Learn how to enhance your e-reputation on Google 

With the high digitalization of services, e-reputation has taken an important place to attract customers. Indeed, the e-reputation or web reputation represents the image that the web maintains of a company, a service, a product or even a person. In this sense, it can be as much an asset as a nightmare for a company. To control it, it is important to know what it is and to know the actors and vectors of e-reputation. It is then necessary to define strategies that will allow for a better management.

What is e-reputation?

In recent years, to get information about a brand or a company, it is enough to launch the search on Google. A flow of information in order of relevance appears to answer the query. This set of contents constitutes the e-reputation of the brand or company.

E-reputation is similar to reputation on the web. It is the image or digital vision that search engines project of a user. The user can be a person, a brand or a company that offers products and services. E-reputation is the result of information that is relayed on the internet. It consists of information disseminated by the person or company itself. This is the content published by the content manager on the company’s website or social networks. E-reputation is also influenced by the information available on a trusted platform of employee reviews and those disseminated by third parties (testimonials, customer reviews, etc.).

Why do you need to manage a company’s e-reputation?

E-reputation is a digital image. It is therefore manipulable. It depends not only on the content the company decides to share, but also on the brand image that influences the content that people share. This digital image can be manipulated for the good of a company or on the contrary to harm it. Internet users have the power to speak and are therefore an unstable variable. This can act positively or negatively on the image that search engines relay of the brand or company.

When a company has a bad e-reputation, potential prospects and customers are informed after doing a quick search. The good or bad information obtained forms the perception that outsiders have of the company. This is why it is important to know how to manage the e-reputation of a company. The definition of the quality brand image makes it possible to convey a positive image of the company to outsiders. Thus, the content produced by these outsiders is not negative and does not negatively influence the opinion of Internet users.

Managing e-reputation also allows you to have greater control over the information that is available on the web. Once this information is collected, you have a global picture of your Google e-reputation. This makes it easier to develop an effective e-reputation strategy .

What are the actors and vectors of e-reputation?

Actors are Internet users who influence the e-reputation of your company. Vectors are the information channels through which your e-reputation can be affected. It is important to know the actors and vectors of your Google reputation to react adequately in case of bad reputation on the web.

The actors of e-reputation

To identify the actors of your company’s e-reputation, you must launch a search on Google. The company name is a keyword that allows Google’s bots to generate relevant search results. Consulting these results makes it possible to identify the different actors of your Google e-reputation. Broadly speaking, these can be grouped into five categories.

The company and its employees are the first actors of the internet reputation. Indeed, poor internal organization negatively impacts the quality of the company’s services and products. To enjoy a good e-reputation in business, the company must be irreproachable. Other players in e-reputation are Internet users, influencers, social media and competition. Each of them is likely to offer well-referenced content on Google.

This information will have the effect of improving your digital identity or on the contrary causing it harm. It is obvious that the competition is trying to give you bad press. It is therefore necessary to pay close attention to the information that competing companies share as an actor of your e-reputation.

The vectors of e-reputation

Vectors are like actors capable of provoking positive or negative press for the company. Social networks are vectors not to be neglected. They allow the company to be closer to customers and create a community around the products and services it offers. However, social networks are places of exchange and free expression. Internet users who have a bad opinion of the company can therefore cause bad press.

Search engines and Google in particular are vectors of e-reputation. Google is the most consulted search engine to get an opinion on a company. The search engine itself is not a problem. But, it has robots that are responsible for the natural referencing of the content produced. These bots rank available content according to relevance criteria. If the most relevant content according to Google gives you bad press, it directly reflects a negative image of your company to the user. In this sense, Google can be a positive or negative vector.

Digital word of mouth and customer review platforms are also vectors of e-reputation. These two vectors can also reflect a positive or negative image of your company.

How to enhance the e-reputation of a company?

E-reputation has a definite impact on a company’s brand image. It makes it possible to attract customers to a product or service that they consider to be of quality. E-reputation is therefore an asset when it is well valued. Any business leader who wants their business to prosper wonders how to properly manage the e-reputation of his company? There are different ways to organize yourself to enhance the e-reputation of a company or brand on Google.

Monitoring

E-reputation is a compendium of positive or negative information available on the web. To be able to value it, it is therefore necessary to have a precise idea of the content already available. Hence the importance of keeping watch. This monitoring makes it possible to identify very interesting information.

Monitoring is a way to measure the company’s Google e-reputation. To do this, you can launch a search and consult all the information available on the web. But, since there is a lot of content related to your brand, this observation of the web will be long and tedious. Tools for measuring e-reputation have therefore been created. However, as with most tools, you need to have skills to use them properly. You will therefore need to undergo training to learn how to use one of these tools.

Monitoring also makes it possible to identify information such as customer reviews, the product or service often cited negatively and the relevance or not of the reviews. Thus, the impact of products and services is measured and you find effective solutions to improve them.

Moderation

Once you have a global vision of your company’s Google e-reputaion, it’s time to take action to improve it. Since your internet reputation doesn’t depend solely on you, you can’t exercise total control. But, apart from the efforts you make to improve your services and products, you can moderate the information. This moderation consists of reacting to testimonials and opinions that are unfavorable for the company. By acting in this way, you have the opportunity to improve your image with the public.

When your e-reputation is tarnished because of a negative customer review, you are on a steep slope. It is therefore necessary to know how to react to restore your brand image. The lack of reaction makes other Internet users think that the employee or customer opinion is totally true. Hence the importance of responding to employee reviews of your company and doing the same for customer reviews.

Before responding to an unfavorable customer review, you must take the time to verify the relevance of the information contained therein. Depending on the platform on which the review was published, if you do not find it relevant, you can request that it be deleted. If, on the other hand, there is not only erroneous information, you can decide to answer it. But be careful, the response to the customer review must be courteous and respectful so as not to harm your brand image. To improve your brand image, you can involve your employees. Find out why and how do employees contribute to the company’s brand image?

Animation

Animation is a very effective way to enhance your Google e-reputation. Its effectiveness is partly due to Google’s natural referencing. It consists of offering quality content on your company’s websites and social networks. The more animations meet Google’s quality standards, the more likely they are to occupy the zero position on the results page. When a user is looking for information, they consults content whose orientation you control. Having a well-referenced presence on the internet reduces the risk of people viewing content that negatively portrays your business.