Do: Understand What Online Reputation Management Means

Google Articles on Erase Mugshots
If an unflattering arrest record is showing up in search results, you can learn how to remove mugshots from Google and build a better online presence today.
What would happen if a potential girlfriend, employer, or family member were to come across your mugshot online?
Mugshots from years ago can easily resurface on websites and databases, harming the personal lives of millions of people. Even if your charges were dropped or dismissed, having mugshots online can ruin employment opportunities and relationships while causing you personal harm.
This is a reality for thousands of people. Criminal records from over 20 years ago are now publicly accessible in many states, leaving your mugshot completely visible to users searching your name. This can happen to anyone with a mugshot or a criminal record, even if they only have minor offenses.
And today, it’s easier than ever for someone to access your mugshots or criminal records with a Freedom of Information Act request.
Most people aren’t comfortable with their personal and sensitive information floating around freely online, but you can’t just petition Google to de-list your information. It may be difficult or next to impossible for you to find the person responsible for posting your mugshot, especially if the content was generated by an anonymous user.
If you’re feeling confused or frustrated and are unable to remove your criminal records from the internet, read on.
Our mugshot removal service was designed with you in mind. Since early 2012, we’ve been utilizing our skills in search marketing to protect the reputation of individuals who have been on the receiving end of bad luck or unfortunate circumstances. We specialize in removing harmful content — including mugshots — from the web. Contact us today at 866-601-6803 to learn more.
Google doesn’t offer a removal service that you can use to immediately take content down or petition for removal. They recommend you contact the owner of the site, but that can be tricky.
Technically, if you owned the copyright of the image, you would send a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice to the webmaster of the mugshot site. Unfortunately, these sites do not accept DMCA removal notices because the images are owned by police departments and similar entities.
In addition, site owners who run these mugshot sites tend to use private hosting that masks their identities and makes them difficult to find. Even if they have a contact form, it’s little more than decoration. They aren’t likely to respond to you, even if you make legal threats.
Mugshot websites host vast databases of criminal records, and there is little recourse the average person has to defend themselves. The number of states that legally allow mugshots online is also growing.
If you live in Florida, for instance, your records from as far back as 1999 might be freely available online for employers and potential business partners to find. The same goes for anyone living in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, New Jersey or a whole host of other states across the U.S.
Do you need help removing your arrest records and mugshots from search results? Get a free mugshot removal analysis today and sign up for a consultation with one of our experts. Learn more here.
Often, you can’t simply submit a removal request to search engines or mugshot websites and have them take down your online arrest records or mugshot photos. That data is considered public interest. There’s no compelling reason for law enforcement agencies or website owners to comply with your requests.
Similarly, these sites won’t have a mugshot removal process in place. Why? It’s not common practice to delete online mugshots from databases.
However, with the help of online reputation experts, you can influence search engine results, including Google Search results. We can make it so that your mugshot is not nearly as visible online as it has been.
It’s not usually possibly to have your mugshot removed completely. Luckily, there are ways to make it so difficult to find that people will rarely come across it.
Suppression tactics use new content and SEO to push down your mugshot online. Once your mugshot photo, arrest information and other sensitive data is far down on the first search engine results page (SERP) — or, better yet, on the second page or later — few people will ever see it.
Only the top 3 search results on Google get a majority of clicks. And most people don’t ever go past the first SERP — under 1% actually clicks on a second-page result.
With our content suppression services, you can essentially have your mugshot removed from top search results. This makes it much less likely that the images will be found.
We work on behalf of our clients to erase mugshots, arrest records, police reports and other sensitive information from the internet. Give us a call at 866-601-6803 to learn more.
In this article, we’ll answer the question, “Why are public arrest records online?” and offer advice about how to remove arrest records, court records, mugshot images and other sensitive information from search engines.
Most people have some sort of experience with an arrest, whether it’s happened to them or someone they know. Sometimes, this results in the person having criminal records in the public record, but other times, it doesn’t.
Often, an arrest is a one-time incident for the individual involved. Unfortunately, though, no matter what the reason for the arrest was or how long ago it occurred, arrest records often become part of the individual’s public record.
