Reputation Armor

Reputation Armor has been on a backlink (DoFollow Link) kick lately, because we want our clients to understand the importance of them. If you’re willing to work at it for a while, then the Reputation Armor process for building strong do-follow backlinks is the route you will want to take.

Reputation Armor (ReputationArmor.com) Step One: Research What Other Sites Are Linking To

Reputation Armor recommends that the sites that already have quality DoFollw backlinks are searched out. Good content attracts good links, as site owners feel compelled to share it with their audience. You will be looking for pages with a ton of backlinks because they’ve already proven to have link worthy content.

To find out which blog posts have attracted the most inbound links, follow the subsequent Reputation Armor process. Note: for this entire blog post, we’ll use a hypothetical example of ReputationArmor.com, an online reputation management firm looking to attract links, traffic and attention.

Install the SEO for Firefox plugin (it’s free!)

Run a search in Google (for this example, Reputation Armor is running a query for “online reputation management”), select “show options” button (below the search box, left) and click “blogs” from the categories

Click the “100″ option (just below the search box, right), which will give you the Top 100 search results

Once that’s resolved, click the “CSV” link (just below the search box, right) and export the results file

Firefox for SEO gives you a lot of great information, but for this exercise, we just want the data for the column “Y! Page Links,” so you can delete the rest. Sort the list by “Y! Page Links” from “largest to smallest.”

Reputation Armor now has a collection of all the blog posts about “online reputation management” that have attracted the most links. The next step in the process of building quality Dofollw backlinks is to discover which sites are linking to these posts.

Reputation Armor Step Two: Find Out Who’s Linking

Now that we know which content pieces are the link magnets, Reputation Armor next likes to find out who’s doing the linking. Why is the “who” important? It’s because these website owners have already pre-qualified themselves as link prospects by demonstrating their willingness to link out to a particular type of content, which in this example is content about “online reputation management.”  Reputation Armor finds that the chances are good that they might link to our ReputationArmor.com site about online reputation management.

So to find out the “who,” pull up the CSV dashboard we created above, opt for each of the top linking posts and drill down into their link profiles. This can be done using the “Yahoo Page Links” button on SEO for Firefox Toolbar. This produces a SERP list of all links pointing to this page, minus any internal site links from the root domain.

Reputation Armor Step Three: Find Out Why People are Linking

To create linkable content, Reputation Armor takes the step to determine why certain pieces of content attract links. This is actually the simplest step. People like content that entertains and engages them. So you’re the owner of the hypothetical ReputationArmor.com and you’re hunting for content ideas that will attract links, writing a post about the latest news in reputation management or a high profile case would seem to be beneficial. This brings us to our next step.

Reputation Armor Step Four: Create the Bait

To attract links like the top link worthy posts, Reputation Armor recommends creating something of similar value. We are definitely not recommending to outright copy it, but you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. You can absolutely do something comparable, but make it your own.

For example, take the premise above that people love content about high profile reputation management campaigns. There are multiple ways you can turn that intelligence into an effective content strategy. Reputation Armor has tossed together a few ideas for articles that we grade by degree of difficulty:

Easy: Create a blog post about a high profile online reputation management campaign: not the most original idea, but it will attract a random link or two.

Harder: Create an article about “Proven Online Reputation Management Techniques” This involves more work, but there’s more opportunity for links.

Ever Harder: Fire up your big brain, get super creative and start a contest on your ReputationArmor.com website. Create a contest page (with contest details, photo galleries and voting component), write a blog post announcing the contest and one announcing the winners. In Reputation Armor’s experience, the harder work put into a piece of content, the more links it attracts. This isn’t rocket science, but it bears mentioning.

Reputation Armor Step Five: Pimp Your Content

Okay, so it’s time to market your content. Reputation Armor recommends getting to work reaching out to the site owners, key influencers and bloggers for the sites in backlink profiles that you’ve gathered in your pitch list from step two. Don’t just ask them to link to your page about online reputation management in your request. That’s way too obvious and heavy-handed. Instead, you’re going use a more subtle approach, by writing to make them aware of your content and asking if they’d be willing to “share it” with their audience, as they’ve done with similar types of content.

Don’t fall for the trap that says all you need to do to attract links is create great content. Just because you write good content doesn’t mean the Web will automatically notice. You have to hit them over the head with it. It’s okay to be self promotional, in fact, it’s vital. Nobody else is going to market your content, so it’s up to you.

Reputation Armor’s Conclusion

Top ranking sites work very hard to acquire quality links. To rank among them, you need to apply the same level of effort to content strategy and DoFollow backlink marketing. If your goal is to outrank them, then you’ll need to go above and beyond. Dumping a ton of comment spam links on some “do follow” blogs isn’t going to get it done.

What is the difference between DoFollow and NoFollow Back Links?

