Online searches reveal a lot about you, and if you aren’t careful, not all of it will be flattering. As many people have found, negative or out-of-context search results tied to their name can prove damaging to people’s professional growth opportunities. Many possible recruiters, employers, and clients are put off by the most trivial of offenses or the most virulent of baseless complaints, jeopardizing your career or business in the process.
While some more eccentric individuals can reduce the exposure of their name by being really reclusive, very few people can afford being so low-key. While the basics of taking care of your Internet privacy apply still apply, there is only so much you can do to keep less flattering aspects of your life distinct from your professional one. With this in mind, you could consider protecting your career opportunities or business prospects through online reputation management (ORM).
Whether you have a few unflattering listings in a search results page or are trying to keep your online footprint clean and trustworthy, ORM can keep negative entries about you from being readily visible online while ensuring that positive content about you and your career are visible in the first results pages in searches for your name.
While ORM is usually seen a last resort, it is by no means restricted solely for emergencies. Some of these ORM opening moves can be done by yourself; laying the foundations of an ORM campaign is as simple as increasing your online footprint through social media, choosing the appropriate site for the right purpose. Done well, it can help divert web traffic toward your professional achievements while increasing the visibility of your online résumé to more employers and customers.
Online reputation management can help you maintain and clean up a sterling professional image without resorting to reactionary measures. Leveraging ORM can maintain the desirability of your professional achievements and protect it from being marred by past events or slander.