Got Content? Make it Visible

In all reality, most of the "grunt" work required to have a good online reputation is done before a campaign is launched. All companies have tons of positive written content on everything from their mission statement to their individual products. It simply takes the know-how of search engines and how to make those positive things index highly in the search results. Given that 90% or more of people will do online research using a search engine on a product before they buy it, or a trip before they take, or a job before they apply, it makes sense to need those positive things to be highly visible. So take those testimonials and get them on your site, then get some links.

Granted, all major search engines will typically only index 1-2 pages of a given domain, meaning it is going to take 10 separate websites positively lauding your company's services / products to effectively manage an online reputation. For most companies, managing 10 sites is likely out of the question. That's where companies that specialize in ORM can help out by featuring positive content on their own network of sites, but there are also a ton of user-generated content sites out there where a small posting or a profile on your company can go a long way. Sites like Amazon, LinkedIn, Squidoo, Yahoo360, MySpace, etc. Posting a paragraph about yourself or your company on one of these sites will probably result in a top 10 ranking in the search engines for your name. Or you could start a blog just like this one. Think outside the box a little and you'll be vanquishing any negative / "flame" sites in no time.