Free Online Reputation Management Blog

Matt Earle

May 13, 2022

Few people receive more attention than modern celebrities. Be they an actor, business tycoon, singer, or an artist, celebrities are followed fervently by their fans on every possible avenue available. This attention means that the reputations of high-profile celebrities are...

Reputation Marketing: The Strategies, Benefits, and Best Practices

Matt Earle

May 6, 2022

A company is only as successful as its reputation allows. A company that has a poor reputation will suffer since most customers will not want to use the services of a poorly reputed company. Therefore, it becomes critical for a...

The Ultimate Guide to Outranking Bad Reviews on Google

Matt Earle

Apr 30, 2022

A business is only as successful as its worst review, and having an abundance of poor reviews will devastate your reputation. Nowadays, there are a plethora of mediums that customers can use to review the quality of your services that...

7 Steps to Take to Restore Your Reputation After an Arrest

Matt Earle

Apr 22, 2022

Many things can severely impact your image in the eyes of the world. However, not all are as trivial as simply posting a disagreeable comment on social media. Sometimes, we find ourselves in legal trouble that puts us in a...

10 Ways to Rank Your Name in Google’s Search Engine Results

Matt Earle

Apr 15, 2022

When you operate a business of any kind, one of the biggest concerns is making sure your company's name is out there and readily available for any potential customers to see. Once upon a time, this simply meant that you...

5 Ways Guest Posts Can Help With Reputation Management

Matt Earle

Apr 8, 2022

The reputation of a company is an incredibly fragile thing. Unfortunately, many things can damage it with only a few avenues for repairing it. However, there are certainly options for reinforcing your reputation against future damages. Doing so can help...

How to Protect Your Company Reputation During a Lawsuit

Matt Earle

Apr 1, 2022

There are fewer detriments as severe as going through legal troubles when it comes to reputation. Lawsuits are traditionally levied against businesses when they have sufficiently wronged their customer base or violated specific commercial regulations. When something like this happens,...

Why Are My Reviews Not Matching My Product or Business?

Matt Earle

Mar 25, 2022

Reviews are a tool that allows the consumer to keep potential purchasers apprised of the quality of a product or service. It not only benefits the customer but also helps to circulate the reputation of the business. However, the entire...

FAQ: What is a Digital Footprint and Why Does It Matter?

Matt Earle

Mar 18, 2022

We live in a technologically advanced age where virtually anything and everything we do can be accomplished digitally. As we steer further into the skid of this new digital revolution, we come to rely more on it for day-to-day tasks....

The Ultimate Guide for Hotel Reputation Management

Matt Earle

Mar 11, 2022

Reputation is everything. After all, if you cannot be relied on to offer quality service, there will be a distinct lack of customers willing to defer to your services. For hospitality agencies like hotels, managing your reputation to appeal to...

[Guide] How to Report Libel and Slander on Facebook

Matt Earle

Mar 4, 2022

Facebook is the world's most-used social network, and that means it has all the highs and lows of human society encased in its digital walls. For every fun interaction, witty joke, humorous meme, or pleasant conversation with a friend, there's...

The Ultimate Guide to Glassdoor Reputation Management

Matt Earle

Feb 25, 2022

Glassdoor is one of the most prominent and important websites for businesses. It's a business review site, but with a twist, and that makes it crucial for an aspect of business many people forget needs optimization. What is that aspect?...

How Much Do Defamation Lawsuits Cost in Canada?

Matt Earle

Feb 18, 2022

Whenever we discuss reputation management, one topic that always comes up is that of defamation. Defamation – made up of slander (intangible, usually spoken) and libel (tangible, usually written) is a very specific kind of falsehood with a legal definition...

The Rise of Google Negative Review Extortion for Businesses

Matt Earle

Feb 11, 2022

It's no secret that Google is extremely powerful for building and maintaining a business. SEO is critical, but for local businesses, one thing stands out above the rest: Google reviews. Google puts user reviews at the forefront of their search...