This has long been the case. However, for many years pre-internet, arrest records were not as easily accessible as they are today. In the past, to find public records, the average person had to go to the courthouse in the county where the arrest occurred and conduct a search.
Back then, finding out whether another person had legal trouble anywhere in the United States would have been a time-consuming and potentially expensive process. Those days are long gone now that public records like court records, case files and criminal records are available online.
Today, it is easy for anyone to run an online search to see whether another person has been arrested anywhere in the United States.
From the privacy of their home, a user can complete an online search for arrest records, court records, case files or criminal records in mere minutes.
The two main sources responsible for this modern ease of access are the U.S. government and private companies, such as mugshot sites.
Finding public records the “old fashioned” way by going to the place where the record was stored was difficult for the searcher. Plus, it was also troublesome for the governmental entity that held criminal records and court records.
The entity had to dedicate employees and other resources to help individuals locate, copy, and process payment for the records.
Today, information technology allows the government to largely automate that process. By transferring the records online, users have search, download, and easy payment capabilities at their fingertips.
For these and other reasons, government entities are increasingly publishing their public records, including arrest records, court records and criminal records, online. Typically, to search government-posted records, you still have to go to the individual government’s site and perform the search. That’s still much easier than showing up in person, though.
Additionally, this means that researching someone’s arrest record or case files could mean visiting multiple county websites to get the full scope of information.
Private companies like mugshot websites and other data brokers, spotting an opportunity to profit, have stepped in. Taking over where the government left off, these sites make it even easier to access arrest records.
Private companies use technology to pull arrest information, case files and more from multiple government sites and people search databases, then aggregate that data. This way, all records belonging to an individual combine into a single profile.
Furthermore, some of these companies only disclose the arrest records upon payment by an interested individual. Other companies, however, use aggregated data to disseminate mugshots and basic arrest information. This provides open access through search engine queries.
Obviously, the publication of an individual’s mugshot, criminal records, case files or arrest record is professionally and socially harmful. EraseMugshots.com works to minimize this harm by deleting mugshots and arrest records from search results.
We offer removal services to get rid of criminal records, case files and other damaging information online. Whether you have arrest records, mugshots or court records online, we’ll work on your behalf to remove or suppress them from search results.
Do you need help removing your arrest records, case files or mugshots from search results?
Get a free mugshot removal analysis today. Sign up for a consultation with one of our experts. Learn more here.
This article offers advice on finding recent arrests, locating records online, and managing one’s digital reputation.
Often, arrest records are public records, and you can search for them using Google or databases from local law enforcement agencies. When a person’s name is on arrest information or criminal history records, it can cause damage to their online reputation, regardless of what actually ended up happening with the case.
Knowing how to find public arrest records online is an important part of managing your online reputation and how such records influence other people’s perceptions of you or your business. Additionally, locating your arrest information can help you do the following:
Overall, accessing your arrest reports gives you options for cleaning up your online image, like requesting sealed records. In this article, we’ll discuss how to proactively manage your public arrest records and other personal records online so that you don’t miss out on opportunities in your personal or professional life.
Our mugshot removal services will remove your online arrest records and mugshot images fast. Contact us today at 866-601-6803 to learn more.
When a law enforcement agency detains a person, an official document called an arrest record is created. Arrest records include details about the offense and circumstances.
Arrest records are not the same as convictions. A conviction means that the individual was formally found guilty in court.
In contrast, arrest records simply mean that the person was taken into custody by law enforcement agencies. Whether or not the person was guilty isn’t necessarily reflected in the arrest information.
The public may receive unlimited search access to your arrest and criminal records online.
Why? In many jurisdictions, arrest records are considered part of publicly available information. This means that your arrest records are public documents. Clients, employers or anyone else from the general public can access them.
Public arrest records are typically maintained by court systems, law enforcement agencies or other government agencies. They’re commonly available through background check services, online databases from law enforcement agencies or government agencies, or requests for public records.
Because arrest information and criminal history data are so easily accessible, the information that can be found can influence public perception — even if the person was released without being charged. While providing arrest information to the public can force the individual who was arrested to be accountable for their actions, it can also lead to missed opportunities and reputational harm.
