Internet defamation can have a decidedly bad impact on your business and your personal life. Search engines make it possible to bring up information that is years out of date, completely inaccurate, or even about someone else who shares your name. You could be losing customers because a business with a similar name in another state gave its own customers a bad experience, and they rightfully posted complaints online for the world to see. You may even be the victim of malicious competitors who will libel your business in an attempt to mislead customers who would normally be inclined to buy from you.
There are a variety of ways to deal with online defamation. If you look up your name in the search engines and find out that there is false or distorted information about you, then some form of reputation management is necessary to restore your good name. Because we aren’t lawyers, we can’t give advice about legal avenues, but here are some alternatives to litigation that help people remove negative information from search engine listings.
- Contact the site owner. In many cases site owners will remove negative or defamatory information from forums if requested. Sometimes the webmaster is someone with a real or perceived customer service issue with your company, and resolving the issue is one way of getting the posting removed. If the information is on RipoffReport.com, then you are not likely to get the posting removed.
- Push the information down. If you can’t take the postings off the internet, you can improve positive reviews of yourself and your service. One way to do this is by creating new sites that sing your praises. Another way is to increase the search engine rankings for existing websites that talk about you in a positive tone. Good news can chase bad listings onto the second or third page of search engine results, where it is much less likely to be found.
- Improve your public relations presence. Submit press releases through online channels. Add new pages to your website, and get positive news that outweighs the negatives. There are many charities that will thank you on your website if you make a contribution or help sponsor an event. Local and state governments often mention companies positively when they volunteer or help with an initiative. When all else fails, toot your own horn and ask employees and friends to add postings about you to their blogs and online social networks.
In the meantime, address the issue with your customers if it is false. Make sure you have talking points if you are asked about the posting, and explain why the online defamation is inaccurate. If the libelous information is well known, you can post an explanation that preemptively diffuses the issue by discussing it in general terms. Usually it is best to avoid naming the guilty party, or the party you suspect. However, you should not link to the offending website or respond in forums unless you absolutely have to, because responding usually makes the post relevant and gives it new life.
If you aren’t proficient in DIY reputation management, you can hire a search engine optimization company to help you. There are quite a few methods for removing or reducing the impact of negative publicity about you or your business from the search engines. Search engine reputation management professionals can do everything from contacting the offending sites to creating multiple websites that talk about you in a positive manner.
Tags: internet defamation, online defamation, reputation management
