The Consequences of a Bad Reputation Online

Online reputation management is widely regarded as one of the most helpful and affective ways to improve negative opinions about a business or brand. There can be a number of reasons why a company might have suffered with this type of event; from being targeted by a competitor hoping to outshine you in search results, right through to a fake review from a customer. There are simply so many things that could impact your business that half the challenge is keeping on top of them.

What can happen if you are spoken of in a negative light online?

One of the biggest concerns that many businesses in this position face is the potential to become less profitable. Although search engines like Google will try to remain impartial, if they spot that a website is held in low regard online they could end up favouring the competition, so the victim site might slowly see a decline in their search result position.

As you might imagine, this could take a drastic toll on the potential to reach an audience, which can potentially lead to less conversions and a drop in profits.

Over time, businesses could find themselves facing complete bankruptcy and unfortunately, this happens to more companies than you might imagine. The consequences of a bad online reputation can be dire indeed and that’s why more and more brands and individuals are turning to the assistance of reputation management specialists like MyReputationRepair

What do reputation management companies do?

As their name might suggest, it’s the job of these types of experts to manage their client’s digital presence. This could be as simple as monitoring reviews, right through to creating a brand new website to push down negative listings in search results or running a promotional campaign with pens or other promotional items offline. Campaigns are often developed from the ground up, whereby the expert will introduce measures that can help to reduce the damage done from a poor opinion, in favour of helping their client to build themselves back up again.

One of the most common issues that can impact a brand is a decline in their search result position and this is why the concept of replacing (as opposed to rebuilding) can be so appealing.

What does this mean?

If a brand’s site or online presence has become particularly negative and is still visible for specific pages in search results, it can sometimes be more convenient to introduce measures to drop those pages and replace them with fresher ones. Say for example that a website has been hit with multiple unfair reviews, it might still rank well, but the reviews could be affecting conversion rates.

Instead of tackling those reviews, it could make more sense to create new platforms to force the unsavoury remarks down in search result listings; until they are no longer a concern. This can be quite a technical task to undertake properly however, so enlisting the aid of an expert should be a top priority. With their support and guidance, it can be possible for even the most damaged reputation to repair itself – and for a company or brand to enjoy profitability once again.

The Saudi Oil Fire – Who Loses Out the Most?

At 4am on Sunday local time, the biggest oil refinery in the world (located in Riyadh) was hit by drone strikes, being impacted in no less than 17 spots. The strikes resulted in a huge oil fire which was contained and controlled due to the rapid response of the Saudis. Around the world, many are worrying about not only the potential act of war; but the effect on the environment, the impact on the local community, the effects on healthcare and water supplies, and the rise in fuel prices.

Who does the fire affect?

Saudi Arabia is one of the richest countries in the world, due in large to the fact that it distributes oil to many locations across the globe.

The first people to be affected will be those that rely on petrol for their vehicles. Within just a few minutes of the fire being announced, prices began to increase.

Next in line, the fire would have taken its toll on the local flora and fauna species, mainly due to the smoke and toxins entering the atmosphere. With ash settling on the ground nearby, entire plant populations could find themselves struggling for sunlight, so it’s been predicted that many succulents and other hydration-storing flora will suffer.

With the smoke entering the upper atmosphere over the course of the next few days, the impact is expected to affect the entire region; with toxicity in the air that could take months to properly dissipate.

Perhaps most extreme of all is the impact on the local farmland – with many suppliers of dairy products, fish, eggs, chicken and livestock, vegetables and fresh fruit all taking a hit. Many farming associations have already placed appeals for funding to help them to overcome the effects of toxins within the soil as a result of the fires calling on the government to bring in foreign environmental spill control and containment specialists Stratex from Australia

How does the future look?

In a word; bleak. Although the fires were under control in a matter of hours, the sheer volume of smoke contributed more toxins to the environment than people might imagine. As these toxins are able to spread, the quality of oxygen depletes. Because Riyadh is a dry region, there simply aren’t enough trees to provide fresh supplies of oxygen to counteract the results.

Fortunately, the wind rapidly changed direction after blowing toward the South-East during the fire and this has helped to dissipate many of the toxins present. The largest volumes will have fallen onto the ocean, which in turn may not affect people directly, but could go on to impact aquatic life and so slow the fishing industry down over the course of the next few years.

These incidents should never be taken lightly and although contained; the long-lasting consequences of the smoke, ash and toxicity remain to be seen. Sewage equipment experts and environmental scientists are still working on their evaluations of the potential damage for the future.

Video from TheGuardian