What is the best place to learn reputation management, with regards to SEO

[adell50]

I have a new client that needs help with a bad review.  Of course it may not be able to be deleted, but I have started to scratch the surface on how to help 'push it down' using SEO.

Can any offer advice on a definitive source of learning reputation management?

Many thanks!

[CoreyNorthcutt]

I don't know any one great source for this, but for the most part, a good reputation management process isn't all that complex, it looks like this:

1.) Identify what existing content has the best potential to rank (social media seems to do great, review sites that allow you to moderate or at least respond, etc...  pretty much anything that isn't scamreport)

2.) Identify how you can easily get some more good content out there (ie. getting permission to syndicate some of your clients' reviews to big sites is pretty popular).  You can also put some keyword-rich content out there, though, it's generally looked down upon to flat out fabricate reviews, so careful there.  Syndication can be especially helpful here (think: press release about the posting of a client reviews section somewhere, linking to a handful of your social profiles).  I've also found that profiles on social sites are much easier to move up for your company name than just flat out starting a fresh blog.

3.) Build lots of good links to the positive content.  This tends to be much easier than you think, as your company name is nowhere near as competitive a phrase as what you might normally try to optimize for.  The key is just to have a lot of it (at least 20 pieces to start), as some may not respond as quickly / effectively to your link building as you might hope.

That should about do it.  If you have a scenario where the reviews are flat out dishonest and spammed again and again by the same person, some webmasters will be receptive; many won't, but it never hurts to bring it up with them once all the same.

[KeriMorgret]

You might want to read what Outspoken Media has on reputation management at http://outspokenmedia.com/reputation-management/. They're good people over there with a lot of helpful resources.

[adell50]

Thanks for the resource, Keri!  The posts at outspoken are very informative.

[adell50]

Awesome advice!  Thanks a lot for the tips.

[adell50]

I found this guide to be very concise - http://outspokenmedia.com/guides/orm-guide/