How to Use Surveys to Track and Improve Your Reputation

Matt Earle

Feb 4, 2022

In marketing and business optimization, we all often talk about metrics and data. We use highly advanced analytics platforms to track user behavior, heat maps and session tracking to monitor how users are navigating sites, purchase behavior and engagement actions...

How to Use DMCA Takedowns for Reputation Management

Matt Earle

Jan 28, 2022

In the world of online reputation management, there are dozens of different techniques used by individuals, businesses, reputation firms, PR firms, and more. Many of these techniques are traditional, using the old-fashioned tools of word of mouth, reviews, testimonials, and...

A recent MUST READ article in The Walrus featured Reputation.ca prominently

James

Jan 26, 2022

A recent article in The Walrus featured Reputation.ca and Founder Matt Earle, as the publication went in-depth on this important topic with deep fact-checking and a poignant interview. There were also some key takeaways about reputation management that most people...

How to Tell If You’ve Been Hit with a Negative SEO Attack

Matt Earle

Jan 21, 2022

Negative SEO is a boogeyman in the online marketing industry. Some claim it doesn't exist. Others claim it does, and offer proof that may or may not be compelling. What is it, though, and how can you tell if you've...

Tutorial: Remove Your Name from Police Record Websites

Matt Earle

Jan 14, 2022

A lot of information about you as an individual is a matter of public record. Anyone can look up your name, your birthday, your home address; this is all public information. In fact, there's a lot more on this list...

[Guide] How to Outsource Your Social Media Content Updates

Matt Earle

Jan 7, 2022

One of the hardest parts of running social media profiles for your business is just how frequently you need to keep them up to date. According to studies: You should post on Facebook no less than three times per week...

10 Ways to Check Your Company Reputation Online

Matt Earle

Dec 31, 2021

We've written a lot on this blog about how to handle a negative reputation, how to boost your reputation by soliciting more positive reviews, and other aspects of reputation management. There's one thing, however, that we haven't touched on nearly...

How Long Do News Articles Stay Online? (With Removal Tips)

Matt Earle

Dec 24, 2021

There are two warring perspectives with the internet. The first is that "anything on the internet is transitory." Those of us who have been using the internet for years or decades know that sometimes, things just disappear. That YouTube video...

How to Remove Your Info and Opt Out of MyLife.com

Matt Earle

Dec 17, 2021

Whether you're just another person on the street or a high-profile public figure, there's information about you available online. Whether it's public records, social media, or less savory sources, anyone who wants to do the detective work can find out...

What Are Reputation Management Consultants and Are They Worth It?

Matt Earle

Dec 10, 2021

Reputation management often has a bad reputation as an industry, largely due to unscrupulous individuals using poor techniques with poor clients to attempt to subvert public perception. Don't let a few bad apples spoil the bunch and write off the...

[Guide] How to Verify Your Google Business Profile

Matt Earle

Dec 3, 2021

Out of all of the business aggregators and reviews sites online, which one do you think is the most important? Is it Yelp? The Better Business Bureau? TrustPilot? YP? The answer is none of the above. It's actually Google. Google...

A Reputation Management Guide on Slander vs Libel vs Defamation

Matt Earle

Nov 26, 2021

The world of reputation management is all about two things: Removing false and defamatory statements from the internet, so they don't hurt your reputation. Bolstering the positive reviews without resorting to false statements that can get your accounts penalized. When...

Who Keeps Editing My Wikipedia Page? (And What to Do Next)

Matt Earle

Nov 19, 2021

Wikipedia is an incredibly powerful resource for facts and history precisely because anyone can create an account and write what they know. Over time, it continues to grow, as experts in virtually any subject chime in with what they've spent...

Can Bad Reviews Hurt Your Search Engine Rankings?

Matt Earle

Nov 12, 2021

Negative reviews are tricky. Obviously, they can hurt your business. If a user is interested in your company and they search for your name, but what they find is a series of negative reviews, they're going to be less likely...

