s networking party (thanks for the comp ticket, Don) after SocialMediaCamp tonight that much of internet marketing now revolves around reputation management.
- Your ranking in the search results is based in large part on what other web sites think of you, as measured by Google’s PageRank algorithm and similar measurements at other search engines.
- Your ranking at Google and other search engines is increasingly based on whether you are listed in local directories like Yelp and CitySearch and what your customers say about you there.
- Your ability to land clients increasingly depends on your profile at professional networking sites like LinkedIn and what people say about you there.
- If you write a blog or post comments to other blogs, your readers will quickly develop an impression of you based on what you write and how you deal with comments and criticism.
- Similarly, your postings to discussion forums and how you comport yourself there feed your online reputation.
And the list could go on. The point is, For better or for worse, and whether you like it or not, the web is where many people go these days to assess your professional reputation. There are many implications that arise from this, perhaps the most germane of which is that you should take a proactive approach to developing and maintaining your web presence. Here are a couple of good articles on how to do this:
Reputation Management Emancipation Proclamation - 10 Ways to “Own Yourself” Online
Ten Ways to Fix Your Google Reputation & Remove Negative Results (this one is mostly how to clean up your online profile if it has been sullied)