If your goal is to protect your online privacy and manage your reputation on the internet, it’s important to know what arrest information is public and how those arrest reports are used.
There are a number of ways that public arrest records can negatively impact an individual’s personal or brand reputation:
Having your arrest reports online can make it hard to build up your credibility and restore people’s trust in you.
Our mugshot removal experts will analyze search engine results to find public arrest records and remove your personal information and mugshots online. Call us at 866-601-6803 for more information about deleting your public arrest record from online sources.
There are a number of ways to find your criminal records and arrest records online so you can take steps to safeguard your digital reputation.
Government-run websites, like county and city databases, those from local police departments, or the one for your specific arresting agency, typically have a database with arrest data and criminal records that you can search. The amount of information available will depend on local laws, as different areas have varying laws about what is and is not made public.
There are tons of official websites, people search websites and mugshot sites that aggregate all sorts of personal information, including arrest records, inmate records, property records (including tax property liens), marriage records and more. Sometimes, a Google search will bring up an individual’s profile on these sites. Other times, you’ll need to go directly to the people search site and look for the individual’s name using the search tool to access their profile.
Google and other search engines often index arrest records online, making it easy to find them with a simple search of the individual’s name. You may not even have to add “arrest record” or something similar to the search, though it can help to narrow down the results.
If you feel certain that your arrest records are available online but you’re having trouble locating them, working with a third-party service can help. Online reputation management agencies and legal firms may have additional ways to do deeper online searches for your arrest data.
Once you’ve located your arrest records online, there are a number of steps you can take to protect and improve your online reputation.
First, make sure that the information included in the arrest records is accurate. Check the date of the arrest, information about the arresting agency, and details of the charges. If you find any inaccuracies, contact the arresting agency and ask that they fix them.
While your main goal is to remove your arrest records from public access, it’s smart to correct misinformation for the time being until you take additional steps.
If you have a valid reason for wanting your arrest records sealed or expunged — and if you meet the qualifications to be considered for either option — take steps to submit the request. The more information you can provide to present your case, the better.
Since you’ve already determined which data brokers, people search websites and official websites have your public arrest records, contact them to ask that they remove your data. Some websites will have an opt-out process to follow, while others require you to contact the website owner directly.
If you were able to seal or expunge an arrest record, provide proof of this to the website owner. This will make it more likely that they’ll comply with your request.
It can take a long time for websites to remove your information. Whether or not you’re able to have your arrest records removed from public information, it’s possible it’ll still show up in search results for a while.
You can suppress negative content from appearing in online search results by regularly creating positive and neutral content. As the new content ranks in search engine results, the older content will be pushed down far enough to rarely be seen by users.
If your life has been seriously affected by felony arrest records and you’re struggling to rebuild your online reputation, it may be best to hire an ORM company. ORM experts can help you find arrest records online and negotiate with data brokers to remove your information. They can also help with content creation and suppressing negative search results.
We work on behalf of our clients to erase mugshots, arrest records, police reports and other sensitive information from the internet. Give us a call at 866-601-6803 to learn more.
Once you’ve found the information you were looking for online and you’ve taken steps to manage your online presence, it’s important to continually pay attention to any information that shows up about you online.
There are all sorts of county and city databases and non-official websites that will gather and maintain records, then post private and sensitive information about people, including:
While accessing this and other information is often considered necessary for public safety, some people try to find information for nefarious purposes. For example, submitting a records request for criminal court data may be in the best interest of the public. But finding out someone’s Social Security number, business ownership details or related information can be used for cybercriminal activity.
To stay safe online, use monitoring tools so you’re alerted as soon as information about you shows up in search results. Avoid sharing personal information that could put you in harm’s way or damage your reputation. And continue to contribute positive content to your website, social media accounts and professional platforms to remain trustworthy in the public eye.
Unfortunately, once you’ve been arrested, the public has a lot of access to your sensitive information, including your mugshots, charges and even home address. Having your private information so accessible can lead to everything from privacy and safety issues to lost opportunities as others make snap judgments about you.