The Ultimate Guide to Online Reputation Management for Physicians

Matt Earle

Nov 5, 2021

In the past, medical providers didn't need to care much about their reputations. Patients would visit whatever practice was most local to them, within their insurance networks where relevant, and would be seen by the doctor available. The last decade...

Is It Possible to DIY Your Press Publication Strategy?

Matt Earle

Oct 29, 2021

Getting additional press for your business is a complicated process. You need to put in a lot of time and effort if you're not taking the shortcut of hiring a reputation management, public relations, or press company to do it...

[Updated] Giant List of Business Review Sites to Claim Your Profiles

Matt Earle

Oct 22, 2021

The first step of establishing an online presence for any business is to set up your own website. The second step is to claim your business profile on any relevant third-party site you can find. There are hundreds of such...

Reputation Management vs Public Relations: What’s The Difference?

Matt Earle

Oct 15, 2021

Do you know what the difference is between reputation management and public relations? On the surface, they seem like they're the same thing. Perhaps public relations is an older institution and deals more with the press, while reputation management is...

What Happened to TheDirty.com? Was Their Website Shut Down?

Matt Earle

Oct 8, 2021

The internet is full of websites designed to prey upon others. Some of them are actively malicious, some of them are meant to phish information, and still, others are essentially set up for blackmail. Few of them are as long-lived...

How to Manage Your Reputation by Setting Up Google Alerts

Matt Earle

Oct 1, 2021

Whether you're a national brand or a local entrepreneur, you want to manage your reputation online. Did you know that you have free, unrestricted access to one of the best reputation management tools available? That tool is Google Alerts, and...

Tutorial: Rank Your Social Media Profiles for Your Brand Name

Matt Earle

Sep 24, 2021

Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn. These are some of the biggest websites in the world. They're also websites that any business owner can use to promote themselves. And yet, far too often, we see clients who don't even rank on those sites...

Your Business Was Hit by a Review Bomb: Now What?

Matt Earle

Sep 17, 2021

Review bombs are a fact of life for businesses on the modern internet. They can occur at any time and for almost any reason. Sometimes they have a good reason behind them, and other times they don't. The question is...

Are The High Costs of Sponsored Content Really Worth It?

Matt Earle

Sep 10, 2021

One of the goals of every business is to get media coverage. Media coverage helps a business succeed. It builds awareness, so more people know about the business. It builds interest, as more people investigate the business and its offerings....

Why You Can’t Edit Your Wikipedia Page (And What to Do Instead)

Matt Earle

Sep 3, 2021

Wikipedia is a powerful source of authority for any business, individual, or entity. When a user wants to know who you are, they likely perform a Google search. Google, if you haven't paid conscious attention to it before, loves to...

What is a PR Firm? Roles, Responsibilities, and More

Matt Earle

Aug 27, 2021

If you've managed a business of any size, you've probably encountered PR firms. Some specialize in working with the largest businesses in the world, like Disney. Others work exclusively with smaller businesses, even those small mom-and-pop shops across the country....

20 Alternatives to Yext for Local SEO Optimization

Matt Earle

Aug 20, 2021

Local SEO is a mess. The internet has made it increasingly difficult to rank for any given local search, even within your area of operation. Between major national organizations dominating results, local out-of-area results outweighing yours, and a huge mess...

What Are the Laws in Canada on Fake Business Reviews?

Matt Earle

Aug 13, 2021

There are two ways in which fake reviews can impact your business. The first is when a competitor, a disgruntled employee, or a social movement decides to "review bomb" your business. This has become increasingly common over the last few...

[Guide] The Role and The Importance of Investor Relations

Matt Earle

Aug 6, 2021

A huge part of reputation management focuses on your business reputation amongst your customers. Current and former customers who leave negative reviews can tank your reputation and make it more difficult to get new customers. Since customers drive profits, there's...

12 Tips to Hire a LinkedIn Profile Writer to Optimize Your Profile

Matt Earle

Jul 30, 2021

LinkedIn is the biggest and best social network in the world for professional development. It's excellent for both individuals and businesses. Just look at the use cases: People fresh out of university, looking for a job, can network with their...

