The Unobvious Reason Site Reputation Matters

Your most important contact with your future customers may happen before you ever interact with them. That’s because long before you make a connection, they’ll have heard of you, as they’re likely to Google your business and see what other people think before they ever consider walking through the door.

So your reputation isn’t just determining who you get as a customer; it’s establishing your past, present, and future identity as a company. That’s why businesses need to be proactive when it comes to curating their online identity. Gone are the days when customers try to put their best face forward and hope the reviews follow.

While it’s easy to assume reputation will follow quality, here are some reasons why it may not be so simple, and how a proactive approach can make a big difference.

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What Is Site Reputation?

Site reputation is a lot more than just the product or services your company provides; it encompasses every part of your online reputation – from your customer service to your interaction on public platforms.

You’d be surprised by just how many promising companies saw their reputation plummet when one loose-lipped intern decided to share their political opinions on social media.

Search engines crawl the internet for any mention of a company, positive or negative. This is because it’s not just your reputation on the line when a website is linked – it’s the search engine’s reputation too.

If they link to a site with spyware, inappropriate images, or other liabilities, they could take a reputation hit or even find themselves open to legal issues.

So how does a website improve its site reputation, you ask? It’s easier than it might appear.

Many of the best practices for running a website will also help your sire reputation. Optimizing your website for easy use, making sure your cybersecurity is up to date, and providing a positive customer service experience will help make sure any unhappy customers receive an ideal resolution.

Site reputation always played a role in search engine rankings, but never more than it does now. In the earlier days, companies were more focused on watching traffic.

But as sites became more effective at luring people to their sites without actually converting that into positive interactions, search engine sites began curating their results more accurately to account for reputation.

Not only does your online reputation affect your website, but it can affect you off the internet.

Patrons are more likely to patronize a business in person when it has a positive reputation, and talent will want to hear good things before they consider a partnership. Augmenting your online reputation is one of the most important ways a business can boost its prospects.

Beyond Reputation For SEO

Site reputation creates a ripple effect not just in your business but across the industry it’s a part of.

Businesses are constantly watching each other, and a company that succeeds provides valuable lessons – as does one that stumbles. The odds are that competitors are watching your decisions, and it will play a significant role in how they proceed.

So what makes a business stand out when it comes to site reputation? A big part is the content you provide, particularly on your website or blog. Customers are looking for trustworthy, high-quality content, and they have been proven to prefer user-generated content.

This means that featuring positive reviews on your website can be well worth it – if you have them. Site reputation is an intangible factor and can’t always be judged accurately right out of the gate. Most companies make mistakes before their site reputation has solidified.

That’s why it’s especially important to have the information you need to make key decisions and revise your business plan.

One of the best sources for the information you’ll need is not your website but those of your competitors. They’re making the same attempts you are, and you can learn from their successes – and their mistakes.

You can use content explorer and other tools from Ahrefs to explore not just your own site statistics but many of those from your direct competitors and predecessors.

Build A Reputation For Quality

Your site reputation can build slowly, but it’s not always easy to change direction once it gets rolling. That’s why creating a proactive approach to build and improve your online reputation as you go is critical to long-term success.

Some simple strategies can ensure that when your customers and business partners Google you, they see a consistent reputation for quality.

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