Reputation SEO:
what shows up when someone searches your name
A branded search is often the last check before a purchase or a hire, and a page one result you do not control, an old complaint, a stale directory listing, a competitor bidding on your name, can cost a decision that was otherwise already made. We monitor it and build genuine, ranking content around it, without suppression tactics that backfire.
Where the money leaks today
A business with a genuinely good track record can still show an old, resolved complaint on the first page of its own branded search, because nothing newer and more substantial has been built to outrank it, and nobody responded to it at the time in a way search engines or readers could see. A competitor quietly bidding on the brand name in search ads intercepts some of that traffic too, invisible unless someone is specifically watching for it.
A pattern we see often: a business responds promptly and well to negative reviews but never responds to positive ones, which research on review platforms consistently shows looks less authentic to a reader than a profile that visibly engages with praise and criticism alike, independent of the actual star rating.
What we do
We monitor branded search results and review platforms on a schedule, not a one-time check, and set a response protocol in advance so a negative review or mention gets a timely, measured reply instead of silence or a panicked overreaction. We build genuinely positive content, case studies, press mentions, team and expert profiles, to rank for the brand term, which is the legitimate way to shift what a branded search shows over time. We also watch for competitor bidding or impersonation on your own brand terms.
We also check what shows up for near-variant searches of your brand name (common misspellings, an old company name, a founder’s personal name tied to the business), since a branded-search strategy that only covers the exact current name misses a meaningful share of how people actually search before a decision.
What we need from you
Access to your review platforms and search analytics, a short history of past incidents or complaints worth knowing before we draft a response protocol, and a decision-maker who can approve the tone of public responses in advance. Flag anyone on your team who already has an informal relationship with happy customers willing to leave a review, since a request from a specific person they already trust converts far more reliably than a generic automated prompt sent to everyone. A short written history of past incidents worth knowing about helps us draft a response protocol that fits reality rather than a generic template.
How we measure
What actually ranks on page one for your brand name and key product names, review platform rating and response rate trend, and sentiment of new reviews and mentions month over month. We log sentiment trend separately from star rating, since a business can hold a steady rating while the content of recent reviews shifts noticeably more positive or negative, and that shift is often the earlier, more useful signal, reviewed monthly alongside whatever currently ranks on page one for your brand name.
Price and timeline
| Option | Price | What it covers | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch or audit | from $500 | Monitoring setup, response protocol, initial positive-content plan | 1 week |
| Monthly management | from $400 / month | Ongoing monitoring, review response, monthly branded-search report | monthly, no lock-in |
| Full control, handover to your team | from $900 | Monitoring and response protocol documented and handed to your support or PR team | 2 weeks |
Related
Reputation monitoring overlaps closely with local SEO for any business with physical locations, since the review platforms that drive map pack ranking are often the same ones a reputation strategy needs to watch, which is why we recommend running both together rather than treating them as entirely separate budgets. It also benefits from an active link-building and digital PR program, since the more genuinely positive, citable coverage exists about you, the more content there is competing for space on page one of your own branded search. Pair this with local SEO and Google Business Profile for location-specific reviews and with link building and digital PR for the genuine positive content side. Full service: SEO and content. The same disciplined, zero-false-alarm monitoring approach is documented in the analytics hub case study. Get in touch and we will search your brand name with you on the first call.
FAQ
How much does reputation SEO cost?
From $500 for monitoring setup and a response protocol, with ongoing monthly management from $400 depending on review volume and how many branded terms need watching.
Can you remove a bad review?
Only through the platform's own legitimate dispute process where a review violates stated policy (fake, off-topic, abusive); we do not use manipulation tactics to suppress or fake reviews, which risk platform penalties and reputational damage worse than the original issue.
How long until search results improve?
Monitoring and response are immediate; new positive content ranking for a branded term alongside or above an old negative result typically takes 4 to 10 weeks depending on how established the negative result is.
What counts as a genuinely positive moment to ask for a review?
Right after a resolved support ticket, a completed purchase, or a specific compliment in a message, timing matters more than the ask itself, and asking everyone indiscriminately usually produces worse average sentiment, not better.
What do you need from us?
Access to your review platforms and analytics, a list of past incidents or complaints we should know about before building a response protocol, and sign-off on tone for public responses.