SERM

What is SERM?

SERM is a type of or trend in internet marketing, which implies brand reputation management in search engines. To put it simply, it is a whole set of tools designed to improve online reputation in Google and other search engines, to form a positive image and eliminate negative reviews of a product or company in general.

SERM stands for Search Engine Reputation Management. The abbreviation makes it clear that the key task of the SERM strategy is to control the search results, gradually increase brand mentions, and support a positive reputational background.

It is a must for companies providing their services in a wide variety of fields, be it a beauty salon, a travel agency, an online school, a real estate agency, and so on. SERM helps to boost brand recognition and allows building and maintaining the right image and tone of voice of the company, attracting new customers and thus gradually increasing profits.

SERM and ORM

SERM is often confused with the similar term ORM. In fact, SERM is just a component, one of the tools of a large-scale trend in digital marketing called Online Reputation Management (ORM for short). The key difference between them is that ORM is a strategy for reputation management throughout the Internet, for example, on a company's official website, its social networks, review sites, specialised forums and other platforms where users can discuss the company and its products.

Thus, ORM is considered a more comprehensive approach to online reputation management. It involves content marketing, SMM, influencer impact, and, of course, SERM. That is why search engine reputation management can not be called a full-fledged and self-sufficient tool for online reputation management, because this strategy is designed solely for search engine optimisation. But all additional features are used in ORM.

Besides ORM and SERM, there is another way to influence online reputation. This is SMRM, or Social Media Reputation Management. As part of this approach, specialists deal with maintaining a company's positive reputation in social networks, controlling negative reviews, and collecting feedback from consumers. Unlike the more familiar term SMM, SMRM differs in that its key task is to establish and maintain long-term relationships with potential consumers on social media, as well as to increase brand mentions. At the same time, SMM is used mainly to promote a company's goods and boost sales.

When to apply SERM

First of all, reputation management, or a tool called SERM in digital marketing, is essential for companies in the following cases:

• Competitors post negative or misleading information about your brand;

• Your company's information is already outdated and irrelevant online;

• The search results in a search engine contain predominantly negative reviews and brand mentions in a negative context;

• A company wants to change its market positioning, rebrand and attract new audiences.

In addition, the use of SERM will also be useful for individuals, such as CEOs of large corporations, media personalities and influencers to shape their image, monitor their reputation, and adjust their personal brand. Thus, search engine reputation management will help not only to eliminate negativity, if any, but also to develop a stable positive positioning, increase interest in the company or personal brand, attract new audiences or expand the existing ones by covering new segments.

How SERM works

So, the key aim of SERM is to improve the top positions in the search results. Simply put, by using SERM you can ensure that when searching for information about a certain company or its product, the user finds more positive reviews and as few negative ones as possible. Moreover, search engine reputation management enables you to list a feedback section at the top of search results pages for websites that are run by the business itself, such as blogs, social media accounts, and official websites.

To realise the full potential of SERM, the use of this tool is divided into the following stages:

1. Analysis

Start by examining the current situation, analysing search results and finding out what the online reputation of the company is at the moment. It can be positive, negative, or neutral. You can easily determine this with keyword phrase queries:

• company name

• company name + "reviews"

• company + website

• company + "staff reviews"

• product name + "reviews".

You can collect this data both manually and with the help of special platforms, like Google Ads. After that, you should check the sites that appeared in the top 10 (or better top 20) for each of the queries. It is vital to analyse as many links as possible, as search engines are regularly updated and sites with negative reviews can suddenly appear among the first links.

It is best to create a table to visualise and systematise the data. It should include each site found for each query, noting the number of positive, negative, and neutral reviews on it. For example:

2. Strategy development and implementation

Then, based on the information gathered at the previous stage, a strategy is planned. For example, if a company is found to have a positive online reputation, it is important to maintain it and gradually improve it. If the reputation is poor or does not exist as such (this is indicated by mostly neutral reviews or their absence), you should restore it or create it from scratch.

At this stage, content managers come into play. They compile a list of topics that can be covered in publications, prepare content to boost awareness and form trusting relationships with consumers, and then choose platforms to promote the materials created. At the same time, the content itself can be diverse, and there are practically no restrictions. For example, in addition to responding to user comments, press releases, thematic and PR articles, videos with tutorials on how to use certain products, and so on can be created. SEO specialists then optimise the finished content for specific search queries and publish it on selected platforms, such as review sites, profile forums, and social media groups. It is equally important not only to regularly create new positive content, but also to minimise negative content, process and respond to dissatisfied customer comments, questions, and complaints. In this way, you will demonstrate to users the company's interest in solving their problems.

3. Search result management

Monitoring is essential to see if the previously developed SERM strategy is effective. It is necessary to repeat the actions of the first stage at regular intervals, that is, check the search results with different queries and strive to ensure that there are as many links with positive reactions as possible among the first ten sites in the results.

4. Optimisation

The results of SERM become most noticeable after 3-4 months. This is when the results should be evaluated. For this purpose, the changes in the search results and the impact they have had on the company's reputation, relationships with customers and potential audiences are analysed. It is vital to find out whether new positive feedback and comments have appeared, as well as to check whether sites with negative feedback have sunk to the bottom of the results. If the SERM results meet your requirements, you should continue to follow the developed strategy. However, if there are virtually no changes, you should return to the first stage and make the whole journey over again, adjusting the action plan. Perhaps the sites for publishing content were incorrectly selected, or negative feedback was not fully processed.

