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New data released by Rubicon Consulting shows that online reviews are second only to word of mouth when it comes to influencing consumer purchasing decisions.

Here’s other key points from the survey:

• The Web is the #2 resource for customer support information, after user manuals. It ranks ahead of calling the manufacturer or asking a dealer.
• Website categories that get the most daily usage are search, social communities like MySpace and Facebook, general news websites like CNN.com and NYTimes.com, and online banking.
• The websites that Americans value most are (in order), Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Wikipedia, and Facebook. Although Yahoo’s financial challenges have generated a lot of press attention, it continues to have a very large and loyal following.
• Young people (age 22 and under) are much noisier online than their elders. They account for about half of all the content and comments posted online.
• Facebook appears to be ahead of MySpace in terms of number of users in the US, and perceived value of the site.
• Despite extensive publicity, the community sites SecondLife and Twitter reach only a few percent of US Internet users.
• Democrats are more active online than Republicans. Democrats are more likely to participate in online communities, and say they are more heavily influenced in their voting decisions by information they find online.

Harry Max, a principal at Rubicon Consulting said, “Many companies downplay the importance of online communities because only a few percent of all Internet users contribute to them heavily. What they don’t understand is that most other Internet users read those reviews and rely on them heavily when making purchase decisions. Taking good care of online communities can be a huge money-saver for companies trying to get more marketing impact from limited budgets.”

I disagree. I think a lot of companies are interested in online communities but aren’t always sure how to engage consumers with them. However, with the economy the way it is, many companies are likely to cut social media first, as we saw in data released just the other day.

The biggest key to making sure you get good online reviews is to have a solid product or service. So, while you’re making those efficiencies in order to survive the slow economic times, make sure your products don’t suffer. Better yet, create efficient products and services and just watch those positive reviews come in.

To get the ball rolling, you might try pitching a few bloggers - especially mom bloggers if you have a product or service related to them.

Related Reading:
How to Bury Negative Online Mentions of You - Intermediate Level Tactics
Constructive feedback on online reputation management
SEO for Brand Reputation Management
Pssst. People are Talking… About Your Business!

The Internet Marketers of Delaware Vally (IM_DV) have organized an unconference as they are calling it on their website. But in reality, they have rounded up an impressive group of speakers and are offering attendance for only $21 for the 2 day event.

Our own Kevin Ryan will be speaking, along with many other well known names in our space. Li Evans, Kim Krause Berg, Greg Meyers, Debbie Weil, Geoff Livingston and Will Reynolds are just some of the featured speakers.

The event is being done in conjunction with PodCamp so there are many areas to pick up tips and learn. The sessions have been broken into Beginner, Intermediate and two Advanced programs with 40 sessions to choice from over the 2 days.

So if you are in the area I would suggest stopping by. Hey where else can you get a great cheese steak and a 2 day conference for under $30!

Online reputation management just became much more crucial. Google has enabled reviews and ratings for businesses, restaurants, etc via mobile. Now people don’t have to wait until they get home (and have time to cool down on the way?) to write a review after a negative (or perceived negative) experience.

On the flip side, you could encourage your customers to write a review if they had a positive experience.

Don’t freak out too much yet - it’s still not available for iPhone customers. But, it will be soon.

Never fear, we’ve got you covered. Read up on online reputation management to keep your virtual image afloat:

• How to Bury Negative Online Mentions of You - Intermediate Level Tactics
• Local Search Lives or Dies by User Reviews
• Constructive feedback on online reputation management
• Defining Yourself Through Search
• Search and Reputation: Your Brand Standing Is Your Shelf Landing
• Video Marketing and Brand Management Online
• Hospitality Social Media Marketing: Influence Critical Customer Reviews
• Women Execs Have Better Online Presence

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New Article - Do a due diligence before buying a franchise Posted By : Akhil Shahani :.. http://tinyurl.com/6ajqbw #
Do a due diligence before buying a franchise Posted By : Akhil Shahani: Through due diligence, a pr.. http://tinyurl.com/4uuq4a #
New Article - Getting Maximum Success from Internet Marketing Efforts Posted By : Aida.. http://tinyurl.com/6jrsbd #
Red Urine Indicates [...]

Yesterday I published a post on the Search Engine People site titled 50+ Sites to Help You Bury Negative Posts About You or Your Company!.

