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Is Reputation Management a Viable Business or is it Snake Oil?

by nofearman
17 replies
I have considered for the past year or so to add Reputation Management services to my consulting business. However, from all I have read here and elsewhere I fear it has become another Online Marketing Snake Oil Salesmen tool as SEO had become long ago. Adwords is cluttered with RM ads, more BAD reviews about people getting ripped off by these guys, etc etc. Any thoughts?
#business #management #oil #reputation #snake #viable
  • Profile picture of the author xohaibx
    Are you kidding me? Many Online Reputation Management companies are killing it! It definitely is a viable business, but then that's only when you treat it as a real business. If you're looking to get rich quick then ORM is not for you. It takes time and dedication to not only get clients, but also to ensure you give them real value.
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  • Profile picture of the author MatthewWoodward
    ORM is hot and always will be!

    I've done work for clients cleaning up the search results for their name and the right clients (think property developers/legal) pay big money.

    One of my readers did this sort of work in LA and has just moved to Europe to set up his own business a couple months back and is killing it right now.
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  • Profile picture of the author sidneyng
    Any good examples of good reputation management companies out there?
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  • Profile picture of the author DeborahDera
    Absolutely viable.

    It's about preventing reputation errors and cleaning up the mistakes they have made (or minimizing the damage).

    I once got to work on a campaign to help reclaim the Google searches for a specific person's name. He made a MAJOR mistake while giving a presentation and his name went VIRAL via social media - while he was still presenting. For months, the only things you could find when you searched his name were blog posts and blurbs about the mistake he had made.

    Originally Posted by nofearman View Post

    I have considered for the past year or so to add Reputation Management services to my consulting business. However, from all I have read here and elsewhere I fear it has become another Online Marketing Snake Oil Salesmen tool as SEO had become long ago. Adwords is cluttered with RM ads, more BAD reviews about people getting ripped off by these guys, etc etc. Any thoughts?
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    • Profile picture of the author nofearman
      BUT, is it (or has it) developed the sorta sleazy, "used car salesman" type of reputation that SEO has? For those of you that have a REAL online business, you know what I mean. i.e. daily SPAM from SEO solicitations, endless stories of people being scammed by SEO companies, etc.

      When you Google "reputation management" you get the same "hard sell" advertisements that remind me of the SEO peddlers.
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    • Profile picture of the author addlet
      Originally Posted by DeborahDera View Post

      Absolutely viable.

      It's about preventing reputation errors and cleaning up the mistakes they have made (or minimizing the damage).

      I once got to work on a campaign to help reclaim the Google searches for a specific person's name. He made a MAJOR mistake while giving a presentation and his name went VIRAL via social media - while he was still presenting. For months, the only things you could find when you searched his name were blog posts and blurbs about the mistake he had made.

      What do you mean "clean up mistakes" if I post something on my FB page about whatever it is there for good ONLY I can remove it. All you can do is create a plethora of stuff for the same keyword phrases and try and push it down the SERPs. you will never get rid of it
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      • Profile picture of the author timpears
        Originally Posted by addlet View Post

        What do you mean "clean up mistakes" if I post something on my FB page about whatever it is there for good ONLY I can remove it. All you can do is create a plethora of stuff for the same keyword phrases and try and push it down the SERPs. you will never get rid of it
        And that is the point of it I think.

        My only question is how do you sell this service? The work is simple, OUTSOURCE.
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        Tim Pears

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  • Profile picture of the author ormexpert
    Online Rep Mgmt is such a "viable" business that I sell my ORM software to clients for $795 to $995 per month! I'm always open to reseller partnerships too. We spent a year and a half building this bad boy so it would be a shame to not get it out there and help my fellow warriors to build a crazy residual income with it as well.

    A lot of ORM is just a tailored form of SEO as well. Find a reliable outsourcer, some kickass software, and you're in the bucks, while providing your clients with a much needed service.
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    • Profile picture of the author nofearman
      Originally Posted by ormexpert View Post

      Online Rep Mgmt is such a "viable" business that I sell my ORM software to clients for $795 to $995 per month! I'm always open to reseller partnerships too. We spent a year and a half building this bad boy so it would be a shame to not get it out there and help my fellow warriors to build a crazy residual income with it as well.

      A lot of ORM is just a tailored form of SEO as well. Find a reliable outsourcer, some kickass software, and you're in the bucks, while providing your clients with a much needed service.
      Can you send me info ?
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    • Profile picture of the author brucetracy
      Originally Posted by ormexpert View Post

      Online Rep Mgmt is such a "viable" business that I sell my ORM software to clients for $795 to $995 per month! I'm always open to reseller partnerships too. We spent a year and a half building this bad boy so it would be a shame to not get it out there and help my fellow warriors to build a crazy residual income with it as well.

      A lot of ORM is just a tailored form of SEO as well. Find a reliable outsourcer, some kickass software, and you're in the bucks, while providing your clients with a much needed service.
      Hi.

      Please send me info as well? Thanks
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      • Profile picture of the author Steve B
        I recently read an article about a guy that was caught posting very libelous things on forums, blogs, review sites, etc about companies in the reputation management field. He pointed out all the ways these "sleazy" service providers were ripping people off.

        Turns out, this guy was running his own online reputation management business. He would "create" new customers by trying to ruin their reputation, then he would contact them to offer to fix the mess he had created. What a business model . . .

        Steve
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        • Profile picture of the author nik0
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Steve B View Post

          I recently read an article about a guy that was caught posting very libelous things on forums, blogs, review sites, etc about companies in the reputation management field. He pointed out all the ways these "sleazy" service providers were ripping people off.

          Turns out, this guy was running his own online reputation management business. He would "create" new customers by trying to ruin their reputation, then he would contact them to offer to fix the mess he had created. What a business model . . .

          Steve
          That's just bribe.
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  • Profile picture of the author addlet
    How can reputation management work?
    If you open up accounts on "behalf of your client" then the client has to be in the same same geographical region as the review you are posting otherwise as I have found the review will stay there for a few days and then get dropped.

    If you log into that account you opened on behalf of your client, you can see the review you wrote but it will still only show the number of reviews posted less yours. then when you log out of the account and then do a search again the review you wrote does not show.

    David Sprague suggests that clients have an ipad handy and when they have a happy customer, whip it out and ask them to write a review. the only problem with that is that it is against Google Terms of service. They say:

    Don't offer money or product to others to write reviews for your business or write negative reviews about a competitor. We also discourage specialized review stations or kiosks set up at your place of business for the sole purpose of soliciting reviews.

    Dont you think they could track the reviews posted to your ip address?

    Anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions on how to get around it?

    Thanks
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    • Profile picture of the author timpears
      Originally Posted by addlet View Post

      the only problem with that is that it is against Google Terms of service. They say:

      Don't offer money or product to others to write reviews for your business or write negative reviews about a competitor. We also discourage specialized review stations or kiosks set up at your place of business for the sole purpose of soliciting reviews.
      Forgive me, but SCREW GOOGLE. They don't own the internet, even though they think they do. You can do what you want to do, and Google can't stop you,.

      I get tired of people referring to what Google demands. What ever you think will work for you, go ahead and do it.
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      Tim Pears

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      • Profile picture of the author addlet
        they can when it comes to Google
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeff Lenney
    Shoot, I make some of my biggest client checks from online Rep Management jobs. I do RM for a few big name IM gurus and online businessmen and of course they pay big for quality results.
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  • Profile picture of the author dan11749
    Reputation management is viable, like most other ideas posted on this forum. It's the execution and presentation that is important. Make the owner mad/offended that people are talking trash about his business. Make it personal and he'll have no choice to bite.
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