Reputation Armor receives this question from time to time from our clients. So we would like to clarify the distinction between the two. These two terms are paramount in SEO vocabulary.

In order to talk links, we must discuss basic hyperlink code.

The following hyperlink, when added to a page, would direct the user to ReputationArmor.com by clicking on a link that looks like Reputation Armor

<a href=”http://www.reputationarmor.com”>Reputation Armor </a>

The same hyperlink with the NoFollow code added to it would direct the user to the same site,

Reputation Armor, but would not transfer any “Link Juice” to it.

<a rel=”nofollow” href=”http://www.reputationarmor.com”>Reputation Armor </a>

When the NoFollow code is added to a hyperlink, It tells any Search engine bot that happens upon it while crawling, “FYI, Do NOT crawl through this link & Don’t give it any of my search engine credit”

Do Follow links

Actually, any link that is NOT a No Follow link is a Do Follow link. In other words, every link is DoFollow unless specified otherwise.

So why would someone choose to assign a NoFollow tag to a link.

There are different reasons one would want to use the “nofollow” tag, here are a couple:

1)  Google recommends this for paid links. In essence, your sites page rank leaks a small amount of rank juice to the sites you link to (which in turn helps ranking. The principle of link building is to get that “Link Juice” from other sites).

2) NoFollow tags are used often on blogs. The main reason being, people looking to get some of the “Juice” from that blog will leave a comment (with a link back to their page) and then some link juice from that blog is then transferred to their site. Often times the comments are nothing but spam, and are of no relevance to the post.

A huge portion of an online reputation management (ORM) campaign with Reputation Armor is Reverse Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The question is, what is reverse SEO, and how does it help in concerns to reputation management?

Negative results on search engines are a pestilence to companies that do business online. Simply put, Reverse SEO is the practice of replacing the negative with the positive. Review sites and forums are content rich websites that are frequently updated with user generated content; this is the exact kind of thing that search engine crawlers look for.  And basically, any negative comments or posts they have about you or your company is going to rank well on the first page of the search results. This content is extremely hard to move in the search results, which is what Reputation Armor (ReputationArmor.com) does when using reverse SEO techniques.

Reputation Armor starts by analyzing the negative results to find what factors are making the negative page rank so high. Then the goal is to start creating better content and optimizing so that it outranks the negative review.

Sound straightforward?

Well it’s not as effortless as it sounds. The Reputation Armor technicians have been studying the way search engines determine the “relevancy” of pages for over 10 years. In the first couple years, a very intense; trial and error method was employed in order to find out what works and what doesn’t. However, the study of the algorithmic language of search engines doesn’t end there. Reputation Armor is very aware of the ever changing world of SEO. We pride ourselves in always being on the cutting edge of the industry.

That is where the problem rests with a lot of the reputation management companies in operation. Just because a method works today, doesn’t mean it will work tomorrow.

A growing number of companies are starting to see the value of a proactive online reputation management approach. Reputation Armor observes, through our clients, how much time and money could be saved through this approach. Boasting a strong, preemptive online reputation is crucial at a time when the negative comes knocking at the door of a company.  The chief reasoning behind this is it is negative results will have a harder time penetrating all the anticipatory effort in the first place.

Make sure you have a strong online presence. Social networking sites are not just used by young professionals. You and/or your business need to stay up-to-date. Present and future clients, customers, business contacts, and potential employers will look you up. The information they find can affect their buying or hiring decisions. If you don’t want others knowing certain things about you, keep in mind that you control what information you post.

Think before you post. Things you put on your websites and forum sites can and will come back to haunt you. Any pictures you show or updates you write are public. Even if your account has privacy settings activated, your information is never completely secure. If you are questioning whether your post is appropriate, ask yourself, would you get into trouble if your boss saw it? If the answer is “yes,” don’t post it!

Reputation Armor notes: “Facebook’s 400 million users are under attack by spam that could contaminate their computers with malicious software designed to steals passwords and other data, according to security researchers at McAfee.” Reputation Armor wants our clients and loyal readers to know that if you get an e-mail from Facebook saying that they have reset your password and you must download a file to reclaim it, DO NOT open the file. Facebook states that they will never automatically reset your password for you; they will require you to go through a process to change it.

Reputation Armor observes that in the age we live in, users can never be careful enough about internet privacy and safety. When in doubt, never open or respond to a message or email.  The use of email scanning software can greatly reduce, although not eliminate, the chance of computer infection by means of malicious mail. At ReputationArmor.com we have also seen the rise in individuals falling victim to scams and spam that originate on social networking sites. We find that the reason people are more prone to these sort of attacks is that they feel comfortable sharing personal information there and feel that they are safe from outside assailants.

The Reputation Armor team is not only passionate about our clients Online Reputations, but their Web Security as well.

CompanyPond is an online profile site that allows you to create a highly visible profile about your company. The site does very well on search engines and is a great tool to use when trying to build or repair your online reputation.

