In general, “online reputation management” (ORM) is a process that helps you control what is displayed when someone performs an online search for your name, company, or organization. ORM allows you to influence and govern website results that rate the services you provide. These ratings may be made through endorsements, recommendations, or disapproval of those services. Additionally, ORM helps you improve or restore the status of your name and business’ reputation by removing, diminishing, or opposing negative commentary, information, or material you find on the Internet. You defeat this negative information by providing positive material that will help gain customers, keep client trust, and improve your credibility.

The DSS Reputation Management tool is an add-on feature for our Foster Web Marketing clients, allowing you to monitor your online reputation. This tool provides seven ways to check on and observe your status.

The cost is $50/month for your main office and $25/month for each additional office.

How to Monitor and Manage Your Online Reputation Using DSS

Once you have your DSS Digital Marketing Suite, you access the Reputation Management tool at http://reputation.fosterwebmarketing.com/overview. After you log in, the Overview page displays. This page defaults to the Overview tab and gives you a reputation snapshot report at a glance. Other tabs available from this page include Listings, Reviews, Mentions, Social, Competition, and Reports—all to the right of the Overview tab. The following example displays the Overview tab homepage for the Reputation Management tool:

The Overview Tab

Foster Web Marketing Reputation Management Tool Snapshot Report

This Overview page (displayed from the Overview tab) allows you to see a summary of important information about your online reputation quickly and as a whole. If you click the Info Icon icon at the top right of each section, a pop-up box offers a short explanation of the type of information provided in that specific section. 

Info Pop-Up Box

The Listings Tab

Listings Tab Screenshot

The Listings tab provides information about the consistency of your business’s local listings and tracks that information over time. This tab analyzes the accuracy and consistency of your business information on websites where potential clients expect to find you. For an in-depth look at this tab, watch the training video for the Listings tab:

When you click the “Primary Listings” sub-tab, the following page displays. Notice that there are five areas highlighted with letters A – E. These are the main sections for discussion.  

Primary Listings Sub-Tab Page

  1. The Tools icon Tools Icon allows you to define and edit the list of sources you want to track. Some sources are industry-specific, so you only want to include those that are relevant to the industry and location of your business. If you click the Tools icon, the following dialog box displays:

Reputation Management Listings Dialog Box

  1. The “Listing Information” section allows you to edit your business information, including name, address, social sites, and other information related to your company. In the upper right corner of this section, use the pencil icon to make revisions to your information.
     
  2. The “Listing Score” is the accuracy score of your business listing in comparison to other businesses in the same industry. This score is similar to a credit score but with no upper limit. This point-based system allows us to add new directories in the future without negatively impacting your score. Learn more about the Listing Score by watching our video about this feature:
  1. The “Search Engines” section is a list of directory sites you’re using the Reputation Tool to track for accuracy. If you have a potential issue with your listing, this section will
    provide a breakdown of exactly what’s not accurate. If you click the “show details” link next to any source, here is an example of the information that displays:

Reputation Management Search Engines Section Information

If you want to update your core, there are five options available to do so. These options display at the bottom of the listing information, as shown in the following example: 

Reputation Management Listing Information Options

  • The “view” option opens a new tab with your listing to verify there actually is an issue.
  • The “edit” option sends you to that website’s login or business claiming section to start the claiming process, or you can edit an already verified listing.
  • The “not mine” option is available in case the tool picked up the wrong listing.
  • The “ignore errors” option is for sites that won’t allow you to make your information 100 percent, or you face situations as with Avvo when the business name is always going to be wrong because it matches the attorney and not the law firm.
  • The “view possible matches” option is used to find other potential duplicates or to submit a link manually that the tool did not find.
  1. Once your business is error free, you can move on to other areas, but the tool will also monitor for any updated listing information. It also shows some additional directories added over time, so check this regularly to make sure everything is still listed properly.

The Other Citations Sub-Tab

The options under the “Other Citations” sub-tab help you find other potential business citations you can monitor for accuracy. This tool is helpful for finding new potential link opportunities or finding inconsistent business listing information on some less popular sites. Here is an example of information you might see under this tab:

Reputation Management Sub-Tab Screenshot

The Statistics Sub-Tab

The options under the “Statistics” sub-tab provide a way for you to track your listing stats over time. You can see your Listing Score from the date you started using the tool, as well as the total number of citations found from the “Other Citations” sub-tab. Here is an example of the information you might see listed under the Statistics sub-tab:

Reputation Management Statistics Sub-Tab Screenshot

The Reviews Tab

Reputation Management Reviews Tab Screenshot

The options under the “Reviews” tab allow you to monitor and respond to your business reviews on websites such as Yelp, Facebook, and Avvo. There is also a section to help generate new reviews over time. To learn more about the “Reviews” tab, watch our training video.

Here is an example of the information available under the “Reviews” tab. Notice that there are five areas highlighted with letters A – E. These are the main sections for discussion.  

Reputation Management Information Available Under Reviews Tab

  1. The “Average Rating” section gives the average rating of your business across all of the
    review sites the Reputation Management tool is tracking, with benchmarks for your business’ industry.
     
  2. The “Total Reviews” section gives the total number of reviews found compared to the industry average.
     
  3. This section gives the distribution of reviews by stars for all of your reviews.
     
  4. The “Top Keywords” section displays a keyword cloud based on your reviews. The bigger the word, the more often people are using it in their reviews of your business. If the keyword is green, it is associated with positive reviews; if it is red, that topic is brought up often in negative reviews. You can use the cloud to find trends and make improvements.
     