Locating arrest records online and taking steps to update, remove or suppress a person’s record is a huge step toward protecting your online reputation. Managing your adult arrest record can feel like a full-time job, though — one that you don’t have the time or expertise for.
At EraseMugshots.com, we offer removal services to get rid of damaging information, like your arrest record, and help you rebuild your online reputation. Whether you have arrest records, mugshots or police reports online, we’ll work on your behalf to remove them from search results.
It doesn’t matter if your charges were expunged, dismissed or dropped, or even if you were found guilty, either. Our strategies will remove or suppress negative content, including arrest records, from showing up on mugshot websites and in Google search results.
Do you need help removing your arrest records and mugshots from search results? Get a free mugshot removal analysis today and sign up for a consultation with one of our experts. Learn more here.
Remove Background Check: TWO BILLION DOLLARS. That’s how much revenue the background check industry generated in the previous fiscal year. Astonishing as it might sounds, this industry has seen an encouraging annual growth of an average of 1.3% in the last five years and is predicted to grow even bigger and faster in the coming decade.
Long gone are those days when the use of background checks was limited to employers who wanted to screen potential job candidates for previous criminal records or other irregularities. Research firms estimate over 5500 businesses in this field, a strong testament to the proliferation of its use for other purposes.
This growth has been achieved largely in part due to the low barriers to entry for online services.
The most high profile usage of background checks has been for the well-politicized issue of gun regulation. The FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) has been used by the government as its first line of defense against crimes that involve firearms.
This comes in the wake of multiple shooting tragedies that have occurred over the last decade, most notably the Sandy Hook shootings where a mentally unstable man opened fire in an elementary school killing 28 people, 20 of whom were children. NICS has flagged over 2.4 million transactions since its inception thereby potentially saving a lot of lives.
Reports from the Department of Justice claim that over 10% of the 5.9 million violent crimes in the country in 2014 were committed by offenders armed with a gun.
Resident screening is another area where background checks are rampant nowadays. There is an ever-increasing number of firms that provide landlords with the ability to comprehensively screen their prospective tenants for security reasons.
Landlords face lesser risks by knowing their tenant’s’ credit history, criminal record, and other public records ahead of time, and can easily weed out potential candidates who they consider not worth the trouble.
On the flip side, this can also result in a significant percentage of the population, which actually needs cheap housing the most, being denied housing opportunities or even getting priced out due to concerns over their background checks.
Airbnb bought a background check tech startup called Truly recently in order to take preventive measures against troublemakers that plague its home-rental service.
The Internet has grown into one of the most popular ways to find a partner. The world of online dating has seen remarkable growth, with recent statistics suggesting that as many as 20 million people visit a dating site at least once a month. However, the rise of ‘catfishing’ scams coupled with the ease of making misleading profiles has resulted in the loss of trust of users towards online strangers.
A 2013 study found that over 30 percent of users scope out potential partners and carry out their own little background check through social media and search engines before meeting/dating someone. Popular dating apps like Tinder show linked Facebook and Instagram accounts which makes it easy to snoop around and stalk people.
Besides being curious about previous relationships, users are also interested in finding out details about criminal offenses or court appearances. A lot of popular online dating platforms such as Match and eHarmony screen their clients to find offenders of sexual assault, identity theft, and violence.
There are fairly recent cases of background checks being used that involve the younger generation. In the light of high profile pedophilia scandals that have engulfed the church and other religious institutions over the past decade, new legislation has been passed to ensure background checks for all adults who seek employment or volunteer opportunities with routine contact with children in order to protect the children of this country from people in a position of authority who have been convicted of sexual abuse against minors.
The Common Application portal which is used by all students as a one-stop process for applying to college and other higher education institutions incorporated two questions in 2007 asking students to disclose their disciplinary history and criminal record, although it is now being actively protested and fought against by student groups and universities who claim it unfairly “impedes minority and disadvantaged students’ chances at admission.”
The legalization of medical marijuana to a certain extent in as many as 30 states in America has given birth to a number of new neighborhood dispensaries.
In order to ensure the safety and sustainability of their operations and license, a lot of these dispensaries will be in the market for background check providers.
