How to protect your online reputation

A look at what communicators are doing to combat negative Google results and other damaging posts

Imagine launching a new product with an extensive public relations campaign, only to have one media outlet get your product wrong, then slam its price and feature it in a column called “Worst of the Week.”

That happened to SPOT Inc. of Milpitas, Calif., which makes a handheld device to transmit location using GPS and a data network. Its product was called “nutty stuff” by a Web site, so its representatives, Moroch + PR, Dallas, took action, asking for a correction, offering a spokesperson for interviews and clearing up mistakes with a detailed letter to the editor.

In the digital age, search results on Internet sites like Google, Yahoo! and Wikipedia have the power to alter a company’s image overnight.

The amount of information available on the Internet, absent any controls, leaves companies vulnerable to reputation damage daily, said Rob Russo, who founded DefendMyName.com.

“It is like standing in the middle of the highway with a blindfold on,” Russo says.