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What do you look for with the removal audit?
The process we follow with our services is very systematic. When conducting the removal audit, we first look for any Google results that can easily be de-indexed from search results. These could be reviews & complaints, court documents, unfavorable news/press, and irrelevant information. We also look at things you might control such as unprofessional personal images, information, and content.
In addition to scanning the Google search results of our clients, we use BrandYourself’s CleanPost and CleanImage Technology to automatically scan for potentially damaging or polarizing content on client profiles.
This combination makes our reputation management services extremely effective. Using this process we can find content that decreases the earning potential, credibility and overall image of our clients.
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What qualifies as positive content?
Services and suppression rely on positive content. As a matter of fact, it’s one of the most important parts of an effective strategy. While many people think only articles count as positive content, there are actually a number of great options.
When looking at your search results, “positive content” refers to articles, reviews, videos, images, presentations, etc. that paint an honest picture of who you are as a professional and as a person. Positive, high-quality content ideally comes from authoritative sources and reinforces your personal brand.
Our services focus heavily on the process of creating and capitalizing on positive content. We work with you to figure out what content you want visible online, and create a positive content strategy that fits.
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How does the Reputation Engine give your reputation management services an edge?
The developers at BrandYourself built the Reputation Engine and Earnability Calculator in order to show you how important your online reputation is by attaching a dollar amount to yours, and showing you how to increase that number. Your value will change based on the wins and losses associated with your online presence.
Our algorithm uses industry data, the latest research, and your Reputation Score to calculate how much your online presence is affecting your career opportunities and potential business prospects.
This tool gives our reputation management services an edge because we are able to easily identify the best wins for our clients. When it comes to strategizing, we can easily translate our decisions into a cost/benefit analysis. Not only is this a great tool to explain our strategies to our clients, but it is also a helpful way for your strategist to prioritize what actions to take.
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How much do reputation management services cost?
The cost can vary depending on the company, the deliverables and the difficulty of the client’s search results. If you’re looking for services, we suggest that you do some research, and ask a lot of questions up front.
Since you have negative search results, your service costs will be higher than those of someone without negative or irrelevant search terms because it will require more work.
For people dealing with negative search results, we suggest starting with our Professional or Executive packages, but a Reputation Advisor will be able to give you a personal recommendation.
Clients looking for a more aggressive approach should consider our custom solutions.
For those who cannot afford our reputation management services, we created a DIY tool that includes a number of features to help you monitor and enhance your online reputation - if you’re willing to put in the time.
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What is negative suppression?
Your best option for dealing with negative results is suppression, and most good reputation management services practice this. “Negative suppression” is the process of suppressing or pushing down negative search results in rankings. We accomplish this by building, optimizing and maintaining positive, relevant web properties about you that overtake those damaging search results.
This is not only a long-term strategy for success in building up your personal brand, but it also safeguards your online reputation from something negative being seen in the future. Effective services not only help you now, but protect you going forward.
Suppression is such an effective strategy because over 90%* of users don’t click past the first page after they’ve Googled someone. That means that the chances of someone seeing a negative search result for your name significantly decrease the farther down in ranking it goes.
*Using the Internet: Skill Related Problems in User Online Behavior; van Deursen & van Dijk; 2009
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How long do reputation management services take to make an impact?
Negative results can take several months to over a year and beyond to suppress off of the first page. A number of factors can influence this, including; how authoritative the negative is, the number of negative results ranking for your name, how competitive your name is, and more.
There is no overnight fix for combating negative search results. While Google indexes profiles and websites about every 2 to 6 weeks, so you can get things in the mix rather quickly. However, mostly you will see small gains in rankings over time. Creating a strong foundation and following a disciplined approach to improving your online presence is your best defense. Our services provide a custom strategy each month to build an online brand that you’re proud of with the added bonus of overtaking a negative search result.
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What does it mean that your Reputation Specialists are “BrandYourself Certified?”
We’ve created a comprehensive training program that covers: Negative Suppression, SEO, Personal Branding and Social Media Management. This must be done before Reputation Specialists can effectively provide services to clients.
Our training program consists of two weeks of formal lecture, assignments, projects and tests. Following completion of that intensive, our Reputation Specialists continue with 60 more days of hands-on training.
The in-depth curriculum ensures that all of our Reps have the same extensive technical knowledge of each of these topics as a baseline before even speaking to a client. Doing so ensures that our reputation management services are consistent no matter who handles your account.
Each Reputation Specialist must successfully complete these two and a half months of training before becoming “BrandYourself Certified”. Once this curriculum is completed, our reps stay ahead of the curve by taking classes, attending lectures and participating in other enrichment opportunities on an ongoing basis.
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What if I’ve worked with another company already?
If you’ve already worked with another company, and you didn’t reach your goals, you’ve come to the right place. When working with clients who have used other reputation management services in the past, we have a unique protocol.
In addition to auditing what your online reputation currently looks like, we identify and analyze the work that the previous company performed. This ensures the strategies we implement with our reputation management services are as effective as possible.
Once we know what properties we’re working with, we thoroughly optimize valuable sites and profiles so that they are search engine friendly and accurately reflect the client’s personal brand. As soon as these pre-existing properties are in tip top shape, we’ll continue to build on them throughout the campaign.
Once we have thoroughly explored all of your existing properties, we locate the gaps in your social portfolio. We will create additional social media profiles as needed based on the goals and specifics of your campaign.
