5 Hidden Places Your Brand Reputation Is Being Shaped Online

Over the years, businesses have learned that their online reputation is crucial to their success. However, between constant search engine content updates and the rise of LLM platforms, your brand’s reputation is affected by much more than just traditional online review sites. Here are 5 places you may be overlooking when managing your online reputation:

Why Does Online Reputation Matter?

A 2023 data study conducted by Go Fish Digital found that around 98% of consumers seek out online reviews before making a purchasing decision. Additionally, over 50% of consumers answered that it would only take 2-3 negative articles in the search to deter them from making a purchase at all.

With the rise in LLM platforms like ChatGPT and Google AI Mode, online reputation is now being shaped by more than just dedicated review platforms and press. In addition to review sites, LLM tools are aggregating user feedback from forums, social media, 3rd party blog content, and more. If businesses ignore these other sources in favor of focusing on review platforms, they could be missing out on a huge reputation issue, or the opportunity to connect with a wider audience. 

5 Reputation Factors You May Be Overlooking

You may be on top of positive press and review platform management, but these other areas may be affecting your brand’s online reputation:

1. Google’s Rich Results

The landscape of the Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP) has changed over the years, with eye-catching rich snippets and content blocks taking up more space than ever before. In addition to organic URLs, page 1 rich results can make or break your brand’s first impression. 

Users may simply be typing in your brand name when suddenly a negative query like “[business] lawsuit” or “[business] scandal” is suggested by Google’s autocomplete or related search. 

The People Also Ask (PAA) section can also influence brand perception with questions surrounding trustworthiness and safety. 

Having such negative queries appear so prominently can deter a user from engaging with your brand, even if the actual SERP and content under that query are positive.

2. Google Images

The Images tab in the Google SERP can be hiding images, videos, or links that affect your brand. While the screenshot below seems neutral enough, covered with the brand’s logo and marketing images, the preview text linked to them create a more negative context.

Queries surrounding topics of customer risk, addiction, and legitimacy may catch a user’s attention, especially if they’ve clicked an image to enlarge it.

Monitoring these additional tabs on Google like Images, News, Videos, etc. is crucial to staying on top of your online reputation.

3. Alternative Online Forums

Popular forums like Reddit have increasingly become a reputation issue for many businesses, as these threads are not only ranking highly in the SERP, but are often cited in LLM output as well. In fact, Google has added a separate tab for Forums when searching many queries.

Reddit is not the only forum to look out for, though. Your business can be discussed on industry-relevant forums, as well as less relevant forums. These conversations, especially when ranking in the SERP or pulled into LLM references, can have a strong influence on users researching your brand.

Identifying these alternative review sites and monitoring them can not only help you understand your brand’s reputation, but also provide opportunities to connect users with customer support to resolve an issue they may have shared. 

4. Customer Service Communication

As previously mentioned, the typical consumer does read online reviews before making a purchase. It’s important to keep this in mind when replying to reviews, social media comments, or any other public conversation, as potential customers can read these too. While it can be difficult not to take negative feedback personally, the way you respond can have a big impact on your business’s reputation. 

Even with a high star rating, an unprofessional response from the business can leave a sour taste in a potential customer’s mouth. Additionally, if a user sees that there are no responses from the business on any reviews at all, they might be concerned that the business doesn’t care about negative feedback or resolving customer issues. 

5. Competitor Content

While some businesses try to avoid comparing themselves to competitors, many opt to create “us vs them” comparison content. Businesses that make this content can control the narrative surrounding the comparison, and position their product or service as the clear winner. 

This becomes an even bigger issue when this content is cited in LLMs. If you don’t have similar content, positioning your business as the better option, an LLM might summarize that your competitor is the better choice. 

Struggling with Online Reputation Management?

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