Reputation Defense Network

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Director of Marketing at an automotive company specializing in aftermarket performance for luxury exotic vehicles.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Reputation Defense Network?

Suppression of negative content

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Referred by a our PR company and we decided based on the initial conversation with a specialist

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We were confronted with some negative content from an ex-employee that required immediate attention. Some of the information was false and misleading and was appearing on several prominent websites which were being found by our potential customers.

We engaged Reputation Defense Network and they took immediate action on stopping the situation from getting worse but also working quickly to eliminate as much of the negative content as possible.

They were highly effective in this stage and whatever could not be permanently removed we are actively suppressing and maintaining on later pages of search results.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with approximately 3-4 individuals at any given time. The titles included were the Directory of Client Strategy, Director of Special Projects, Content Development team and their in house attorney.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We are very pleased with the overall outcome of the project, most of the extremely prominent negative information has been permanently removed.

There are some residual URLs that are still ranking under very specific search terms, however, we are engaged in a longer term campaign to actively suppress them.

We were amazed at how quickly the team got to work on the removal effort and quite honestly did not expect that it was even possible just from talking with our attorneys and a few other companies in the field who told us that removal is not possible.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Seamless

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The ease of access, their sense of urgency, and overall understanding of the industry and the gravity of the situation.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

None come to mind.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a founding member of Veritel Homes, LLC. The company engages in the acquisition and development of residential and commercial properties with a focus on sustainable development and renewable energy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Reputation Defense Network?

We were being adversely affected by the presence of inaccurate and negative online content. We employed Reputation Defense Network to design and implement a campaign to showcase our brand, and improve our online presence.

What were your goals for this project?

To accurately convey our core principals and to negate the presence of inaccurate and harmful online content.

SOLUTION

How did you select Reputation Defense Network?

We did an extensive web search and received recommendations and testimonials from trusted sources. We then vetted the top ranking service providers and ultimately chose Reputation Defense Network based on their proven results and unique ability to solve our problem in the shortest amount of time.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We went through an initial intake interview and Reputation Defense Netowrk developed a custom campaign based on our specific strengths, then implemented and maintained the effort to achieve the desired result. During the process, they have updated the campaign as our needs and goals have evolved.

What was the team composition?

We have worked closely with our project manager and other members of the team when necessary, including a founder and the lead content strategist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Since beginning the campaign we have been successful in eliminating 5 of the negative page one search results, and are still working to make progress on the two negative items that remain.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our tems worked seamlessly and they were always very responsive to any questions or needs that we have had.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They immediately take charge of our situation and worked continuously to solve the problem.We were also impressed by their depth of knowledge on the subject and their ability to provide results.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We of course would have liked the results be instantaneous, but we realize that is not realistic and is out of their control.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an international cybersecurity firm providing dark web business security, scanning, and monitoring. We also provide personal identification monitoring software platforms. I am the president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Reputation Defense Network?

Our company had a rogue acquaintance who misrepresented himself as a partner and went around taking investment funds from people for himself. This caused false and defamatory information to circulate about my company on the internet.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted this false information completely deleted or corrected. Also, I wanted this person to stop what he was doing and clear our brand.

SOLUTION

How did you select Reputation Defense Network?

I found this vendor through a Google search. They were one of the first ones that I saw.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

First, we had our initial phone call where I went over the problems and negative press that we were having. I went over each of the offending pieces of content that I could find. Their team went through their complete audit, then came back to us with a proposal. Once we started they had a full technical and PR team on board for different parts of our project.

On some occasions, their defamation attorneys were also called upon. They created our online creatives, wrote to webmasters, and managed our entire online presence. There were many other intricate techniques used that I would have never thought of. Our management team relied on them for strategy because they had important insider knowledge in the field. All we had to do was to look over and approve deliverables and content and they did the rest.

What was the team composition?

We currently work with about four different team members and two of their defamation attorneys were also engaged at various points.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Many of the articles and posts were deleted from multiple websites. As a side benefit, they were able to rank us on Google and take control of our search results on Google. Some of the outlets weren't cooperating, but those links had been moved to page 3 of Google. I am satisfied with the results.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We work well together. We have monthly reports, and they are keeping us updated throughout the process. I would say the workflow is great.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

After interviewing many other companies I found this company simply made more sense and they have a very high level of understanding of the reputation industry. They know all pros and cons of each strategy, and each step is carefully taken. I would say the attention to detail and experience of the team was most impressive to me

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing that comes to mind, although the cost was a bit higher than some of the others, we really wanted results with guaranteed milestones. I was quoted lower costs by some of the overseas companies in India and evens some US companies. We didn't hire those companies, so I can't say for sure what kind of results we would have gotten.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company helps and manages Amazon sellers and e-commerce stores. We also provide education and coaching courses. I am the president of my company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Reputation Defense Network?

Our company hired reputation defense for a review removal project and suppression of a few forum links where our company was mentioned unfairly.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to maintain a truthful image of our company on Google. For some reason, Google was picking up some Reddit posts and displaying it pretty high in the search results.

SOLUTION

How did you select Reputation Defense Network?

I found this vendor through a list website called greatagencies.com. They are the #1 staff pick, so we gave them a call.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We chose to go with a more aggressive approach because it was affecting our sales. We had a kick-off call/interview with James where he asked us detailed questions about our business and issues. Then he came back with a detailed analysis of our situation and what our next action steps are. He had a few different interesting approaches. Their team saw a few opportunities to contact the webmaster directly, so they reached out directly. We had some links on Google where they are actively optimizing for us. Their PR department got us really good placements are some prominent publications.

