Reputation management, search engine optimization, and internet marketing should all be PRO-active, not reactive. Unfortunately, many companies do not seek out SEO or reputation management consultants until it is too late - until after they’ve gotten bad press or numerous negative reviews already, and now they need an SEO company to step in and fix the situation.

Now, we’ve written about reputation management and its role in search engine optimization and internet marketing before, however, this is one situation where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Working with an SEO firm to ensure that your website is on the top of the SERPs for both your brand name and keywords is something that should be done as part of your web development process, not something you do after you notice a few negative reviews on sites like Yelp or Citysearch (hint: hiring a web design company that understands SEO or has an SEO division is a smart idea).

Of course, not getting those negative reviews or press in the first place is ideal, but as we’ve said before, bad things can happen to good companies. Obviously, your company should be behaving ethically to begin with (SEO and reputation management can’t save a business that has already gone to the dark side), but hey, not every customer can be pleased (and some people just love to rain on others’ parades and complain). However, finding those reviews quickly, responding to them appropriately, and highlighting positives are all tactics that a good reputation management or SEO company can use to ensure your business presents its best face forward in the SERPs.