Today (12th November 2010) Pontin's has been placed into administration with over 800 staff facing the chop. This follows a disastrous trading period where competition has been tough and clearly Pontin's has lost favor with holiday makers who have been flocking to rivals such as Butlin's who just announced record profits of 88 Million this year.

In the age of the Internet, holiday makers do everything from book their holidays online, to researching these destinations and looking at the feedback from other holiday goers. The last thing anyone wants is a nightmare holiday, but with online review sites allowing people to post their feedback where the rest of the world can quickly see, companies like Pontin's who have had a flurry of negative reviews posted about them have failed to manage their online reputations effectively and therefore is it any wonder that they have seen visitor numbers fall off a cliff? While their rivals blossom!

It should serve as a stark reminder to all businesses which have negative press online that if they do not effectively manage their online reputations they will no doubt suffer the wrath of the downturn.

What did Pontin's do wrong?

Unfortunately these days it is all too easy for a companies reputation to be tarnished. Any unhinged client or competitor can spread negative comments on bulletin boards anonymously which will be often displayed on the first page of results when someone searches for your company - resulting in unquantifiable damage to your companies reputation and sales.

The key to managing negative campaigns is to essentially push down negative complaints in the results (off the first page and as far away as possible) and replace these with positive and satisfied testimonials as well as other information which can deal directly with any legitimate complaints or smear tactics.

There are numerous tactics for such but a skilled hand is essential. There are no quick fixes such as claimed by some companies in this sector. Unless of course they have control over the said negative comments, because the Google algorithm is highly sophisticated to ensure against manipulation, results do naturally take some time. (more...)

Trying to remove bad links from the search results is not an easy task. There is no way to ask Google or other search engines to help you in this quest. The companies who host the negative comments etc. who offer some resolution for a fee are often simply scams designed to extort money from you.

It is a tougher technical challenge but much safer strategy to instead occupy the fist few pages of results about your name or brand and populate these results with positive reviews and testimonials.

It is no small task to do and a company without specific resources and expert knowledge in this area will often struggle to achieve any lasting or effective results. The emphases here is on lasting... As you want a solution from the start which will eliminate the chance of this type of attack on your company ever happening. (more...)

Today, the internet has become a huge virtual marketplace and it is important for any business to maintain a positive feedback or image on the web in order to do well. However, it is impossible not to get some negative reviews or listings. Read on to find out online reputation is very easily destroyed .

Online reputation management is the new system of information management, which when used effectively, displaces negative web pages including complaint forums and discussion groups and makes your company appear in a positive light in search listings.

It is important to improve your search listings so your website appears on the top of the page. But as much as SEO is important it does not repair the damage done by negative information. It is equally important to do this. (more...)

One of the most common tactics of unscrupulous competitors is to either steal traffic which is destine for your company, by ranking their product or service for your company name, or more nastily to smear your company image and reputation by leaving negative comments about you which then find there way into the top results for a search on your company name.

Obviously in such a competitive environment and with many unscrupulous tactics being openly employed it is often sensible to address the potential problem before it has even begun.

That said it is a legitimate tactic to commence a campaign to populate the top places in the search engine results for your company brand with positive reviews etc. about your brand, thus squeezing out any potential gaps which competitors could occupy and use to either steal your traffic or tarnish your reputation. (more...)

Companies need to take control of their online image now more so now than ever before. Since many large companies are almost solely reliant on the Internet for their trade, they simply can not afford to allow themselves to become easy targets of attacks on their reputations which are often carried out by unscrupulous competitors.

Leaving oneself open to this form of attack on the Internet can have devastating consequences for ones business. The last thing a company wants is when someone searches their name online to see a load of complaints and allegations accusing the companies of all sorts.

The best way to manage how you are perceived online is to factor this into your SEO strategy from the very start. Thus not only are you interested in ranking for the target search terms which will bring you trade but also you instigate a plan of action which effectively controls how your company appears when a search is made on the company name. (more...)

It is almost impossible to remove anything once it is online, the only sure way to control your online reputation is to manage this task as a serious part of your business strategy from the outset of your Internet marketing campaign.

Of course it goes without saying that every effort should be made internally to mitigate any legitimate complaints, ensuring problems do not reach a stage where the client is so angered that they resort to using the Internet to tarnish your reputation.