Basic SERM tools

SERM tools are those measures which can be used to resolve all reputational issues and difficulties and realise the four key steps listed above. Such tools include:

• Search engine analytics services

One of them has already been named - Google Ads. Equally widespread are SE Ranking, Keyword Tool, and Wordtracker. These are multifunctional platforms that allow you to collect data from search queries, analyse links, conduct SEO audits of websites, and compare a company's website with the official pages of competitors.

• Platforms for reputation field monitoring

Notable among such platforms are LiveDune and YouScan. These are special online monitoring systems with the ability to analyse in-depth information based on posts from social networks, online media, blogs, and online videos. And YouScan provides detailed quantitative and qualitative reports on the number of messages, likes, comments and reposts, automatically determining the tone. Also, such services allow you to derive basic statistical information, systematising the data set.

• Direct content management systems

Brand Analytics online service is used to analyse current trends, determine the most appropriate publication formats for a company and evaluate the effectiveness of media channels when creating a communication strategy. Another platform, SemanticForce, is designed to track in real time any mentions of a company or brand on news sites, social networks, blogs, profile forums and other resources. Talkwalker is also common, which can be used to quickly assess a company's reputation with its target audience, compare it with competitors, determine the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, and keep in touch with potential customers by responding to their questions and comments from various sources on the Talkwalker platform alone.

Thus, among the SERM tools, third-party sites are also actively used, which provides more comprehensive reputation management than just controlling search results.

Tips for using SERM from Lectera experts

Tip 1: Don't neglect SERM even if your reputation is already positive

A perfect online reputation and a minimal number of negative reviews does not mean that a company will not require search engine reputation management. Remember that search engine results change quickly and unexpectedly, so sites with positive comments and praise can move to the second or third page of the search engine and even lower. To stay on top of the situation and keep up-to-date, monitor search results regularly and try to create as much positive content as possible. Keep an eye out even if your company's site was among the first links in the top of the list, because it does not mean that this result will persist in the long term.

Tip 2: Explore the causes of a negative reputation

If at the first stage of implementing SERM processes it turns out that your company's reputation in the online space leaves much to be desired, do not rush to delete negative comments or make excuses. First of all, find out why the brand has such a reputation. Study negative reviews, help customers solve their problems related to your company's products, improve the quality of service, promptly respond to complaints and in no case stay on the sidelines. The result of SERM directly depends on whether the real causes of negative comments are addressed. If you simply replace negative posts with positive content, reputational problems will not disappear or resolve themselves. Therefore, use all comments, even negative ones, as points of growth for the company.

Tip 3: Motivate customers to leave positive feedback

If brand reputation remains neutral, it is important to involve consumers themselves in the SERM process. Loyalty programmes can help increase the number of reviews. Ask your audience to share their opinions about your brand's products on social media, film reviews and unboxings, respond to any mention of the company, and reward user-generated content (UGC) with discounts, branded merchandise or other symbolic gestures. UGC will be an advantage both for consumers who express their opinions and for the brand itself, which uses user-generated content to promote and improve its reputation.

Tip 4: Grow your online presence

This advice is especially relevant for start-ups or companies that have no reputation at all because they have been very niche and have not devoted any time to online promotion. If you don't have an official website yet, it's worth the splurge to develop an attractive page for potential audiences. In addition, it is essential for modern brands to have accounts in several social networks, run their own blog, post on profile resources, and create cards in geoservices (such as Google.Maps, for example). Such simple steps help to increase the company's recognisability and bring in new customers.

Pros and cons of using SERM

A key advantage of SERM is the versatility of this tool, as all consumers - from visitors to a small grocery shop to clients of a large bank - read reviews. Other reasons why SERM is particularly popular include:

• Quick and effective improvement of the reputation of the entire company and its specific products;

• An increase in conversions and, as a result, the likelihood that a potential customer will make a purchase and then a repeat purchase;

• Identification of the most urgent problems for customers, as well as the ability to promptly correct faults or eliminate deficiencies;

• An increased audience loyalty and customer confidence;

• Cheapness and ease of use, because SERM does not require additional financial expenses and training of employees.

However, SERM has drawbacks as well:

• Low efficiency unless additional tools are used - the most tangible SERM results are achieved with comprehensive reputation management, i.e. together with ORM tools;

• Lack of guarantees - a SERM strategy is not able to provide long-term stable results, so it requires regular repetition of the four stages;

• Variability of search engine results - sudden and unpredictable changes in the algorithms have a significant impact on the results.

Conclusion

As we have established, reputation management in the online space is particularly valuable. Image is one of the main intangible assets of companies, because the better a brand's reputation, the more consumers trust it and buy its products. Inability to conduct thorough web analytics, communicate with one's audience online, control and protect one's reputational field can lead to serious damage, such as a drop in reach, brand recognition, audience loyalty and, subsequently, the departure of loyal customers. Whereas SERM helps strengthen as well as improve the image of the company and allows to broadcast its values to the masses, promote positive content and form trusting relationships with the target audience.