Bad Reputation on SEC or Government Sites?
A bad reputation on government sites or The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website can be especially devastating for a company. While many businesses dismiss flame sites or negative comments made on blogs, forums, and newsletters, it is much harder to ignore government sites and a bad SEC listing. These sites simply carry too much cachet. These sites carry so much authority that any potential customer reading about your company on these sites will inevitably believe what they read.
Worse, government sites and SEC tend to have very good search engine rankings. Companies who have been listed with the SEC or have had negative comments about them posted on government sites have traditionally had a very hard time getting superior search engine rankings. Some companies spend many thousands of dollars on SEO services, hoping to push negative SEC or government site comments about their company down the rankings, but are frustrated when these sites continue to show up very high in search engine results.
If government sites or the SEC have negative comments about your company, you need to take action. Negative mentions on these sites are just too damaging to your company, since these sites are so authoritative. One way you can work to repair your company reputation is to ensure that any information contained on government sites is accurate. Thanks to the long bureaucratic process involved in getting information online on a government sites, many government sites contain inaccurate or outdated information. In many cases, you can request that the website remove inaccurate or outdated information or at least add an update about the situation. That way, readers looking at the information will at least be informed. Keep in mind, however, that government sites are often very reluctant to make changes of this nature on their website. They are simply not very motivated to do so and they often assume (correctly) that you have little legal recourse to enforce the changes in any event. If you want to make changes on government sites, you will have to be very persistent as well as patient.
If you are getting bad listings on the SEC or other government sites, you will certainly want to ensure that some government sites, at least, have neutral or positive listings about your company. That way, these high ranking government sites may eventually bump SEC and other negative sites out of the first page of search engine results. One easy way to get on a government site is to ensure that you are listed on your local chamber of commerce site. Many municipal governments have short listings of local businesses on their chamber of commerce sites. If your municipal site has a list of businesses in a specific area – such as a revitalized downtown core – or has a list of businesses that tourists might be interested in, do not be shy about getting your company name on these listings, where appropriate. If your community or city is hosting charitable and community fund-raising events, check to see whether a link will be provided for sponsoring companies. Sign up for some worthy causes that will see you featured on the municipal web site. It’s a great way to give back to the community and improve your reputation at the same time.