At this very moment, someone may be spreading vicious lies or telling unseemly half-truths about your organization. It could be a rival company. It could be a disgruntled ex-employee. It could even be a current employee using your computers and Internet connection. You know you should be out there trolling the Internet making sure that no one is attacking your company’s good name, but who has time for that?

If you aren’t lucky enough to have someone on your staff who can devote time to monitoring and molding your company’s online image, there are several online services that will do it for you. A quick Google search gives us ReputationDefender, ReputationHawk, and  BrandsEye. Since ReputationDefender was recently named a Technology Pioneer for 2011 by the World Economic Forum, I will use it as my example.

For businesses, ReputationDefender offers MyEdge Pro, which promises to “protect your reputation from unwarranted and false online reviews” and “make sure Google reflects the truth about your business.” To do that, ReputationDefender offers businesses a personal reputation advisor and a social media and search engine consultant to help you get your company website to show up in relevant searches that can help drive business while also squashing the content you don’t want out there.

The careful consumer does his research before he buys a product or contracts for a service. The Internet is quickly becoming many consumers’ go-to source for information and, therefore, the first impression of your business. Do a quick Google search for the name of your company, CEO, and other important staffers. Do you like what you see? If public perception is important in your industry, like it or not, the Internet is a concern for you. If you don’t have the time or manpower to manage your Internet reputation on your own, you should look into having someone else do it for you.

From a business perspective, I see this sort of service as a handy tool. But I must admit, as a user and possible client, I feel like this sort of thing is like backdoor advertising. You are paying someone to push the good stuff about your company to the top of a search — essentially the same thing as buying a Google ad without the “ad” label.  I also recognize that to refuse to try to manipulate Internet searches  for the good of the business can put you at a disadvantage if your competitors are doing it. Might as well play the game.

Do you play the Internet reputation game? Have you ever used the services of ReputationBuilder or a similar company? What was your experience? Have some tips for bypassing the outsourcing and doing this in-house?

– Celeste Blackburn