  5. The Review Section, designated by the Review Section Icon icon, allows you to review, respond, and publish your reviews. For reviews left on Google and your feedback generation page, you can respond to them directly from the tool. If the review is on Yelp or another site and you click “Responded,” you are sent to that website to respond to the reviewer. You can mark reviews as responded to, or you can share them on social media by clicking the down arrow next to each response, as shown in the following example:

Reputation Management Review Response Screenshot

Generate Reviews in the Customer Voice Section

Reputation Management Generate Reviews Screenshot

Learn how to use the Customer Voice section of the DSS Reputation Management Tool to generate reviews here.

The Statistics Sub-Tab

The options under the “Statistics” sub-tab provide a bit more information about how many reviews you are generating over time, along with your average rating and information on your review generation statistics. When you click the Statistics sub-tab, the following dialog box displays:

Reputation Management Statistics Sub-Tab Dialog Box

The Mentions Tab

The options under the main “Mentions” tab provide you with a way to monitor mentions of your business, competitors, or other practitioners on the web. To learn more about the Mentions tab, watch our training video.

Reputation Management Mentions Tab Screenshot

The Monitor Mentions Sub-Tab

Reputation Management Monitor Mentions Sub-Tab Dialog Box

The Search Mentions Sub-Tab

The “Search Mentions” sub-tab allows you to filter the results based on tags, sentiment, sources, searches, dates, and keywords. If you click the Search Mentions sub-tab, the following dialog box displays:

Under the main Mentions tab, the “Monitor Mentions” sub-tab allows you to audit news sites, blogs, social media, and all of the Internet for mentions of your company. You can also track mentions of other businesses to learn what’s being said about them. When you click the Monitor Mentions sub-tab, the following dialog box displays:

Reputation Management Search Mentions Sub-Tab Dialog Box

The Settings Sub-Tab

The “Settings” sub-tab, designated by the Tools icon Tools Icon, allows you to customize the specific mentions you want the tool to search for. The following example shows the type of input you can include using this tab:

Reputation Management Settings Sub Tab Input Options

The Social Tab

Reputation Management Social Tab Screenshot

The options under the “Social” tab provide you with a way to monitor your business’ social media activity. This basic tool gives you a way to see the status of your social media presence. If you want or need a more robust social media tool that allows you to schedule posts and more, you can use the DSS Social Media Management tool. However, if you just need a way to monitor your presence and see statistics over time, this tab provides that information at a glance. To learn more about the Social tab and how to respond to negative social media posts, watch our training video:

When you click the Social tab, the following dialog box displays:

Reputation Management Social Tab Dialog Box

The Competition Tab

Reputation Management Competition Tab Screenshot

The options under the “Competition” tab allow you to gain insight into how you rate against your competitors. If you click the Competition tab, the following dialog box displays:

Reputation Management Competition Tab Dialog Box

In the upper right corner of the dialog box, there’s an edit services and competitors link as shown in the following example:

Reputation Management Edit Services and Competitors Link Screenshot

When you click this link, you can tweak information for your services and competitors to get more useful results. You do this by entering three service categories that are related to your business in the dialog box that displays:

Reputation Management Service Categories Screenshot

In the “Service Categories” section, you can provide specific information (i.e., personal injury lawyer) to broad information (i.e., lawyer). Each service category will create a separate pie chart. Also, when entering competitors, be sure to use the full business name. View a video about the Competition tab.

You can also edit the “share of voice” and competitors in the Business Listings Settings section. Online share of voice shows you how often your business it turning up in local searches compared to competitors. It works this way:

If, for example, you run Smith Law Firm in Houston, your main competitors are Henry Law Firm and Sky Law. When a potential client in Houston searches for “law firm,” out of all the results containing the words Smith Law FirmHenry Law Firm, or Sky Law, that client will see that:

  • Smith Law Firm appears in 50 percent of the pages.
  • Henry Law firm appears in 30 percent of the pages.
  • Sky Law appears in 20 percent of the pages.

The Reports Tab

Reputation Management Reports Tab Screenshot

The options under the “Reports” tab allow you to keep people in your business up-to-date with important stats and findings. You can find your weekly or monthly executive reports for historical records. When you click the Reports tab, the following dialog box displays:

Reputation Management Reports Tab Dialog Box

You can specify up to six emails to receive your weekly or monthly executive reports. In the upper right corner of the dialog box, there is an “edit reports settings” link, as shown in the following example:  

Reputation Management Edit Report Settings Screenshot

Use this link to update who gets these reports and how often. When you click “edit report settings,” the following dialog box displays:

Reputation Management Edit Report Settings Dialog Box

At the bottom of the dialog box, there is a “manage your daily notification settings” link, as shown in the following example:

Reputation Management Manage Notifications Settings

Click this link, and the following dialog box displays:

Reputation Management Daily Notifications Dialog Box

There are daily notifications at the bottom of the report settings where you can update your daily notifications, as well. Make sure you are adjusting the settings for the correct recipients.

This provides a brief overview of the Reputation Management tool. As always, Foster Web Marketing is dedicated to your success. If you need any help, please contact us using the DSS Need Help button, emailing [email protected], or calling 888-886-0939. We will be happy to assist you!