Don't Want An Internet Presence? You May Already Have One

They say that no man is an island, and this could just as well be said for any business. Some people may be jealous of their privacy and actively try to not be "Googleable." Really, what they're doing by not creating their own Internet presence is allowing themselves' their image to be subject to the whims of other people.

You've probably head of the legend of voodoo dolls. In short, they're a miniature representation of a person that is in the possession of someone else. Supposedly, by manipulating or defacing this image, they can do harm to the person the doll represents.

This concept is a reality on the Internet. If you're not actively on the Internet, other people can define your image for you, and with potentially disastrous results for you. In fact, with such things as Google Maps, your image is already there, ready to be defaced. There even may be a picture of your storefront on Google Maps. Here are some of the ways your image can be defaced on the Internet.

It can be as simple as submitting negative customer reviews on local business directories. Chances are if you have a physical address for your business, that, at least, is your presence on the local business directories. This image can be altered by customer approval, customer complaints, teenage pranksters, and worst of all, your competition.

Customer reviews are a completely unavoidable reality in business. It's the monitoring and management of these reviews that count. You can show gratitude, give bonuses or otherwise reward the positive reviews. The negative reviews also have to be managed. Dealing with customer complaints in the appropriate way can be a boon for your business. You would more or less handle them in the same way as you would in-house complaints; i.e., you can console them by promises of better service and coupons.

Pranksters and slander from the competition require a slightly different approach. In all cases, you start with dialogue. If they prove to be unreasonable, you might have a prank or defamation by your competition. In either case, you may have grounds for a libel suit. If you can't appeal to their sensibilities, you can try those of the website owner. Explain to them your case and ask that the review be removed from their site. If it isn't, it's time to play hardball and threaten them with legal action.

Another way your image can be defaced on the Internet is by people pretending to be you. Some people will open websites pretending to be a business entity for a number of reasons. One is that they're trying to capitalize on your image. Another is that they're trying to actively defame you. In either case, you have to be able to address this issue.

The only way to defend your image on the Internet is to actively put it out there. To properly do it, you will need the assistance of a competent SEO firm. We are a firm that specializes in reputation management and Internet branding.