This provides a whole new market of potential clients for the background check industry. The legalization of marijuana will also have an impact on the policies of employers in these states, who will look to revise and update their background checks to stay in line with the new laws.
Similarly, background checks are now being strictly enacted in law enforcement agencies to prevent the recruitment of officers with a corrupt past.
This comes as a relief to the minority communities of the country who have been at the receiving end of police brutality and racial profiling. Just last month, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office fired Deputy F. for falsifying a search warrant and dropped 17 cases that were compromised as a result of it.
The scope of the use of background checks has undergone tremendous change. What was once considered a luxury is now considered a necessity, and everyone from the public sector to the private sector enlists the services of background check providers?
This industry has brilliantly converted an expensive, time, and labor-consuming ordeal into an automated paperless solution. No longer used exclusively for immigration and employer services, background checks are now used by over 80% of US businesses.
This industry now has a national trade association, industry standards, and definitive publications on background screening. It has seen such success and widespread adoption that it is now heavily regulated by the likes of FCRA, FACT, EEOC, Sarbanes-Oxley, and the Patriot Act to name a few. Remove Background
How do you recover from a damaged reputation?
There are many reasons why you may need online reputation management. You may, for instance, have released a faulty product to the market (just like the Samsung Galaxy Note 7), or broken some environmental protection rules (just like the Volkswagen emissions scandal). Many things can happen that will damage your reputation the world over, and it may feel like you can never again recover from that.
As a company, your brand equity is your greatest asset, but also the least tangible one. It includes things like positive brand recognition, prestige, and customer loyalty. Companies have to work very hard to earn those things, but it takes just a single fault for it to be destroyed. If you have lost your brand equity, it may feel like the end of the world. It is also certainly true that if a huge scandal were to hit a small company, it would be almost impossible for them to recover from it. They simply would not have the means to do so.
That being said, huge scandals tend to hit huge companies, whereas smaller companies only have to face smaller scandals. But neither is that the end of the world, so long as you know what to do.
Growing up, if we did something wrong, our parents and teachers would tell us to own up to our mistakes in order to move on. This is something most of us would instill in our children even today. And for good reason! Being able to admit that you were wrong is the first step towards receiving forgiveness.
“Wyche says you need to admit wrongdoing right away. Be honest, ‘even if it was just a transgression of bad judgment, you have to start with admitting your bad judgment.'”
Another important tactic is to draw attention away from what you have done wrong, particularly after you have admitted to it, and direct it towards other, more positive things. Being nice is a very important tactic and one that also works for individuals who have had their reputation destroyed.
“Smile, and be nice to people you see. Take a genuine interest in what other people are doing or thinking. People always appreciate someone who seems to care. You’ll find that people will be drawn to you, and less likely to talk badly about you.”
If you can, as a business, you may want to engage in a philanthropic act, for instance.
One of the best ways to deal with a negative review is by addressing it head-on and speaking to your customers. If your reputation has been damaged, the same is true. When you admit to your mistake, feel free to ask people how they believe you can redeem yourself. This gives them an opportunity to air their views and feel listened to, while at the same time seeing that you truly care.
Unfortunately, you have to be realistic when it comes to a damaged reputation. Sometimes, there is no way forward anymore, and you may have to change careers or companies or even relocate.
“Reputation repair is not for the faint of heart — it requires a serious and thoughtful strategy. A reputation is based on perception, behavior, and values. While there are online solutions, PR remedies and networking tactics to deploy, the real work of rebuilding trust and credibility starts, and ends, with the personal brand.”
Be realistic, be fair, apologize, and do what you can to make things right again. With a little bit of luck, you will then be able to solve the situation.
Improve Online Reputation – We all make mistakes—some are dismissed shortly after they occur, while others have more of a lasting impact.
Of those more significant mistakes, arrest records typically fall into a serious category of consequence.
An arrest record can influence one’s professional career and social prospects, as well as take a toll on the individual emotionally.
Fortunately, it is possible to move past mistakes, including arrests, and there is no better time to do so than the start of a new year.
