Are Online Reputation Management (ORM) Agencies Ethical?

Описание: Are online reputation management agencies ethical?

Hi, this is Nik for TrustSignals.com

We live our lives online today, and that means how we appear in a Google search is important. This has led to the creation of a cottage industry known as online reputation management, or ORM. ORM agencies promise to operate behind the scenes to improve the results of Google searches for their clients. This includes activities to “push down” negative search results -- such as bad online reviews and news stories -- as well as to remove those results altogether.

While some ORM practitioners have high ethical standards, many work in a way that is inconsistent with the Public Relations Society of America’s Code of Ethics -- and ultimately risky for their clients’ reputations as well. They sell a “quick fix” versus the harder work of getting to the root of a reputation problem.

Some examples of these questionable practices include:

Creating fake reviews to try to push down negative reviews and increase a client’s star rating on review sites;
Buying backlinks in violation of Google’s policies to artificially improve the search position of positive content;
Buying mentions with under-the-table payments in articles on popular publications and blogs;
Creating Wikipedia pages for clients, when this is against Wikipedia’s guidelines;
Posting knowingly false information, such as claiming a client has given to charities or won awards that it hasn’t;

As ethical PR firms have gradually gotten up to speed on ORM in recent years, many are bringing a different mindset to online reputation -- one that takes the longer view.

The right way to improve a reputation includes:

Consulting with the client to get at the core of their reputational issues;
Developing a plan to communicate actual changes in the business to address these issues;
Responding to unhappy customers on social media and review sites and making amends;
Identifying happy customers through Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys and encouraging them to leave authentic positive reviews;
Earning positive media coverage to tell your side of the story and to show you have overcome your reputational issues.

Should you choose an agency to help you navigate this evolving landscape, be sure to choose one that adheres to ethical standards of conduct, such as PRSA’s Code of Ethics. It’s the right thing to do, and will achieve more lasting results over time.