Six Tips For Hacking Your Reputation in SERPs
Once you audit your digital reputation, it’s time to start hacking it. That’s right – you control some of what shows up, if you know how to approach it. Today we’re sharing six of the best digital reputation management hacks anyone can implement for free. That’s right – these are things you dedicate some time to each week and see results.
Our Favorite Digital Reputation Hacks
Some of these you may know; others may come as a surprise. A balance of each will help you control what people perceive when they Google your name.
1. Optimize Your Website
Your website must be keyword optimized for your name and your brand in addition to the industry keywords you want to rank for. Need a refresher? Our “Get A Green Light” series is one of the best primers on optimizing out there. Start here and go through all four. Oh, and yes: you must have a website. See next week’s post for more information on this!
2. Update Your Website
Speaking of websites, one of the most common problems we see these days are individuals and brands who only have social media. While this might work for Instagram models and YouTube personalities with followers in the millions, it does not work for average citizens. A Facebook page will come up if someone looks for your brand specifically. But if they are looking for more typical searches like “Best Brunch Princeton,” you need a regularly updated website.
3. Get Your Best Face Forward
In last week’s example one of the complaints our analog staff member had was that her official headshot isn’t showing up. Instead, someone else and her old, shot with an iPhone, too-hipster-with-filters-and-half-a face profile pic come up. Make sure to unoptimize old pictures on your site – that’s right! – and start using images of yourself you want to show up. Make sure that these have a file name and alt tag that are optimized for your name and brand. Google can’t read images so these encoded bits of info are important – this is a commonly overlooked hack!
4. Be Proactive
When our analog staff member went through her audit she found a random Facebook post where she asked about a hold up happening at the bank across the street from her home. Since then it has appeared as her second result when she searches her name on Google. She deleted the result a month ago but it’s still coming up (Facebook’s vast size means it will take a while to catch up). When you can, find time to go through your old Facebook posts and delete those that could detract from your brand. Any posts not showing yourself in your best light, are completely unrelated to your brand or that include images you don’t like should get the ax.
5. Have Others Use Your Name
One of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make is writing guest content and not making sure it is optimized for their name or brand. Especially when the content will appear on sites with a high Domain Authority. Same as any press – make sure it’s optimized. How? If a local newspaper is covering you offer to have them send the questions and say you’ll email them back – then write them so that they are optimized thus increasing your image.
6. Schedule Regular Check-Ins
The Internet is huge so Google’s spiders have much work to do crawling and reindexing and updating. Googling your name too frequently will do nothing but drive you crazy. Schedule time monthly or even every over month to do an audit and see how you’re doing. Track any new content you created along with results you’ve never seen before.
Need Help With Digital Reputation Management?
Digital Firefly Marketing has some of the best digital reputation management experts in the industry ready to tackle your problem, whether it’s highlighting a recent achievement or pushing down that embarrassing high school yearbook photo. Contact us today to learn how we can help you shine on Google.