What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? 

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is absolutely central to Online Reputation Management (ORM). Think of SEO as the engine behind how content is ranked and displayed when someone searches for a person, brand, or business. In ORM, you’re using SEO not just to rank, but to control what ranks.

Controlling What Appears on Page 1

• Most people don’t go beyond the first page of Google or Bing search results.
• SEO allows you to push positive or neutral content to the top—blogs, articles, profiles—while suppressing negative content by pushing it down.

Building and Boosting Positive Content

• SEO helps you optimize articles, websites, press releases, and social media to rank higher for branded keywords (like your company or name).
• You use on-page SEO (titles, keywords, metadata) and off-page SEO (backlinks, mentions, domain authority) to make sure your content competes effectively.

Suppression of Negative Results

• By applying SEO to your controlled assets, you make them outrank damaging content (e.g., old news, bad reviews).
• This pushes undesirable links to page 2 or lower—effectively hiding them.

Reputation Score Optimization

• SEO-driven content like review platforms, media mentions, and guest posts contributes to online sentiment.
• When these pieces rank well, they improve perceived credibility and trust.

Managing SERP Features

• SEO also involves optimizing for SERP features:
  • Knowledge panels
  • “People Also Ask” boxes
  • Featured snippets
  • Video and image results
• These features can dominate the first page and give you more real estate to work with, crowding out negative links.

Controlling Your Brand Narrative

• With SEO, you can influence how your story is told:
  • Optimize branded content for tone, accuracy, and keywords.
  • Use it to reinforce trust, authority, and transparency.

Link Building as Reputation Building

• Backlinks aren’t just for rankings—they’re trust signals.
• A brand mentioned positively and often by authoritative sites is seen as more credible, which feeds both SEO and public perception.

Monitoring and Updating Content

• SEO isn’t one-and-done. Ongoing SEO ensures that:
  • Positive content stays high in the rankings
  • Negative content doesn’t reappear on page 1
  • Your ORM efforts remain proactive, not just reactive

SEO is the technical backbone of ORM. It’s how you influence what the world sees first when they search for your name or brand.