Those who Google their own name aren’t just egocentric…they could be managing their online reputation. If you’re an internet marketer, it is very smart to see what’s being said about you on (at least)  the first two pages of the results for your name on major search engines. You might consider checking: Google, MSN, and Yahoo to see.

Today’s online shoppers are savvy and many of them will look you up before they’ll consider doing business with you.What they find could impact their desire to buy.  People want to buy from companies and individuals that are trustworthy so it’s important for you to realise that what is listed on the first few pages could significantly impact your business.

Create Positive Results

Beyond trying to rank well in search engines for your targeted keywords, reputation management is important as well. Consider working proactively to give people something good when they search for you. Optimise your brand name.

Realise that when other people write about you, there’s a good chance their results will rank high or higher than your own at times so hopefully you’re being a good netizen who people will only have good things to say about.

What if someone puts something bad about you online?

Good news can travel but doesn’t seem to travel as fast as bad news. Damage control is important if you find something negative associated with your business online. If someone has written something negative about you, try to make it right so they’ll remove or retract their statement. This can happen if a customer is dissatisfied with your product, for instance.

You might not be able to please all of the people all of the time but if you conduct your business always keeping the customer in mind you’ll hopefully find positive product and brand reviews when you Google your name.

Monitor Your Online Reputation

Consider setting up a Google Alert as well, which can help you monitor your reputation also. You can’t control everything that gets posted about you online but working to optimise your site and your brand recognition as well as monitoring what is posted can help you position yourself best.