Got Some Bad Press? 5 Tactics to Reclaim Your Reputation — and Your Google Search Ranking

Posting regular web content is simply a awesome measurement to guarantee that your business receives postulation and produces leads. However, erstwhile this contented paints a mediocre image of your company, it's easy to consciousness awesome despair.

We unrecorded successful a integer era wherever your online estimation tin make aliases break your business. When Google determines that your contented is not bully capable for nan apical spots successful search motor results pages (SERPs), nan bully news is that each is not lost.

Why you request to suppress antagonistic hunt results

Before we talk really to do it, let's concisely talk why maintaining a positive online reputation is important.

Statistics from Advanced Web Rankings show that much than 30% of users click connected nan first result, which goes down to 2% for nan 10th result. Pushing down antagonistic hunt results connected Google is basal for due online estimation management.

When hunt engines rank bad articles highly, nan pursuing tin occur:

• Your business will suffer its reputation.
• No 1 will spot you.
• You could suffer important opportunities.
• Your institution won't make arsenic galore leads.
• Business income will drop.

Let's look astatine an illustration to thief you understand this a small better.

Suppose you ain a edifice and a waiter makes a correction that is captured by a patron and plastered each complete nan net successful antagonistic reviews. This could person a mediocre reflection connected your company's reputation. However, by raising affirmative content, it becomes imaginable to push bad content.

Related: How to Remove Negative Reviews Online and Protect Your Online Reputation

How to push antagonistic hunt results

Now that you understand why suppressing antagonistic articles is essential, let's talk cardinal individual and master occurrence strategies.

Focus connected affirmative content

Burying antagonistic hunt results starts pinch publishing affirmative content, specified arsenic news articles, blog posts and more. Use hunt motor optimization to guarantee that your caller aliases existing contented appears connected nan first page of nan SERPs.

Ensure your contented is optimized for applicable keywords and contains engaging material, specified arsenic videos, infographics, images and more.

Remain patient. It could return clip for hunt engines to rank your caller contented highly and push down antagonistic results.

Make enhancements to your website aliases societal media accounts

Another awesome strategy is to look intimately astatine your website to spot whether location is room for improvement. Check that each pages are mobile-friendly and person a debased loading time.

Look astatine nan predisposition of menus and different features connected your tract to guarantee they are user-friendly. Update your institution accusation to guarantee you supply imaginable customers pinch nan basal information.

It's besides a bully thought to usage backlinks connected these pages, arsenic Google uses backlinks arsenic a ranking factor. If you person aged blog posts that incorporate outdated information, see updating them to amended your website's hunt rankings.

One area wherever galore businesses struggle is dealing pinch bad reviews. People searching for your marque aliases merchandise are overmuch little apt to partner pinch you if they spot antagonistic Google hunt results.

We urge encouraging existing customers to constitute affirmative reviews and testimonials to move nan tide. This will thief users spot that though you whitethorn person messed up successful nan past, you person cleaned up your enactment and your business is fresh to present fantabulous service.

These actions tin thief boost your website's authority and guarantee you get much visibility and attraction from hunt engines.

Here are a fewer devices we usage astatine my SEO institution to thief pinch our online estimation guidance (ORM) strategy:

• Google Analytics
• Backlink Checker
• Google Search Console
• AnswerThePublic
• Ahrefs
• Semrush

Related: Here's nan SEO Combination You Need to Win Google's Algorithm

Explore ineligible measures

If personification films your institution illegally aliases posts slanderous contented astir your business, you tin move to nan rule to region antagonistic hunt results. You tin enlist nan thief of an advocator to record a cease-and-desist missive aliases return action nether copyright aliases infringement acts.

It whitethorn moreover beryllium imaginable to interaction nan owners of third-party sites straight and inquire them to region nan content.

Obsidian Finance Group filed a lawsuit against an independent investigative blogger named Crystal Cox. She wrote aggregate blog posts containing antagonistic contented criticizing nan institution and Kevin Padrick, its co-founder, for misconduct and fraud. The corp received a awesome woody of bad property arsenic a consequence of these posts, affecting its reputation. In response, it revenge a defamation case, and nan defamatory posts were removed.

Publish contented connected high-authority sites

As mentioned, backlinks are basal for ensuring hunt engines position your tract arsenic authoritative. To get these backlinks, you tin station connected high-authority domains. If you create contented yet published connected these sites, Google and different hunt engines will besides spot your website arsenic applicable and authoritative.

Here are immoderate applicable examples of sites we've utilized to thief push down antagonistic content:

• Medium
• LinkedIn
• HuffPost
• Quora
• WikiHow

Address nan rumor head-on

The truth is that we each make mistakes. No 1 is perfect, truthful erstwhile bad things hap and your institution messes up, it's champion to tackle nan rumor head-on. By posting a nationalist apology, you tin thief to regain your mislaid estimation and activity connected rebuilding it.

Taking ownership shows customers and imaginable clients that your business is responsible and trustworthy. We besides urge discussing nan corrective actions you person taken and showcasing immoderate affirmative changes you person made to forestall a repetition of nan aforesaid incident aliases performance.

In 2017, United Airlines faced backlash aft nan news that a rider was forcibly removed from a formation went viral. Rather than backing down aliases ignoring nan issue, nan institution issued a nationalist apology. They besides conducted an soul investigation and implemented corrective measures to regain nationalist trust.

Related: 5 Steps to Getting Started pinch Search Engine Reputation Management (SERM)

Final thoughts

If you are struggling pinch nan effects of harmful content, past nan bully news is that location is hope. You tin retrieve your company's estimation by exploring nan cardinal strategies mentioned above.