Reputation management is not new. Corporations have been interested in their image for a great many decades. However, the arrival and development of the internet has made the task more complicated than it used to be. This is primarily because the number of places in which disgruntled consumers can vent their frustration has increased significantly. The social media and the search engines both ensure that bad publicity is hard to bury. In this environment, it is essential to start the job prudently.
At Searchengineoptimisation.co.uk we are conscious of the fact that online reputation management demands a great deal of subtlety. It is not just a matter of responding to problems appropriately when they crop up. If the right approach is taken, the chances of problems becoming serious are minimised. Similarly, if suitable precautions are implemented then the number of difficulties which do arise will be less than would otherwise be the case.
Not all experts in internet reputation management pay sufficient attention to when the process should commence. Looking after a company’s image is easiest if the idea has informed the early stages of site design and content production. There are few worse things than a design which clashes with the values of the sector in which a site will work. One which springs to mind is a site which is too tricky to navigate. The other is a site which makes the act of purchasing excessively awkward.
If the site design is acceptable, the content also has to be up to standard for complaints to be avoided. In the first instance, the content must have something worth saying. It is equally important that it says it well. Too many sites still use convoluted sentences. It remains the case that technical terms are sometimes employed in a way which confuses potential consumers. Moreover, blank space has to be used to break up the text: lengthy paragraphs are harder to digest from a screen than on a page.
All the work associated with search engine optimisation must be conducted in line with ethical principles. Modern users are very sophisticated and they will detect spam techniques. Even if the search engines are slow to detect methods which breach the guidelines, users will spot sites that get links in dishonest ways and so on. Potential customers will be deterred from making a purchase because they will lack trust in a site. It is thus easier to pursue sales in an incremental and sustainable manner which adheres to the regulations.
Offline activity also must be implemented with due care and attention. Complaints can be minimised by using a reliable delivery company. In addition, it is imperative to treat actual customers in accordance with their statutory rights. Just because goods or services are being sold at a distance does not mean that the legislation is less relevant. Sticking to the right procedures will make it much more unlikely for any consumer to have a longstanding legitimate complaint.
It is obvious that some companies do not take sufficient precautions in this area. It makes sense to study the sector in which a site is located for examples of best practice.