Several years ago it was our expectation that search engine optimization on the majors like Google, Yahoo, and MSN would be where the competition for consumers’ attention and spending money would play out twenty four hour per day, seven days a week. The benefits provided by a top ten/first page ranking on Google make that page for each keyword a very valuable piece of “real estate”, especially when compared to the less efficient and untrackable advertising venues like traditional media. High traffic keywords with many competitors have seen costs rise to the point where implementing search engine optimization and marketing strategies can command funding that is not something every company can afford.
Companies that cannot afford the search engine marketing and other expenses associated with improving their page rankings have been resorting to more malicious strategies to gain competitive advantage in their respective fields. The tactics supporting these malicious strategies include smear campaigns, baseless rumors on product malfunctions, misleading information, and any other types of content that puts doubt or causes confusion in the minds of consumers considering the purchase of that company’s products and services. A disciplined campaign will stage the delivery of negative commentary pieces over time to make it appear that the company is having problems with many companies across many fronts. For companies that can budget for search engine optimization of the negative content, the rise in page ranking can increase the content’s “believability” regardless of it being poorly written or its inaccuracies. The fact of the matter is that in the minds of many consumers, high rankings bring a level of validation for the information posted, whether it’s true or not. The damage done, those consumers are then steered toward the sponsors of the negative content
We’ve seen many times that the key to dealing successfully with negative content attacks is to react to them as quickly as possible with a strategy build to deliver the best result possible.
We start with an extensive analysis on where the negative content campaign is originating and then build a customized strategy to maximize results as quickly as possible. The crux of each strategy is that negative content must be handled either by getting the content off of the internet, drowning it in positive content, and/or pushing it down the search pages until it virtually disappears. The tactics required to counter, depending on the breadth and sophistication level of the attack, are then determined and assigned to the members of our team with the experience to carry out each task to its fullest. We then use all resources available to push our mission forward until the negative campaign is diminished.
At Search Engine Reputation Management, we pride ourselves in having a team that can build and execute a strategy to counter any kind of negative content campaign that might come your way regardless of the funds behind it, its size, or its level of sophistication. If you are seeing an increasing stream of negative content about your company the time to act is now. Call Search Engine Reputation Management at (—) to defend everything you’ve worked so hard to build.