protecting yourself and your business online

Protecting Yourself and Your Business Online

Protecting Yourself and Your Business OnlineMark WidawerWest Hills [email protected]

Mark Widawer speaking on Internet Marketing in Singapore.

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Creating strong and persistent rankings for keywords relevant to your business can be easy if you do it right.

And you can get not just ONE page listed on page 1 of Googlebut SEVERAL.

But great rankings on Google for keywords related to your business arent the whole story.

You also need to rank well for your own business name. You need to be in control of what the public sees when they Google you.

What if Your Prospects And Clientscould no longer find you online? could no longer call you?were convinced you were out of business, or were dishonest or did poor quality work. And on top of all of thatWhat if there was nothing you could do about it?

This search for a local attorney looks okay until you realize that the phone number listed is not his.

It was wrong on Bing, too. And not only that, it was a phone number for an Attorney Referral Service that said that the number was no longer in service!

Ask how long people have been working at their jobs, owned their businessAsk what it would be like if all of a sudden, someone 9

Is this a problem?Lets Listen

Three Ways That You And Your Business Are At RiskStolen or Incorrect online profilesStolen or Hi-jacked WebsitesMalicious reviews

So what!?!?Lost SalesJeopardized ReputationExpensive tech costs of recoveryExpensive legal battleand all of that boils down toIts bad for your business.

Problem #1: Stolen or Incorrect ProfilesYou are more at risk if you dont have a website.Why?Because you might have no way to fight back and be the definitive word on who you are and where to find you!

Stolen or Incorrect ProfilesWhere could those stolen or incorrect profiles appear?Search EnginesMaps on the search enginesSocial Media Sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc)Review Sites (Yelp, Foursquare, Angies List)Directories like YP.com, Superpages.com, CitySearch.com

Solution: Stolen ProfilesClaim your business on all of these sites:GoogleYahooBingYelpFourSquareYellow Pages sites (There are too many of these to do individually. See shortcut for these on your handout.)Create an Account or Profile on these sites:FacebookTwitterLinkedInAnd any other industry-related sites or directories for your kind of business.

Solution: Stolen ProfilesYou want to make sure that everyone who searches for you and your business, actually finds you and your business, and that the information that they find is correct.

Problem #2: Stolen or Hijacked Domain NamesMy Most Popular Post:

Is Your Web Developer Holding You Hostage?

Solution: Stolen Websites and Domain NamesIf you are building a website, always register your own domain namesNever let your web developer or anyone else register your domain name for you.Never let your web developer host your website for you. Buy a domain name for your business even if you arent planning on putting up a website now. And to help protect your personal reputation, buy a domain for your personal name, too.

Problem #3: Malicious ReviewsEvery business person knows thatWhen people are happy with your business, theyll tell a few people. When people are upset with your business, theyll tell dozens or hundreds of people. And when people are really ticked off, theyll stop at nothing to make your life miserable.

Consequence: Malicious ReviewsWhen people search for you, they find bad reviewsPeople who would become your customers end up as someone elses customersYour reputation is compromised. Youre on the defensiveYou might be forced to react by dropping your prices You need to spend a lot of time and money to fix it.

Malicious ReviewsMalicious reviews can be found on hundreds of sites, includingYelpRipOffReportComplaintsListBBBand lots more

Solution: Malicious ReviewsHave enough content on the web that is positive or that YOU control so that any negative reviews never make it to page 1.Make profiles or claim your business on social media and review sites.Ask your best clients to write legitimate reviews for you.Build your own website so that YOU control the definitive message that your prospects and clients see about you.

So What Happened To Doug?

We claimed his profiles, and are now working on a new website and social media presence for Doug.

Ask how long people have been working at their jobs, owned their businessAsk what it would be like if all of a sudden, someone 24

By the way, we fixed Bing, too.

But there was one other thing

Make sure you think about the images that are posted for you (or people who share your name), and that your own photos show up on top.

Doug is the second phot in the second rowbut most peoples eyes are drawn to the second person in the FIRST row.

Well fix that, too.

Want a copy of this presentation? Give me your business card, or email me. Ill send you an email with a link to this presentation on SlideShare, plus some other information to help you with your business online.

Mark WidawerWest Hills [email protected]