Mother Was Right

In a previous post we discussed the damage that can be done to our online reputation by the indexing that occurs whenever there is anything posted online, regardless of whether or not you deleted it.  The next obvious topic of discussion is, how do you overcome any potential harm from the past?

Going forward, you should only place things on the internet that casts a positive light on you?  There are countless pages of advice and research you can comb through but it’s really quite simple.  The best approach is to consider it as paying it forward.

From this day forward you, me, and everyone else should follow the lesson our mothers taught us; “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”  It all comes down to putting a polish on our SEO, (what comes up when a search is done.) What do people see when they do a search in Google?

As Lisa A. Sullivan, digital media marketing strategist, puts it , People do business with other people they “Like, Know, and Trust.”  She goes further telling us we should go out of our way to say something positive whenever we can.  A word of caution here, that can be taken too far as well.  No one likes the schmoe who goes out of their way to compliment how the boss’ ridiculous hair looks in a picture when it’s the worst hair piece ever.

Following Lisa’s advice, there are 3 practices that apply professionally and personally; “Be positive, informational, and helpful.” It’s basic common sense really and all it requires is a little consideration and there are some more in-depth tips out there but for now here are the basics:

1. Blogging may be the most powerful tool available especially for your business profile.  By posting helpful, informational content you take great strides toward improving your SEO.
2. Connect with others out on the web that are also offering positive information.  By linking to their sites you are making the connections that matter.
3. Social media and work are not the best combination.  You should avoid “Friending” anyone from work if at all possible.  There’s just too much potential for damage there.  I’m betting a Google search can help provide an excuse when needed.
4. On social sites like Facebook only accept contacts from people you have met and believe you can trust not to do the stupid things we’ve discussed previously.

By connecting with others who are being helpful and using a reaffirming approach in how we conduct all business and personal interactions online we start to improve our image online.  I propose that doing these things in person and not just online would also do us some good as well.