How to Email Your Customers and Ask for Reviews (With Templates)

Matt Earle

Jul 23, 2021

When you're dealing with reputation management, you need to address the problem from multiple angles. You need to identify negative reviews and get them removed, suppress them, or counteract them in some way. At the same time, you need to...

10 Reputation Management Tips for Lawyers and Law Firms

Matt Earle

Jul 16, 2021

Today, the internet is not a novelty you can ignore. As a law firm, you need to attract new clients, and traditional marketing channels can only do so much. If you're the kind of law firm advertising primarily on the...

Ungoogle Yourself: Is It Possible to Remove Your Name From Google?

Matt Earle

Jul 9, 2021

Every day, people reach out to reputation management firms with one question in mind: how can I remove information about me that comes up when someone Google searches my name? The truth is, you can only do so much, but...

How to Remove Fake or Defamatory PissedConsumer Complaints

Matt Earle

Jul 2, 2021

In the world of online review sites, there are generally two kinds of sites. The first category includes sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and TrustPilot. These are sites that aggregate business listings, and allow anyone to come in and leave reviews....

Your Name Shows a Negative Result on Google: What To Do Next

Matt Earle

Jun 18, 2021

Any time you're searching for your name online, you run the risk of seeing something you don't want to see. This is doubly true if you're trying to build up a personal brand, and triply true if you're a public...

Why Your Homepage Isn’t Showing Up for Your Brand Name

Matt Earle

Jun 11, 2021

You've done everything right. Your website is well-designed, with a mobile version that looks good. You're writing regularly, optimized for SEO. You're paying for ads, you've ensured your site is publicly accessible, and you're following all the guides. Yet, when...

Why Your Wikipedia Page Was Deleted (And What to Do)

Matt Earle

Jun 4, 2021

Having a Wikipedia page is generally a good thing for most businesses. It shows that, as a company, you're noteworthy, trustworthy, and valuable. It also gives you high-quality backlinks, both directly from Wikipedia, and from others who would link to...

How to Create Case Studies for Your Business (With Examples)

Matt Earle

May 28, 2021

Case studies are a strange niche in marketing. Some businesses love them. They serve as studiously presented and convincing examples of what a business can do for its clients and customers. A good case study can be a flagship example...

The Pros and Cons of Automating Business Review Responses

Matt Earle

May 21, 2021

Small businesses might struggle with getting reviews. Customers naturally only want to leave reviews when a product or service has a problem, and satisfied users rarely think to leave feedback. Larger businesses, or businesses with successful review solicitation processes, may...

How to Respond to a Negative Online Review (with Examples)

Matt Earle

May 14, 2021

It's difficult to deal with receiving a negative review, particularly for a product or service you've poured your heart and soul into. Yet, negative reviews are an inevitable part of the business. How you handle them says a lot about...

Reputation Recovery Plans: What to Do After the Crisis Is Over

Matt Earle

May 7, 2021

Every company needs a disaster recovery plan. If your office catches on fire, what are the next steps? If an earthquake demolishes the infrastructure of your city, how can you progress? If a computer virus infects your network and encrypts...

Can You Get Court and Legal Documents Removed from Justia?

Matt Earle

May 1, 2021

Any time a person goes through a court system, there will be legal records created for the occasion. These are everything from the paperwork and evidence filed to the dockets and court filings that are created as a matter of...

How to Get a Post Removed from TheDirty.com (Updated)

Matt Earle

Apr 23, 2021

Curiosity is always a double-edged sword. Sometimes you want to learn something, and it leads you down a rabbit hole and you lose hours of your day. Sometimes that's the best outcome. Searching for yourself online has the potential to...

Guide: How Do Guaranteed Review Removal Services Work?

Matt Earle

Apr 16, 2021

One thing you might have heard of when investigating reputation management is the concept of a Guaranteed Removal. It sounds tempting; a way to have information about you or a negative listing permanently removed, guaranteed. At least, that's what it...