That said, it is also more often than not simply attacks which are mounted by nasty competitors who are envious of your companies success and would like to bring about as much damage as possible. (more...)

Many companies have found themselves the target of malicious and negative reviews on the infamous site ripp off report, where it is almost impossible to get the reviews removed (unless you pay them a lot of money) but there is a way to remove reviews from rippoff report according to the lawyers at Hutcherson Law. RipOffReport which allows anonymous posters to post complaints against companies which are unverified and unproven has been accused of being a scam set up to effectively extort money out of companies.

There are many such examples of erroneous negative claims made against companies using forums, blog posts, review sites and many other online resources to achieve the result of having a negative impact on a companies reputation.

To defend against such attacks which are often the result of competitors wishing to disrupt their rivals success, companies need to establish effective online reputation management campaigns. Here we provide you some tips as to how to deal with these forms of attack but given the nature of these problems each case has to be investigated and handled best according to the gravity of the problem and thus providing the most secure and elegant solution. (more...)

There are many articles on corporate reputation management, however what most them offer is based on traditional SEO practices which are often highly dubious and in many instances outright ineffective.

The main reason for this is that over the years Google has taken ever increasing measures to remove spam from the search results and what was until recently considered standard practice SEO advice such as listing your site in directories, or doing article submissions, or link swapping, etc. etc. are now practices which are almost totally ineffective as Google now recognize these 'techniques' and have taken extreme measures against them, in many cases penalizing companies which used such methods.

Thus what was recommended in articles and on forums or by professional agencies six months ago will probably not only be ineffective but could instead actually cause further damage. (more...)

Rebuilding your online reputation is a task which can take a few months if done correctly. The main aspect of any such campaign should be to replace any negative articles, reviews or comments etc. which dominate the search results for your brands, products, company name, Key staff etc. etc. and replace these with the more positive articles.

Great use can be made of new social media sites and blogs which show your company in a positive light!

By pushing these pages to the top of the search results we can squeeze out any competitors and malicious attacks on your corporate reputation! (more...)

Any company which does not have a corporate reputation management plan is effectively inviting trouble. It is extremely easy for a reputation to be tarnished by negative press, be they legitimate or spurious attacks by disgruntled ex employees, clients, competition etc. They can arrive from any number of sources and all be highly damaging to a reputation which took a lifetime to build.

More often than not the motives are indeed disingenuous and come from those with an agenda to harm the company for their own gains, normally competitive motives prevail but we have seen almost every motive one could imagine including disgruntled ex lovers.

The best corporate reputation management policy a company can employ is that of preemptive action, I.e. take action before any such problems arise to ensure your company not an easy target for such an attack. This can take carefully planing and a demand a few months effort. (more...)

There are an ever increasing number of companies coming under attack from unscrupulous competitors, ex employees and anyone with a grudge and enough time on their hands to submit a false complaint or allegation against your company in the hope that it will be seen by potentially new and existing clients, with the intention of creating enough doubt in their mind that they will continue searching looking at competing companies.

As such online scam complaints have become one of the most arduous problems for large and small companies who often have no idea how to avoid nor protect themselves against!

They are often almost impossible to have removed! Many allegations have been made against some of these so-called online review & feedback sites claiming that they exploit companies by accepting unsolicited complaints then charge for their removal! (more...)

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression” is a popular epigram from an unknown author. The quote is often used when dealing in tense, high stakes situations like business deals or trade agreements. In this brief article we are going to discuss the importance of first impressions and reputations when it comes to business relationships.

For starters, there is nothing short of a hurricane that can have a more damaging effect on a business than a poor reputation. Yes, price is important, but no matter how inexpensive your goods and services are, no one will want to work with you if your company has a number of negative reviews.

Can you change a negative reputation. ? A bad reputation, like skunk spray, is difficult to get rid of. Sure, you can fill the tub up with tomato juice and soak for a few hours, but the odour may still remain. That is why it is imperative for a company to set the tone and to write its own story from the start. (more...)

Many companies that are just starting out on the internet are shocked and appalled to find that their reputations have been sullied even before they open their virtual doors. How is this possible? Well, just like in the real world, businesses on the internet can be quite ruthless and they will stop at nothing to prevent a new competitor from capturing market share.

