The old saying goes that if you can’t take constructive criticism then you just won’t improve. It takes guts to face the fact that not all customers or perusals of your website or products and services will be of stellar value. There will always be some sort of disgruntled customer or wiseacre smart ass who will come along and give you a bad rep via social networking or review sites.
All need not be lost when this happens and if you’re creative and brave, you can turn negative SEO into positive SEO.
When negative SEO affects your rankings you’ve got to move fast. You can’t let such content on the web gain root and grow. People like to inquire about a negative review and wiseguys like to join in on threads like this and bully. You’ve got to nip content like this in the bud but do so in a manner that benefits you all around.
The trick is to stay vigilant. Keep searching your company and products and services on the web and see what turns up. If there’s a bad review posted, be careful and respond. See if you can resolve the problem online, not offline. People like drama and suspense. If you get involved in a thread with a bad review, do all you can to be cordial and address the problem. Make sure you’re ready to dish out a special bonus to the complainer if they’re legit. People will see that you’re able to take responsibility and get problems solved. Satisfied customers might also join in and get the problem resolved. All this is like the old saying, “Any publicity is good publicity.”.
In case of more severe situations where something dirty is going on, you need to fight fire with fire. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but out and out vicious attacks without substantial evidence is just sabotage. Contact the site’s manager and request either the negative info be removed or give you equal time to respond. You need to be ready for a fight if need be, and if so, you can really turn this into an advantage. People love fights. If you’re creative with a sense of humor you can turn the tables on a negative poster and bring things to a fun and exciting conclusion. Don’t get hostile however, try to bring things to a positive result and if you find you can’t, you walk away and if necessary, get legal counsel to address the issue. It can be a quite a chore, but doing nothing means to people that you’re unwilling to defend yourself and the negative data may be true.
Remember, your reputation online and/or that of your client’s is your responsibility. If you’ve done all you can to deliver proper service and or solid products then getting negative SEO that drops your rankings due to some harsh comment or broad accusation, can upend your SEO campaigns and cause considerable harm. You must be on your toes, be willing to confront whatever negative data is put down and apply courtesy and creativity, as well as a good sense of humor to beat down the negative SEO and protect yourself further.
It’s how you come back from a punch in the nose that defines you. Same foes for negative SEO. Don’t let it get by without turning it into a plus for your side.