How to Use Twitter for Reputation Management (and What to Avoid)

Matt Earle

Apr 9, 2021

Twitter is one of the most prominent venues for people to view your brand. With hundreds of millions of users, people will be talking about your brand, whether or not you have a presence on the site. It's your job...

How to Remove or Replace an Old Photo from Google Images

Matt Earle

Apr 2, 2021

Much has been written about removing your personal information from Google's organic web search, which often involves targeting data brokers and playing an eternal game of whack-a-mole with new sites that pop up. What we haven't covered, though, is removing...

Huge List of 100+ Sites to Opt Out of Selling Your Personal Info

Matt Earle

Mar 26, 2021

The modern internet is full of websites that exist for one reason: to harvest and sell personal information. While much of the information these sites broker is publicly available – name, phone number, mailing address, email address – some of...

Is It Possible to Remove Public Records from The Internet?

Matt Earle

Mar 19, 2021

The internet is a powerful tool to use for research. You can find a ton of information on just about any subject, from the economy of Sudan to the chemical reactions behind digestion to the biographical history of a famous...

What to Do if a Negative Social Media Post Appears on Google

Matt Earle

Mar 15, 2021

Decades and more ago, businesses could suppress bad press quite easily. When your primary means of distributing information was newspapers, it took a very bad story to get press in the first place. More importantly, it didn't take all that...

List of Methods to Remove Ripoff Report Complaints From The Web

Matt Earle

Mar 7, 2021

The internet abounds with review sites aimed at companies. Everything from Yelp and TripAdvisor to Trustpilot and the BBB, nearly all review sites allow you to create a profile, build a presence, and cultivate a review spread that represents your...

A Step-By-Step Guide to Disputing a Review on Google

Matt Earle

Feb 26, 2021

Whenever someone searches for your business on Google, they'll be presented with a business listing. This listing appears as a knowledge box on the right side of web search and shows information about your business like your location via the...

Reputation Defender Review: The Cost, Effectiveness, and Overall Value

Matt Earle

Feb 20, 2021

Reputation management companies and services are notoriously difficult to analyze by reading content online, and for obvious reasons. A company or service that specializes in managing a reputation should, you would think, be able to manage their own. You can’t...

The Ultimate Guide to Wikipedia Reputation Management and Editing

Matt Earle

Feb 12, 2021

Wikipedia is one of the most popular and most visited sites in the world, ranking #8, behind only giants like Google, YouTube, and Amazon. It's also a great source of information about just about any topic, with as much of...

9 Ways to Get More Positive Reviews Ethically and Legally

Matt Earle

Feb 6, 2021

One of the biggest lessons reputation management teaches businesses is that you can't get rid of all negative reviews. Some negative reviews are beneficial, and a company whose profile is universally positive looks sketchy. That said, if you have a...

How to Remove Court Cases and Legal Listings from Google

Matt Earle

Jan 29, 2021

Operating a business in a world like ours, where there's such a thing as a legal system, means being exposed to and having to deal with that legal system. As an incorporated entity or another form of business, you're exposed...

How to Fight Fake and Negative Reviews on Trustpilot

Matt Earle

Jan 21, 2021

Trustpilot is one of many online review aggregators, and one of the largest at that. Like Yelp and TripAdvisor, Trustpilot is a hub where tens of millions of people visit every month, looking to read reviews of a company prior...

Insurance for Business Start-ups

General In The News

admin

Nov 17, 2020

Today’s guest post is from Begin Insurance, a digital insurance brokerage offering car, home, life, travel and business in Ontario.

5 Ways to Create a Better Online Business Reputation

General ORM How To

admin

Jul 27, 2020

As a business owner, you know how one bad online review from a customer can put a damper on your day and potentially.

The Definitive Guide to Corporate Social Responsibility For Reputation Management

Matt Earle

May 20, 2020

In the internet age, maintaining a positive online reputation is crucial to the success of your business. Today, consumers are better informed and more critical than ever.

