When we start a new program for a RepEquity Online Reputation Management client, we follow a standard checklist for getting their program up and running. Once we’ve collected all relevant information from the client, we begin by claiming or building out any existing social media profiles. We then build the client a complete bio website that highlights their involvement in business, philanthropy and other arenas. These two steps are the foundation of nearly every ORM program we run and become our leveraging points for cleaning up the search engine results for individuals, corporations and nonprofits.

An online reputation issue is not something that can be quickly fixed and then ignored. It is a constant battle to keep positive results at the top of the search engine results and as an ORM company we remain vigilant for new rankings and strategies that would help our clients.

Updates to Google’s Algorithm

This year, we saw two major algorithm updates by Google that shook up organic search engine results.

Originally released in 2011, the Panda algorithm update was updated to lower the rankings and visibility of low-quality sites and push higher-quality sites up in the search results. This benefitted our clients by increasing rankings for their social media profiles, but in some cases it also increased visibility of potentially harmful, untrue, or out-of-date content on news websites.

Google updated its Penguin algorithm on April 24, 2012.  Similar to Panda, Penguin was intended to decrease search engine rankings of websites found to be in violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines by using black-hat SEO techniques like keyword stuffing, cloaking, and deliberate duplicate content. Penguin affected an estimated 3.1% of search queries in English—hugely impactful for an algorithm update. Penguin prompted us to take a closer look at some client websites that were in place before signing with RepEquity. We helped clients eliminate duplicate content and analyze their backlinks for potential red flags. Continue Reading…

Last year, YouTube announced original channels that featured celebrities like Madonna, Tony Hawk and Jay-Z and covered categories like News & Education, Pop Culture and Sports. Last month, the service announced that it would be evaluating all of its original channels and would cut some of the less successful ones. Now it has been revealed that only 30-40 percent of the original channels will continue to receive funding.

It was just over a year ago that Google began showing “not provided” for searches made by users logged in to their Google account – a move that has been quite frustrating for marketers and SEOs. A new study conducted by Optify shows that now 39 percent of Google search referrers are not available to those monitoring an analytics account. That breaks down to one of every 2.5 visits from organic search showing up as “not provided.”

During the first six months of 2012, the United States made nearly 8,000 requests for Google to turn over user information and Google complied 90 percent of the time. According to the search engine’s newest transparency report, which indicates that government surveillance is on the rise, the U.S. is one of the world’s worst “snoopers.” Compared to the previous six months, requests for content removal from the U.S. rose by 46 percent.

This year has undoubtedly been an important one for technology and legislation that could affect technology (Remember SOPA?). This week Mashable assembled a slideshow highlighting seven landmark tech laws that were passed in 2012. Check it out.

And finally, we’re almost settled in our new office space at 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. Head over to our Facebook page to check out some pictures of our new HQ.

At the recent Inc. 500 conference, we heard Simon Sinek share his idea of the Golden Circle, which explains why some people and organizations are more innovative, more influential, command greater loyalty and can repeat their success over and over.  Whether it’s a Fortune 500 brand or your own personal brand, those that succeed look beyond what they do and how they do it, to why the brands exist in the first place.  We think of this as a brand’s highest calling.

For example, our client Town and Country Bank in central Illinois exists to remove the stress and anxiety of managing money for their customers.  Sure, they offer checking accounts, home mortgages and retirement planning – the “what”.  And they do it with a smile over a cup of coffee – the “how”.  But ultimately, they exist to help their customers – their friends and neighbors in Springfield – reduce the anxiety of financial management.  This higher calling drives their marketing, interior design, and virtually every other aspect of their brand.  It starts at the top with their CEO, who lives their brand’s values every day.

Once you discover your brand’s highest calling, your purpose comes into focus.  Wildly important goals that are in line with this purpose suddenly trump short-term deadlines.  And explaining what your company does – whether to your great aunt or a prospective client – becomes easier.

How do you get there?

It isn’t easy, but it starts with asking the right questions of the right people, including your customers.  Many companies hire objective consultants to help with the research and process.  A consultant might ask:

• Think about your best day.  Who did you help and how did they benefit?
• When your customers go home at night, what impact did you have on their day?
• Think about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.  What needs does your company fulfill, and how far up the pyramid are they?

At RepEquity, we help brands define and live up to their highest calling online.

What is your brand’s highest calling?  Call us and let’s talk about it.

We talk a lot about website optimization and optimizing sites for mobile searches, but this week Search Engine Watch posted a great piece on how to optimize apps for higher rankings in the App Store. While it includes many of the basics, like paying close attention to the app title and naturally incorporating keywords into the description, it’s a facet of SEO that shouldn’t be overlooked!

With Facebook’s recent struggles as a publicly-traded company and increasing market saturation, some analysts have wondered how much staying power the social network has. According to a recent survey conducted in Ireland and the U.K., 77 percent of respondents believe that Facebook will still be around in 10 years and 25 percent believe that it will be even bigger than it is now.

We often report on events that break Twitter’s tweets-per-second record, like Beyonce’s baby announcement or Spain’s winning goal in the Euro 2012 Championship game. While Tuesday night’s debate didn’t quite reach the level of those events, tweets per second did spike to 2,615 when moderator Jim Lehrer quipped “Let’s not” to Mitt Romney’s request for another topic. It was enough to set the record for most tweeted-about even in the history of U.S. politics – a record we can only believe will be broken in the near future.

Continue Reading…

Filiz Sahin, a Senior Designer in our New York City office, was recently highlighted on Adweek’s Top 100 2012 Talent Gallery, Behance.net, and several blogs for her outstanding design work. Filiz is best known for designing custom fonts, 19 of which are available for download from her Behance portfolio. In fact, her fonts have been downloaded more than 10,000 times by other designers.

We asked Filiz about her design work and inspirations:

How would you describe the work that you do?

“I illustrate both my own and other people’s views of the world. On a daily basis, I create designs that solve problems and answer our clients’ needs.”

What do you enjoy about the work that you do?

“I enjoy turning an idea into a finished product. It can be a website, animation, illustration, logo or a custom font.”

How did you start designing fonts?

“We were working on a project that needed a variety of fonts, but I couldn’t find the one I wanted. I love to doodle, which can be useful for idea generation. So I started to draw my ideas and this is how I ended up designing the muscle font. It started there and I really enjoyed it. As the other fonts started to follow, I thought it would be great to share them for free on Behance.com.”

What are you most proud of?

“On Behance, other designers started to download and ‘appreciate’ the fonts, which is similar to ‘liking’ on Facebook. It amazes me that my fonts have been downloaded over 10,000 times. When I think about it I get really excited!”

What inspires you?

“Doodling on good old pen and paper inspires me. That and well-designed objects that surround us in our general everyday lives.”

See design work by Filiz and the rest of our design team on our creative portfolio, repequitylabs.com. If you are thinking about undertaking a new website or digital design project, we can help. For a custom consultation on your next project, contact us.