One common tactic of unscrupulous competitors is to plant spurious or calumnious reports on websites or blogs. Can they do this? Of course they can. There are no arbiters for truth and justice on the internet. It is all about who gets the information out there first and how they present it. No, it isn’t fair. But there is a solution. Internet reputation management is a popular new service that businesses on the internet can locate for a small fee. What do they do? Ordinarily, these companies will begin by completing an extensive internet search on the business that hires them. During these searches they look for any negative or disparaging information that has been posted anywhere on the web about your company.

They will record all of the websites where this information appears no matter how long it takes, often about a month. After they have located all of the negative information, they will turn to all of the positive commentary and testimonials that have been written about your company. This, in effect, is their ammunition against those that wish to harm your business. (more...)

In the past few months a number of high profile review sites have been accused of running extortion schemes. These sites are famous for posting reviews of local businesses, and since bad reviews can have a negative impact on companies, some sites have utilised a simple Extortion Scheme to increase income.

The way the scheme works is that website employees contact businesses with a high number of negative reviews and request payments that they euphemistically referred to as “advertising contracts.” What they really means is that they will remove the negative reviews and replace them with positive ones for a monthly fee.

However, the scheme is even more devious than it seems, since many websites are suspected of planting these unfavourable reviews in the first place. Basically, they have unscrupulous employees who compose bad reviews, which they then post on the sites. And after a few months have passed, they call the company in question and demand payment. (more...)

The euro rate is now in its seventh consecutive month of decline, its longest losing streak since the spring of 2000. Unfortunately, most experts see no end in sight until Europe addresses its troubling economic issues. The situation in Greece continues to weigh heavily on the euro. But it was bleak economic reports out of Hungary that sent the euro tumbling to a four-year low in early June.

The euro is particularly weak against the American dollar. On Friday, June 4th, it closed below the $1.20 mark for the first time in four years. The euro is now dangerously close to the $1.18 level, where the currency first traded when it was introduced in January, 1999. Though the pound has also been under pressure of late, it has still traded much better than the euro. At 85p against the decimated euro, the pound appears comparatively healthy. What does the fall of the euro mean for Europe?

As you might expect, the weakness of the euro has had far-reaching effects for every country that uses it. For one thing, the stocks and bonds of businesses in these nations are under pressure as European stock markets have fallen across the board. (more...)

Reputation management firms make beaucoup bucks these days claiming that they can remove damaging complaints posted by disgruntled users. But is it true? Let us take a moment to review.

Depending on the industry you compete in, review sites and forums give users the ability to post their own opinions and complaints about your products or services. Some of these reviews are honest and others are spurious. In fact, it is not at all uncommon for unscrupulous competitors to post negative comments on a review board to try to dissuade people from purchasing your products.

How can you remove online complaints? The truth is that reputation management firms cannot actually remove negative reviews. These reviews are protected by freedom of speech and even attorneys cannot force a website to delete them, even if they are dishonest. So, having them removed is highly unlikely. (more...)

Because online reputation is important for every business, more and more companies are advertising reputation management services. They claim that they can improve your standing on the internet by removing negative reviews from blogs, forums and review sites. But is this true?

Unfortunately, it is not. All of these sites are protected by free speech laws and they are not obligated to delete any opinion or review, even if it is untrue. That's right! Even if a review is a pack of lies that was designed to disparage your business, a site does not have to take it down.

The only problem is that specious reviews have become ever more common these days. Often, they are created by nefarious competitors who refuse to play fair. They believe that by belittling your business they can attract more customers for themselves. (more...)

When you browse the internet and search for information how do you know what you are reading is true?

For instance, if you go online and search for product reviews, how do you really know that you are reading a review from an actually customer and not a fake review planted by the seller? In some cases there is no way to tell the difference.

Fake Reviews are becoming increasingly popular in today's society because people are looking for ways to fool people into buying inferior products. There are a few ways that you can tell the difference between a real review and a fake one. (more...)

Online reputation management is becoming increasingly complex now that Google have entered the review and rating space. Former companies who have dominated online reviews in recent years like Yelp et el have faced a floury of allegations and charges accusing them of extorting local businesses owners who fight hard to protect their online reputation.

Now Google Hotpot has launched their service these results will soon be found in Google places and Google Maps search results:

As quoted by Google: (more...)