The first step of moving past your 2016 arrest is to take control of your thoughts and emotions.
You have likely played back the events surrounding your arrest repeatedly in your mind, taking you back to that overwhelming experience.
It’s time to stop.
You cannot change what happened, and constantly recalling the event will only bring forth a continuum of negative emotions.
Even though you should not dwell on your arrest, you do need to think about its consequences.
Understand how it could have been avoided so the mistake is not repeated.
Take time to consider how the arrest may impact you now or in the future. Is your mug shot or arrest record on the Internet?
Do you have to report the arrest to a licensing agency or your employer?
How will you handle questions about your background check when applying for jobs?
Once you have evaluated how your arrest and corresponding mug shot may impact your future, take proactive measures to prevent any further negative impact your arrest may have. Here are a few easy steps to follow:
Research laws in your city and state regarding the type of arrest record information you may be required to provide on job applications. You may not even have to disclose your arrest on certain job applications, but it is important to understand these details ahead of time.
Determine whether you can have arrest information removed from your permanent record. Most states offer the opportunity to seal or expunge certain types of arrest records, even though those records are typically covered under public records disclosure laws. Erasemugshots.com can remove traces of your record from the Internet in just 72 hours.
Practice answering potential questions about your arrest as it may come up in professional or social settings. By practicing how you will answer, you can avoid feeling caught off guard and you will be able to competently explain the situation.
EraseMugshots.com has worked with close to 2,000 individuals with arrest records and has helped them move past their arrest. We have no doubt that you can move past yours, too.
EraseMugshots is a company set up with a particular goal in mind: to enable people to get rid of their online arrest records and mugshots and protect their reputation. We do this legally, understanding that these records will always be a matter of public access, but believing that they should not be accessible by anybody with an internet connection.
Hence, while we cannot remove them from the databases of government records or of the courthouses, we can remove them from the internet and help protect your reputation.
The company has proudly announced that it has already been successful in helping 1,900 customers. Indeed, our company offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee, and we have never had a case in which they couldn’t provide the service.
We offer a quick, effective, and private solution to ensure that people’s good reputation is not destroyed by past mistakes that can be accessed online. We are fully open and transparent about their methods, which are completely above board, and our goal is complete satisfaction for each of their clients, which they have now achieved 1,900 times.
For their 1,900 satisfied customers, a total of 16,139 files about them were removed, which is an impressive number of nearly 10 files per person.
EraseMugshots’ staff are all highly professional and experienced in all things about the internet, which has enabled them to achieve what is required of them. In fact, between them, they have over 230 years of combined experience.
To remove clients’ mugshots and arrest records, the company starts by completing a full web presence analysis. This will allow us to determine which files are available online so that they know where to start working on and never miss a file.
Once we know where we have to work on, Erase Mugshots professionals will start to get rid of the different arrest records. Our team offers a total removal solution, which means that once the records are gone, they are gone for good. One of the reasons why we have been able to have so many happy customers is because we guarantee to achieve this within 72 hours.
Once those records have been removed, EraseMugshots gets to work on cleaning up the search engines, namely Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. We do this by contacting them directly, requesting that any remaining traces of the records, including links and images, are removed from their search engine.
This ensures that they can no longer be found through historic internet searches as well.
There are many companies that promise to protect your reputation the same way as EraseMugshots. However, what sets us apart is their 100% satisfaction guarantee. Further, we offer affordable monthly payment plans.
And, at all times, we offer a service that is very effective and very quick, and always 100% private.
All 1,900 customers can attest to the fact that links to mugshot and arrest record sources have been fully eliminated. This means that those records are now impossible to find it online.
The key result is that customer privacy and reputation are completely restored. Indeed, once something is truly removed from the internet, it will be as if it never existed. This allows people to get back their lives and protect their reputation or the long haul.
It has been said that once something is on the internet, it can never be removed, but this is not entirely true. By focusing on search engine removal, rather than reverse search engine optimization (SEO), where links are simply pushed down in the search results, EraseMugshots ensures that a file is truly removed from the internet, never to be found again.
