You have probably heard of this before, in fact it's in use today. Simply do a search for "weapons of mass destruction" and you will see an example of a site which has used linking to rank it #1 for this search phrase, and has done so for more than a year.

So when it comes to managing your reputation, you can see how easy it can be to attempt to influence what people learn about you or your site. But it can backfire.

All it takes is someone with a little more pull and your reputation can be harmed. If someone doesn't like you and they post an entry on a blog, for example, asking others to put a link back to your site on a negative phrase, that can have a negative effect on you. What happens is that the cumulative effect of all those negative links pointing to your site will make you look bad, harming your reputation. Add on top of this that many people consider what is on the web as truth, regardless of whether it is or not, and you're reputation has been damaged.

I remember being asked by someone once about a year ago how they could outrank a site which was criticizing them. What happened started as a disagreement, but the result was that if you searched for this person's name, a site criticizing him ranked above his own personal site. He wanted to know what he needed to do to move above the critical site.

Upon checking into it I found that the critical site had hundreds more links using the tactic I outlined above (that is requesting links on a phrase back to his site). Therefore what this person had to do was attempt the same tactic.

This of course would be very time consuming for him. But based on the results - that is being outranked by a site which is derogatory to you - would the costs be justified?

Even going to court to right the wrong doings wouldn't necessarily help. Sure you could sue the guy who is critical of you, but you can't expect the hundreds or thousands of sites which link back to him to comply and remove their links, especially if they are located on sites around the world.

At this point it almost becomes a war of words, or at least links, in an attempt to outperform the guy who is out to get you.

On the other hand, the web can be a great way to promote yourself and protect your reputation. By building the right links back to you, you can help solidify your positive reputation by ensuring that those who may be out to bad mouth you are left out of the search results.

This obviously adds another degree to your link building campaign. You want to make sure that not only are your links relevant but that they are going to help promote your positive self image. This, of course, should be a natural thing. You want links from "good" sites. Obviously a link back to you is considered a vote for you, the question becomes: are those votes "good" votes or questionable?

Rob Sullivan
Production Manager
Enquiro.com

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