I agree. Having a strong online presence *before* your brand or reputation are called into question is critical, including good SEO. It’s like insurance. It’s been my experience, however, that most companies don’t do it.

Individuals are much, much better at “winning” a search engine war because they can remain focused on it, while larger entities, like corporations, make slower and more cautious decisions.

Much like your excellent PPT deck, I have worked with Fortune 100 companies who are shocked to find http://www.THEIR_COMPANY-sucks.com. While the companies with whom I have worked often have the financial resources to swamp an individual “attack” site, it is often plagued by slow decision making or NO decision making because they just don’t get it.

Thanks for responding, reading and commenting. I am going to churn out Part II of the article for Media Bullseye tomorrow that will address “tipping points” if and when organizations should react.

Best,
Mark

I just read your Bullseye article and had to agree that Google problems are often underlaid by business problems.

But from a more proactive standpoint, much like crisis communications training, if you lay the foundation of your online reputation before a crisis you are likely to fare better if something does happen – granted that it isn’t illegal, etc.

One other thing. There are trolls out there that would seek to damage your reputation (especially from a personal level) without an underlying business problem. It is critical to have a strong online presence to counter this.