The Definitive Guide to Crisis Management Online and Offline

Matt Earle

May 20, 2020

Crisis management is a necessary component of any organization’s business model. In the age of the internet and social media, news goes viral in almost an instant and most businesses, at some point, will face a crisis.

The Definitive Guide to Maintaining Your Online Privacy

Matt Earle

May 20, 2020

In today’s connected world, someone, somewhere is typing your name into Google search and making a judgment based on what they find – good or bad.

The Definitive Guide to Responding on Online Reviews: Google Reviews, Facebook, TripAdvisor, RateMDs and More

Matt Earle

May 20, 2020

In the internet age, it’s easy (and convenient) to turn to Google or another online search engine and type in “company name + reviews” before purchasing a product or service.

The Definitive Guide to Online Defamation In Canada: How to Fight Back

Matt Earle

May 20, 2020

She’s a real ___________. He’s a cheater. Don’t do business with this company. They have no morals or ethics.

The Definitive Guide to Right to Be Forgotten in Canada

Matt Earle

May 19, 2020

Search for a name on Google and you never know what sort of results you’re going to get. Perhaps you once committed a criminal offence or were in a dispute with a business or individual.

5 Online Reputation Statistics Every Business Owner Should Know

ORM How To

admin

Feb 19, 2020

If you’ve Googled your business lately, you may be surprised to find out what customers are posting about you online.

B.C. Supreme Court rules in favor of plaintiff, orders defendant to pay up in online defamation case

admin

Jan 3, 2020

Another strike in the win column for anti-online defamation law and reputation management. A supreme court ruling in British Columbia has awarded the defendant in the latest case.

Reputation.ca President Matt Earle on Right to Be Forgotten-CBC The National

admin

May 1, 2018

Yesterday, CBC’s The National aired an in-depth segment on the issue of the right to be forgotten nd whether Canadians’ past wrongs.

Common Misconceptions Surrounding Digital Reputation Management

ORM How To

admin

May 25, 2017

There are plenty of misconceptions out there about how online reputations are created, damaged — and repaired. What you don’t know about online reputation management can hurt your brand.

Adult Friend Finder Data Leak – Reputation.ca Can Offer PROTECTION

admin

Nov 17, 2016

In the latest round of data breaches, this week Adult Friend Finder confirmed that their database had been breached, exposing the private information of millions of users of the site, as well as a

Reputation.ca Free Reputation Management Software on AmongTech

admin

Oct 18, 2016

Earlier this month, Reputation.ca introduced its free online reputation management software designed to help individuals and businesses more accurately see how they appear online. The software was picked up in a recent article on AmongTech as one of the 5 reputation...

What do I do about Ashley Madison extortion emails?

admin

Sep 29, 2015

Have you received an email like this? Unfortunately your data, including complete credit card details, was leaked in the recent hacking of Ashley Madison. Below is the glimpse of the data we have about you: Name: XXXX XXXXX Address: XX...

Reputation.ca on CBC Ottawa – Reputation.ca Offers PROTECTION from THEDIRTY.COM

admin

Sep 22, 2015

TheDirty.com has become infamous in the United States and Canada for posting libelous, many times downright false information about individuals. TheDirty.com has had more than one million visitors a month and has an unfortunately convenient city index that allows visitors to search...

Ashley Madison Data Leak – Reputation.ca Offers PROTECTION

Matt Earle

Aug 20, 2015

Yesterday, on August 19th, a hacker group called The Impact Team publicly released an enormous 9.7 GB download of data from Ashley Madison’s servers. As has been mentioned throughout the media, the Ashley Madison hack released private information about...

Should businesses buy their .sucks domain before the June 1st deadline?

Matt Earle

May 8, 2015

Earlier this year, an announcement was made that will make a significant impact on company brand image and the online reputation management for businesses. It was announced that 500 new Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) would be available for purchase and...

How Shark Tank’s 2 Million Offer for BrandYourself Is a Boost for Online Reputation Management as a Whole