reputation

In this age of fast-moving information and technologies, it is extremely important for businesses to protect online reputations. Currently, that means getting involved with social media and real-time search.

Some say ranking is dead. Google's going though changes that may turn SEO on its ear. Google's Matt Cutts talked about some of these changes with Murdok not too long ago. "I'm not sure I would say ranking is dead but it's not as important as it used to be," he said.

There's no doubt about it - getting the top spot in search results can be great for business.  But if searches for a company's name also turn up complaints and negative reviews, whatever time and money was spent on SEO might be wasted, and so managing your reputation in search engines is critical.

I was interested to hear the presentations in the Reputation Monitoring & Management Through Search session at the SMX West Conference yesterday in Santa Clara, and the five presenters didn’t disappoint. (click to enlarge)

It has been an interesting week for blogger faux pas. Search Engine Land found itself taking flak for it’s sensational post about obtaining links from Wired’s wiki.

Recently I had a chance to post at WPW some reputation management help for Rebecca Kelly from SEOmoz.org. Here is the thread from WPW: Reputation Management Advice

Reading Tom Krazit’s excellent article on Apple’s hard core fans reminded me of my own recent experience. In my attempt to explain why I thought Apple could no longer rely on its evangelist users, I was attacked, mocked, and abused by the very same group I was discussing.

WOT, also known as Web of Trust, has launched the world’s first online tool for reputation rating.