While the tactics mentioned may be enough to push some negative online mentions of you or your business to the second page of the search results or lower, in other cases they will not. The question then becomes; what else can you do when the initial tactics themselves aren’t enough, and you’ve got a negative piece about you ranking in the search results for an important phrase. Burying your head in the sand and hoping it goes away isn’t really a viable option. The answer … LOTS can be done!

Lets start with our goals … they’re progressive.

Progressive Goals:
Goal #1: First … bump the listing below the fold asap
then
Goal #2: Bump the listing off the first page of the search results for the given term(s)

With goals in hand, we can now consider tactics.

Tactics:
To Achieve Goal #1:

a. select the strongest 3-5 of those 50+ sites, where strong is a subjective assessment based on many factors. My personal assessment would be:

1. Digg
2. Twitter
3. Stumbleupon
4. MyBlogLog
5. Linkedin

b. establish a profile on each, where the profile name is the term/phrase the negative piece ranks for
c. get lots of friends on each of those sites … the more the better. It works best if you take an active role and participate. Each friend will result in an internal link back to your profile on that site, making it stronger.
d. within each site, you can see which profiles are the strongest in the offending engines’ eyes … the search engines themselves with rank them in order of importance given a simple search query (eg. site:twitter.com). Try to secure links from the strongest profiles first … they pass the most value.
e. join groups where possible too … often these will pass link power to your profile as well.
f. possibly create a social profiles menu on your site(s), and link to each of these profiles.

To Achieve Goal #2:

a. determine how far down you actually wish to push the piece. Beyond the first page will take a great deal of time and energy.
b. assuming you’ve already bumped the offending post below the fold, you need to select the number of sites you will need to use from the 50 + listed in the 50+ Sites to Help You Bury Negative Posts About You or Your Company! article.
c. follow the steps outlined above for each
d. within each (where possible) include links to all your other profiles on the other sites

Following these steps should be enough to push most negative mentions to the second page. If not, or if you don’t have the time and energy, do engage the services of a professional with experience in the space. Aside from the obvious value … its not a bad idea to take out profiles under your name anyway, just as a pre-emptive measure.

Please note … these tactics are by no means comprehensive or advanced. They’re just a relatively quick and efficient means for burying negative online mentions. Much more advanced tactics exist, which I will not delve into here.

Other great reference posts about reputation management include:
Glen Allsopp - What Is Online Reputation Management
Andy Beal - Free Online Reputation Management Beginner’s Guide
Todd Malicoat - Reputation Management Emancipation PRoclamation - 10 Ways to Own Yourself Online
Lee Odden - Basics of Online Reputation Management
Marty Weintraub - 9 Essential Tactics for Reputation Management in Social Media
Andy Beal - Buzz Monitoring: 26 Free Buzz Tracking Tools
David Wallace - Using Social Media to Help Manage Online Reputation

Condensing the essentials of search engine marketing into a one-hour session is a formidable challenge. This morning at SES London Dr. Ralph Wilson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Web Marketing Today, took on this challenge (In the interest of full disclosure I periodically write for this publication). Ralph provided a clear concise introduction to the lingo and processes for organic and paid search. As with any introduction, there is the challenge of offering enough meat on the bone to satisfy those who are at an intermediate or beyond level without losing the beginners. From the large number of delegates actively taking notes, Ralph’s presentation was very well-received and offered plenty for everyone.

All of us who either market or provide search engine marketing services would have benefited from this session, for Ralph offered a clear roadmap just what we must provide clients not yet familiar with our services and processes. There were some nuggets – “be sure to scatter clues throughout the site.” These are essential messages that we deliver to clients, but it is not until it is put in context that is truism comes alive, as it did for the audience this morning.

Google’s debut of the Ad Traffic Quality Resource Center closely follows the arrival of a similar service from Yahoo.Click fraud persists in plaguing advertisers and the search advertising companies that sell ad space. High-profile lawsuits have happened as a result of businesspeople contending not enough is being done to keep their budgets from being tapped [...]

Article marketing is one of the most effective marketing strategies around and the best thing is that it is virtually free to do. You just need to look at the way marketers are flocking towards article marketing to drive traffic to their sites and to create backlinks for search engine optimization…
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intermediate [...]

When you are practicing article marketing you will have to keep in mind several things and matters. Article marketing needs some experience and expertise. If you are new, then you should do it continuously to get some experience.
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article marketing secrets and tips for intermediate marketersRate this: 2.5