SEO is definitely a long-term play. While there are some things you can do to prepare yourself for a crisis, it is not a tool quick response tool that can be turned on once a problem arises.
One of the main issues of a PR crisis is that negative news is released and potentially shows up on many publication sites. These sites typically have high authority in search results. This can drown out your positive message and your voice when you try to tell your side of the story.
The first thing your Public Relations team should do (most likely under the direction of your legal team) is getting your side of the message out there and visible. This may mean talking to many of the publications that have published the negative side of the story. Or other outlets. This will get your message into search the same way the negative press has too.
How Can SEO Help With A Crisis?
If you have the luxury of knowing that bad news is coming, you can somewhat get ahead of it. Here are a few things to you should be doing:
- Make sure that you have secured and updated your local listings. There are 4 you should look at first.
- If you have employees you should also claim your listing on the following platforms.
- Glassdoor – this is a site where employees can anonymously rate companies where they work or have worked. It can be a good way to gain insight into a company’s culture. With the free account you can respond to reviews and control the conversation on your company’s profile.
- Social Media platforms.
- Facebook (Pages) This is often thought of as a more consumer facing platform, but even when a B2B client searches a company name, an active Facebook page will likely show up in the top 10 results. Plus, people can also leave reviews of you company here.
- LinkedIn Company Pages: If you’re running a business you should have one of these already. If not set one up now! LinkedIn in was founded as the social network for business. So having an up to date and active page is important. This will also typically have a high ranking in search.
- Other social media platforms. Setting up a company profile on other social media platforms can also aid in filling the 10 search results. Some other examples include; Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram (Owned by Facebook), etc.
- Reviews. Search engines look at this as a way of showing that you and your site are legit
- Ask your best clients or customers for reviews on the local platforms. Plus search engines may show them in search results as well.
- Social media platforms such Facebook allow for reviews as well.
- Have you been producing content? If not start now! Regularly publishing content to your site that is relevant to your company’s products and services as well as the industry will help you gain more exposure. This will also help push
Reputation Management
Over time you can move up the rankings and push the negative press down. It is not an instantaneous action, this is a long-term, multi-platform effort and is sometimes dubbed as “Reputation Management.” This can be achieved with a carefully thought out content plan that includes the company blog, social media platforms, local listings, acquiring positive reviews, and outreach to publication and other sites.
Need help building your reputation management plan? Contact us and we can get started right away.
