How Does Your Company Look on the Internet?

When you read the title of this article, did your mind first think of your company’s website and all the things in it?  If so, there’s so much more you need to be aware of when it comes to your company’s image and reputation.

The contents and image of your company website is entirely in your control.  You decide what goes in the website and how the site looks.  You have the ability to update the information regularly and determine the tone and message you want to give out.

As a company, you also have control over any tweeting or blogs that come out of your website or social network sites.  After all, the individuals posting these comments are either your employees or independent contractors that you hired to help you in your marketing initiatives.

But what about what others are saying about you on the Internet? 

Go on any search engine and type in your company’s name.  Now go through each search result.  Hopefully, the first result that pops up is your company’s home page.  If not, you’ll need to look into search engine optimization tools to improve the visibility of your site. 

What do the other search results reveal about your company?  Are they links to some of your vendors or clients?  Are they links to customer feedback sites?  If so, what do customers say about your company?  Are the comments positive or negative?  Are the comments specific enough to provide you with information to assess the validity of the comment or take action if improvement is needed?

Is it important to your organization to have a high number of followers on Facebook or to be connected to a certain number of individuals on LinkedIn?  If so, what is your company doing to achieve these goals?

The Internet is a vast universe filled with opportunities and drawbacks.  Once information is posted, the information becomes available to anyone with access so it’s important that your company regularly monitor the Internet and engage in ongoing public relations and marketing activities to improve your image and visibility.

This article should not be construed as legal advice.