Online reputation management is a key element of any search engine optimisation strategy. Many companies make the mistake of not addressing this area of internet marketing until it's too late.

However even with the best reputation management strategy in place you could still suffer from negative PR. Just how do you contain the potential damage that could ensue? When it comes to crisis management there are some simple steps that should be taken:

1. Firstly assess the reach of the negative content. Is it appearing in the top listings for your company name or is it lower down? The higher it's ranking the more difficult it will be to nudge it from the top spots.

2. Next look at who has posted the bad publicity. Do they have a large influence in your market? Are they an authority website? Again the greater influence the author of the negative content has, the more difficult it will be to remove the content.

3. What is the tone of the content? Is it blatantly defamatory or simply stating a reasonable and negative critique? Your response will be different dependant on the overall tone.

4. Is there any follow up content to the post such as comments and other related blogs and articles? Look at the viral effects of the content also.

Be aware that when trying to remove a negative listing the process can be long winded and a complaint should be filed against the individual that wrote it rather than the site hosting the content. Also keep in mind that it's possible to inadvertently 'beef up negative content' by creating a profile within a social networking site that links to your website and mentioning the product or brand frequently in response to a comments on another site. Take the positive approach of funnelling positive customers to strategically chosen review sites.

At www.searchengineoptimization.co.uk we offer companies online reputation management solutions.