Website reputation is a key factor in ensuring the online success of an organization. Managing online brand reputation involves the maintenance of a good image through the offered products and services and also the management of negative publicity. Negative publicity arises from unsatisfied customers who have lost confidence in your services due to delay in addressing of grievances.
Let us list some key points that can hurt your online brand reputation.
1.) Website Downtime
Website downtime is a significant factor that affects your website reputation more than everything else. Almost every other web hosting company promises a 99.9 % website uptime that is practically impossible due to server downtimes and other inevitable server problems which are beyond the control of the web hosting company. Website downtimes can be proactively managed by subscribing to a website monitoring service that regularly monitors your website and servers and notifies immediately if there is an arising downtime problem.
2.) Negative Online Reviews
Social reputation is affected by negative posts and product reviews on social networking sites and the product website that should be combated by implementing proactive strategies that enhance your positive web image and give you top SEO rankings. Proactive monitoring not just enhances your brand value but also improves your credibility in the eyes of your customers who look out for prompt response to their queries and grievances.
3.) Poor Website Design
Poor website design can be a hindrance in effectively communicating your products and services to the prospective customers. A website owner looses his credibility and goodwill among the site visitors if he does not provide his contact information on the homepage. Your website logo should summarize your products and services to the visitors. The navigation should be seamless from the main page to other related pages so that all the requisite information is easily accessible to the visitors. There should be significant presence of social media links on the front page that generates interest among the visitors.
4.) Low Quality Content
Website content should be clear and precise so that the remembrance quotient for your website is stronger. Low quality content may evade your prospective visitors from buying your products and services. Portray your homepage with high quality concise content that conveys your product information in a truthful manner. Enumerating customer feedbacks on the front page is a good idea to draw visitors ‘attention that may convert potential visitors to buyers.
5.) Not So Good Social Reputation
Not so good social reputation can hurt your website reputation as well. Striking the right balance between your brick and mortar brand and online brand is challenging but critical for the development of a good social reputation. Consumers favour a brand based upon its engagement level with the followers on various social media platforms. Social media communication builds a good social reputation. This can be accomplished by engaging with your followers through updated content, questionnaires, surveys and interesting posts. This in turn builds up the customers’ trust and confidence in your products and services and enhances your social reputation.