Google Yourself

Google yourself and see what comes up. Start with your company name.  Can you find your site? Are there any negative sites out there that are trashing your company? Google your industry, your product or service and the benefits you provide.  See if your potential customers can find you if they do not already know your name.  There are a number of ways to optimize your site to get to the top of these search lists both free and paid. If you have a web or computer service, ask them. If your provider does not know right away how to optimize your site, find a service that does.  There is a significant art to setting up key words and ads. It is also a moving target as the search engines are constantly evolving.  You can increase your web presence by advertising on well established sites such as Craig’s List which can drive people to your site. These are free or low cost but need to be updated constantly.

Look for disgruntled customers and former employees with a grudge spreading half truths and outright lies. I had a former customer who though I made too much money on the house I built for him and began making up “problems.” When we tried to come look at the alleged defects the customer said he did not want the hassle of repairs and would take a cash settlement. When we refused he went on chat rooms under an assumed name and started trashing the company. We could not prove it was him but after a threatening letter from our attorney it stopped.

Whether true or untrue you need to work to address the issues. If a customer is trashing you and the information is true then fix it. Hoping your future customers will not find the information is not a good strategy. You are likely getting more customers through internet sources. These customers are using the internet to research you, good and bad.

The important thing is to discover where you are on the internet, where you want to be and find a way to go from the first to the second.

Original content (c) Thomas Robinson 2010