SERM (Search Engine Reputation Management) is one of the types of reputation marketing. By managing its reputation in search engines, a company can form a certain brand image. If this tool is used correctly, users will see only positive information about the company.
People only look at the first pages of search results. According to research by Backlinko, only 0.78% of users go to the second page of search results.
Therefore, SERM technologies should be tailored specifically for these sites. It is necessary to improve the positions of pages with good comments and lower resources with negative ones. This allows increasing the level of trust in the brand. Most often, this tool is used by small and medium-sized companies to increase the loyalty of the target audience to a little-known company.
SERM technologies need to be combined with other methods of marketing promotion of the company. If the company has a large number of dissatisfied customers, they will write negative comments in any case.
To use this tool you need:
Collect information and analyze rcs database the situation. Employees need to study search results for various queries. It is necessary to identify negative and positive comments on top sites. Based on this information, the main advantages of the brand or product from the audience's point of view should be determined.
Develop a strategy. It is necessary to collect relevant data for customers. These comments and reviews should contain information about the benefits of the product or company. This way, you will form a positive image of the brand and encourage consumers to take the target action. Then you need to make a list of thematic platforms where you can post content. These can be social networks, review sites, blogs, etc.
Implement the plan. The specialist needs to optimize posts, comments, and image articles for specific user queries. All this content should be placed at the top of the search results. But the company must respond to negative customer reviews. It is necessary to understand each situation and try to solve the users' problems. After that, negative comments can be deleted if the authors and the site administration do not mind.
SERM allows you to solve several important problems:
create a positive reputation for a brand, product or company representative;
change the established opinions of the audience;
stimulate demand;
increase sales volume;
reduce the negative impact of false or paid reviews;
collect feedback and improve product quality based on information obtained from user comments;
increase the brand's attractiveness for potential partners and investors.
Improving the reputation of the enterprise in search engines and on popular platforms allows you to remove unnecessary doubts from potential and current customers. This also has a positive effect on sales volumes.
The following features of audience behavior on the Internet must be taken into account:
Many people make a purchase decision only after reading reviews. As a rule, they only open the first page of search results.
Negative reviews attract more attention than positive ones.
Consumers trust customer reviews more than product descriptions on a company's website.
SERM involves working with negative comments and improving the positions of web resources with positive reviews. Such promotion makes it possible to increase conversion. The higher the company's rating, the more people trust it. Consequently, the likelihood of making a purchase increases.