How to Recover Your Online Reputation after a Crisis?

Online Reputation Management 19 July 2021 Online Reputation Manage Team

Can you recover your online reputation after a crisis? Yes, and the recovery is a sequence rather than a single fix. You assess exactly how far the damage has spread across your search results, set realistic goals, publish enough positive content to change what people find, and use tactical SEO to suppress the negative coverage that is still ranking. It takes patience, but a reputation buried by a crisis can be rebuilt.

Your online reputation has the ability to turn your business upside down within a single night. No wise business owner would jeopardize it at any cost. The online reputation of your company determines whether your business is going to flourish in the near future or whether it is going to be on the verge of shutdown.

Why does a reputation crisis do so much damage?

Companies with good reputation management enjoy the long-term survival of their firms as well as earn huge chunks of profits. A crisis can leave your company's reputation in shambles. That is why every big organisation pays huge attention to its online presence.

The damage is rarely limited to one bad article. During a crisis the media storm compounds itself: one story is picked up by another publication, aggregators copy it, forum threads and social posts pile on, and within days the first page of Google for your brand name is a wall of negative coverage. That first page is what prospects, investors, partners, and job candidates see before they ever speak to you.

Is there a second chance after a crisis?

If for some reason you were not paying attention to your company's online reputation and it is in crisis now, do not panic. There is still a chance to rectify the mistake. Life does not give you second chances, but Online reputation management companies in India do.

How you use that second chance is entirely up to you. In this article we cover the ways you can build a plan for reputation recovery, restore your long-lost good reputation, and move ahead of the crisis.

Should you hire an online reputation management company?

The best and the most appropriate way of restoring your brand's image is to hire a good Online Reputation management company, because they specialise in this field and their only job is to rectify your bad reputation and maintain a good online reputation for your firm. Improving an online reputation involves a lot of tasks, from positive content creation to removing negative content about you and your company from various authoritative websites, which makes it a cumbersome job. It requires expertise in SEO, analytics, content creation, PR, and crisis management. If you try to repair it on your own, it may cause more harm than good.

Online Reputation Manage is a company with more than 300 happy clients. Along with that, they provide 98% customer satisfaction, which is a huge mark in itself. Their proficient team of experts delivers the best services to their clients. They keep a regular check on your online reputation across various social media sites, improve your ranking on Google, and remove negative content about you and your company. Online Reputation Manage offers all these services at very affordable prices.

Hiring an Online Reputation management company will always be a better choice than indulging yourself in it. But until you find one and they start their work, here are a few simple ways in which you can improve your reputation yourself.

What does a reputation recovery plan look like?

The recovery runs in order, from measuring the damage through to suppressing what is left. Work through the stages in the infographic below, then read the detail underneath.

Recover your online reputation after a crisis, step by step

Assess the damage, set realistic goals, choose your content strategy, publish positive content at volume, and use tactical SEO to suppress the negative results that remain.

How do you analyse the damage first?

Before you proceed towards the ways of getting out of the crisis, it is important to analyse the damage that has been done to your online reputation while you were coming through it. Because of the media storm during the crisis, your search results are likely to be covered with layers of negative media coverage. So the first and foremost step is to Google your company's name and get a clear idea of the damage done to your reputation.

Be systematic about it. Note every negative result on the first two pages, where it sits, which site it is on, and whether it is a news article, a forum thread, a review, or a complaint. That list becomes your target list, because removing negative search results and outranking the rest are two different jobs and you need to know which result belongs in which pile.

Does a crisis hurt your personal reputation too?

Yes. During a crisis the CEO of the company remains in the spotlight, and it hinders their reputation too. So after analysing the reputation of your company, analyse your personal reputation as well, because your personal reputation management affects your company's growth too.

A crisis can damage your credibility as a business leader. It may become the reason behind fewer career advancement opportunities for you. It also causes embarrassment for you in front of your family and friends. Managing your personal reputation is equally important as managing your firm's reputation, and the two search results feed each other.

What steps rebuild your online reputation after a crisis?

These are the few steps that you can take to move forward after a crisis. They will help you in rebuilding your brand's image.

Assess the damage. Search your brand name and your own name, and list every negative result that ranks.
Make realistic goals for your company. Decide what the first page should look like in three months and in six months, rather than expecting it to clear overnight.
Create strategies for yourself, such as whether you should launch a blog, build micro sites, or do both.
Publish as much positive content as you can. ORM is more about boosting positive content than pushing down negative content, and the positive assets are what eventually occupy the space.
Use tactical SEO for suppressing negative content, so the assets you publish actually outrank the crisis coverage instead of sitting on page three.

How long does reputation recovery take?

Last but not least, remember that restoring your reputation permanently, or for a longer duration, will take time. Search engines re-rank gradually, and new positive content needs to earn its position before it can displace what is already ranking. Be patient with the result and you will surely see the benefits that you want.

While the suppression work runs in the background, keep collecting fresh feedback. Steady review generation gives search engines a constant supply of current, positive signals about your business, which is exactly what makes a crisis look like old news.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to recover an online reputation after a crisis?

There is no fixed timeline. Restoring your reputation permanently, or for a longer duration, takes time, because search engines re-rank gradually and new positive content has to earn its position before it displaces the crisis coverage. Be patient with the result and you will see the benefits you want.

What is the first step in recovering from a reputation crisis?

Analyse the damage. Google your company's name and note every negative result that ranks on the first two pages, what type of page it is, and which site it sits on. You cannot plan a recovery until you know exactly what a prospect sees when they search for you.

Should I remove negative content or publish positive content?

Both, in that order of effort. Online reputation management is more about boosting positive content than pushing down negative content, so publishing at volume and using tactical SEO does most of the work. Removal is the right route for content that breaks a platform's policies or the law.

Does a company crisis affect my personal reputation as well?

Yes. During a crisis the CEO stays in the spotlight, which damages their credibility as a business leader, reduces career advancement opportunities, and causes embarrassment in front of family and friends. Managing your personal reputation is as important as managing the firm's.

Can I recover my reputation myself, or do I need an agency?

You can start yourself with the steps above. But reputation repair spans SEO, analytics, content creation, PR, and crisis management, and doing it half way can cause more harm than good. An experienced online reputation management company handles the whole sequence, which is why most businesses hire one for the heavy lifting.