When you need information about a product or a brand, what do you do? You probably go to the Web like millions of other people who have smartphones and Internet access. Where do you go to look for information? Like the majority of people who use the Internet on a daily basis, you probably have Google bookmarked on your device.

When a potential client wants to know more about your organization, you can expect them to do as you have done. Today could be the day when someone goes online and discovers your brand for the first time with Google. Today could be the day when a prospective client discovers you for the first time and finds negative feedback. Do you have the means to defend and protect your organization? This is where reputation management, which can be provided by a reputable SEO expert in Utah, comes into play.

Negative feedback and your bottom line

It is not presumptuous to assume that anything said or written about your brand online will have an impact on how a potential client responds. When negative results come up, you have to consider the effect the feedback will have on someone who has no prior knowledge of your brand. Therefore, it is imperative for business entities to have a means to monitor what the Internet has to say about them. You might already be the topic of conversation, and what goes on behind your back without your knowledge could result in irreversible damage.

The many faces of negative feedback

man giving rating on phoneRumors spread like wildfire online—at a pace that seemed improbably just a few decades ago. New conversations spread at the speed of light. The tide could turn so swiftly while you are still trying to grasp the situation fully. When someone is in conflict with your brand, they have the freedom to use the Internet to inform people in their network about their experience. The criticism may be constructive, but the impact is no less damaging. Social media is a very personal venue, and anything posted on the most popular platforms could gain weight very quickly, given the reception.

Others may have a different agenda and intend to rouse conflict with sabotage. It matters little if the negative talk is about something that is true or false. What matters is that it is now so easy for anyone to spread ill news online. What have you got in place to prevent people with malicious intent to spread lies, rumors, and negative information about your company?

Your online presence

If you make one bad decision about your digital presence, the cascade of negativity that follows will haunt the brand for many years to come. Remember that clients and possibly business investors are making judgments about you based on your online presence and the content they find. Therefore, it matters that you care enough to protect your online presence.

A client might have their first impression about you from something they find online. A first impression is often the only impression. At this very moment, someone somewhere might be typing the name of your company and is about to open a link that contains negative information. A reputable expert in SEO can be your ally in reputation management—a must for a company with an online presence.