We do this by putting search engine results in second place. First, they terminate the actual websites that the mugshots or arrest records were on or at least the page. Once that has been completed, they simply ask the search engines to update their records so the information can longer be found.
What our clients have been particularly satisfied with, is that we offer long-term results. Once files have been removed and the process has been completed, files have never returned at a later stage.
This is because EraseMugshots offers a total removal solution, rather than simply hiding something or pushing it back. The importance of achieving this for individuals is as huge as finding this type of negative information online. This could make it difficult for them to find a job or a relationship, or to build customers for their own business.
We clean up search results and help protect your reputation for the long-term. Call
today to learn more.
Have a damaged reputation in 2021? Here’s a look at what you can do to turn things around.
Owning a business has its ups and downs. Hiring the right people to represent your company can be a very tedious task. You must exhaust all your time and energy into training these individuals which pulls you away from your own work.
Make sure you are employing the right people based on merit and who is the best fit. Hiring on a gut decision or to “help out a friend” has more negatives than positives in the long run. You have worked hard to create your brand, be careful about who you let in, as the consequences could be dire.
Having to let an employee go is never easy. The backlash of what could happen can be detrimental, leading to a damaged reputation that costs you money.
All it takes is a single review on Glassdoor or Google My Business to severely hinder performance.
First-impressions have left the building. Everyone turns to review sites as a “tell-all” source for answers to their questions. 50% of the time when an employee leaves an organization they will talk about it online (positive or negative).
Make sure you are carefully monitoring your online reputation so you know right away. Many top prospects may be deterred after researching your company and seeing an ex-employee talking negatively about the management.
In a study done by inc.com, Craig Bloem discusses how 84 percent of individuals trust online review platforms as much as they trust their friends. Of that 84%, over half of them will make their decision right then and there.
Only after reading the first 4-6 reviews, they have developed a strong “understanding” of how you operate. (Read more)
One of the best things you can do apart from generating reviews is gaining a general sense of how your customers feel. After a purchase is made simply email a customer satisfaction survey to each customer.
They may not all give you their feedback but some will. Being proactive is a great characteristic to have. People who notice you care more will appreciate you on a higher level, regardless if you have negative reviews online.
The best part about these surveys that is they are NOT public. You can read the feedback before publishing it on your website. This helps to limit the damaged reputation while still providing constructive criticism at the same time.
When it comes to your damaged reputation, make sure you are being proactive.
What is the point of gaining feedback if you are not taking action to resolve those issues? Needless to say, be careful about how you respond to negative feedback.
There is nothing worse than reading an argument between a client/ex-employee and the company. This shows other prospects you offer an inadequate service.
Everyone has the ability to hide behind a computer monitor and vent their opinion and feelings about the world. Many enjoy reading these, but as a business owner, these are your worst nightmare.
With this “internet review” trend that is rapidly growing, disgruntled employees are free to post carelessly online. Disgruntled employees are the leading cause of many companies’ damaged reputation.
As an employee at a company, be careful who you associate yourself with. Your cube-mate today could be your worst enemy in months to come. Only allow trustworthy colleagues to leave recommendations on your LinkedIn.
Linkedin houses over 400 million profiles, it is the Mecca of professional social platforms. If your company utilizes recruiters on LinkedIn, negative reviews may leave you wondering how you cannot find any reputable candidates.
First of all, keep calm and think logically. Do not react out of anger because the world will see it. When attempting to rectify a damaged reputation online simply present the facts and admit guilt when you are at fault.
Regardless if others do not agree with you, taking responsibility has a positive impact.
If you feel like you are being targeted under false pretense there are some steps you can take to fix it. Sites like Google and LinkedIn will work with you if you can provide proof. When a fictitious review is posted there are a few things Google can do to validate that account.
Say that is the only review that person has ever left. Google may deindex or even remove the review as they view it as defamatory (again only if you can provide proof).
It can be very overwhelming trying to deal with a bad review while maintaining your business.
If you are struggling to have a fictitious review removed or even a news article you deem liable we can help. Our knowledgeable team of ORM strategists will ensure a successful suppression/removal of this negative feedback.
Online reputation is no joke and should never be taken lightly. It WILL NOT fix itself.
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