ReputationArmor.com would like to create a CompanyPond profile for all of our clients, but we can’t make a profile without having access to an email address within your company (anything@YOURCOMPANYNAME.com). CompanyPond.com requires you to use an email address that is from your company website, which means you can not use any free email providers or your ISP’s email. They do this for verification reasons I suppose and do not what just anyone to be able to create an account about your business (Good Idea).

Jump on companypond.com and get started on creating your profile there. If you want to create a profile for an indiviuals name or the CEO of a company, you will need to use their sister website PeoplePond.com.

Check out Reputation Armor on CompanyPond and see what a profile looks like!

Reputation Armor forecasts the Top 10 Internet Scams for 2010 - forecasted by Reputation Armor

1. Identity theft and phishing - The black market for economic data on individuals is well renowned. Criminals try to steal your personal data using diverse techniques; phishing, social networks, telesales, hacking into websites, setting up spoof websites etc. Reputation Armor strongly urges customers not to share superfluous personal data with websites. If they are adamant that you provide your date of birth, post code etc. - don’t use your genuine ones.

2. Viruses and spyware - They are all over the place. Reputation Armor advises that it’s not possible to discern if you are visiting a contaminated website. If you download a pdf, it may or may not be infected. If you view a YouTube video, watch a flash ad, they may infect your computer too.

3. Advance fee scams - Reputation Armor has observed Nigerian and lottery scams for years, but they are still effective. Although there are over a hundred deviations to these scams they are all essentially the equal. They offer a large sum of money, but there is always a fee to pay before you get it.

4. Work from home and job scams - Reputation Armor has also seen these scams for years, but increasing unemployment will mean that more scams will be targeting vulnerable job seekers.

5. Fake or spoofed websites - Phishing, domain hi-jacking, posting in forums are just some of the ways criminals gain attention to their fake sites. These counterfeit online retailers offer a great deal, or impossible to find items, to attract victims. They set up a site for a short time, and then shut it down and start from scratch.

6. Economy related scams - Loan and debt consolidation scams increased throughout 2009. Reputation Armor believes that there will be new ones look out for, including repossession assistance and unemployment insurance.

7. Classified ads and auction scams - Reputation Armor has seen examples of scammers using local online classified ads, CraigsList etc. to find new victims. Then they contact sellers with fraud check scams, offering to purchase something or rent a room. They send a check for more cash than arranged for, along with an explanation as why you should send the additional money back to them or their friend. The check is of course a phony and they hope you wire the money before you find out.

8. Holiday Scams - Can’t afford a great holiday this year? Well the scammers know the credit crunch has hit the holiday budget. So, they are advertising some incredible deals. Unfortunately, the deals aren’t real.

9. Ticket Scams - Reputation Armor has found that large scale ticket fraud took place during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Criminals have fashioned counterfeit tickets for festivals, sporting events, concerts, and basically anything that for which a ticket is needed for admission. They sell them on online auction sites, classified ads or by setting up their own website.

10. Social Networking - Reputation Armor saw this sizzling scam really start heating up through 2009. A messages telling someone they are in a You Tube video or mentioned on Twitter. When they follow the link their computer gets infected. Dating scams, hacked accounts, and even imposters that make contact with friends and family stating that they are in trouble and require money - these are some of the most popular scams that Reputation Armor has seen associated with social networks.

“Reputation Armor” is an online reputation management firm that endeavors to continuously be on the cutting edge of any Industry related news in order to best serve our clients.

Reputation Armor designs content for people, not just search engines.

Never forgo quality content for the sake of SEO. This is a frequent mistake and can be very damaging to a company’ representation. Look at it like this, when the user finds your site, the objective is to engage, and intrigue them. Reputation Armor understands the importance of search engine optimization, but asks this question, why have a high ranking site that people who visit it can’t understand?

Choose the most relevant name for your Facebook Page - and don’t modify it.

Reputation Armor observes that selecting the correct name for your Facebook Page is imperative. With the lure to stuff your Page title with high value broad keywords - like Reputation Armor: Roanoke, Salem, Miami - ReputationArmor,  Online Reputation Management, reputationarmor.com & More” - this move will in fact injury your Page’s viral growth velocity inside Facebook more than it will facilitate it. For instance, if your page’s title comes out too spammed, fans will be unlikely to distribute it to their friends on their profile and more expectedly hide your updates from their News Feed. Facebook’s objective for Pages is that they accurately symbolize businesses and brands. Facebook will disable updates for generically named pages; effectively defusing the capability of attaining fans.

The bottom line: use your business’s real name as the name of your page. And once you pick your Page’s name, don’t change it. Facebook uses your Page name in the title of the Page, and since Google dings pages when their titles change, modifying your Facebook Page’s name will cost you SEO points.