What was the team composition?

The team is comprised of a PR person, 2 writers, and a project manager. We haven’t had to engagement any of their attorneys yet, but that is a possibility.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Within 30 days, we saw a lot of movement on our Google results as James predicted from our conversations. It is still a work in progress, but we are happy with the results so far. A couple of false reviews had been deleted on those copycat websites. They seem like exact copies of the same thing that was posted on forums.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow and everything is going well. We get a call once per week with updates where they are checking in on our project and concerns. We get reports once per month.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I think what really impressed me was their systems. They seem to have systems for everything. Our company called many-many similar companies, but we went with Reputation Defense because they specialized in just reputation. Talking to their team, our team realized that they knew what they were talking about.

Are there any areas for improvement?

So far so good. Again, our project is in progress.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and founder of my company. We are the largest provider of custom metal credit cards online.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Reputation Defense Network?

We were being attacked by competitors with false reviews, blogs and videos that were discrediting our business. We needed immediate assistance in removing this content because it was damaging our brand severely.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to remove negative information appearing as quickly as possible.

SOLUTION

How did you select Reputation Defense Network?

We were referred to them from our local counsel who had worked with them in the past. They are in San Francisco and we are in Silicon Valley so face to face meetings were important for us.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

They were able to work hand in hand with our attorney and also Google and multiple review platforms to rid the negative reviews. They were also able to remove a defamatory blog that was hosted by a competitor.

They were very detailed in their approach and were able to not only remove the negative information but stop them from furthering their efforts. We were actually able to identify down to the name on the ISP account and determine that it was a competitor doing the damage. They have since ceased all activity.

What was the team composition?

There were about 2 team members and our attorney working on the project. We had very consistent communication and had no issues to speak of.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We were able to have approximately 23 negative reviews removed, including 2 different videos and a blog. We are still working to improve our overall reputation and build a content shield to prevent this from happening again.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Seamless. We have no complaints.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The passion. They are incredibly talented yes, but their passion to actually get the job done was impressive. It's hard to find people that truly care about your company as much as you do. I felt that there was a genuine bond between our company and theirs in terms of fighting for the results we wanted.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that our team can think of. We are 100% satisfied with the work and couldn't be happier.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a National SAAS company that has created an online market place for medium to large builders and licensed contractors to find, easily filter, schedule, bid, and share projects quickly and effectively. I am the COO and co-founder of my company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Reputation Defense Network?

We had an overly zealous blogger who wrote about us and rated our software unfairly a year ago during beta stages of the software. He didn't even bother to send an email, nor did he interview us. He wrote a few comparison articles about us and a few of our quasi-competitors as a lead generation tool to make money for himself.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal for this project is to get him to remove or update his blog articles about us, which are completely ungrounded and unfair. This information is already old, and we had already moved on from the bugs.

SOLUTION

How did you select Reputation Defense Network?

We were referred to Reputation Defense Network through a digital marketing company we had worked with. We layout the issues and they immediately were able to begin to apply their solutions.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

1. The engagement comprised of an attorney hired by the vendor to engage the author.
2. Our review software was set up, and we were trained on it. This software is used for encouraging our current users to ask for help and make changes to the software.
3. A full "reputation shield" strategy was put in place as an ongoing defense against future attacks from bloggers and reviewers with a hidden agenda. We have an online PR campaign engagement, which doubles as a reputation shield.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned the main reputation specialist, an attorney, a PR manager, and a content strategist. There was also a review management person, but we are not in direct contact.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We are engaged in a removal and suppression campaign currently. The software systems are set up, and we are careful with our customers’ voices and finding out more about what our users are looking for. I think it's definitely a benefit of engaging our users more often. The main negative links have already moved into page three of Google, so I am pleased with the results.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We are still working with Reputation Defense Networks' team very closely to protect our brand and business. Their customer service is excellent because they have a dedicated person who calls us regularly to introduce new creative strategies into our existing efforts.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I found that their depth of knowledge about the online reputation industry is the most impressive. I also really like the team members' knowledge and drive because it's very difficult to find passionate and trustworthy people in the online marketing world.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They are very well organized as a smaller team and are busy most of the time. Most of the meetings must be scheduled by appointment, and emails are usually answered at the end of the day or the next morning.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Principal, Real Estate Investment Firm

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Reputation Defense Network?

We hired them to remove some negative information that was appearing for my personal and company brand.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to completely remove and/or suppress the content as far back as possible.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were referred to this vendor through a PR firm that we had worked with in the past on other projects unrelated. They highly recommended them for their abilities in this specific field.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

From the onset, they were able to develop a plan to completely remove the negative information that was coming up in search results for our brand. The process was very smooth and they explained in detail all of the terminologies that were new to us, given that this was our first experience with an online attack of this nature.

What was the team composition?

One of the refreshing aspects of working with this team was the ability to be able to call or text the principles that were directly working on this campaign from day one. A pet peeve of mine when working with any company is good communication.

Often times it is difficult to get a hold of companies once they have received payment for services, whereas in this case, we did not have to pay until the service was complete. I'm not sure if other companies operate like this but this was a key factor in our decision to move forward quickly as we had very little risk.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

From the start of this project, we were getting calls from potential clients who were referencing the negative information online, and often times they would disappear or go silent without further explanation.

We knew this was affecting us, however, we were not able to gauge exactly how much. Since removing this piece of content from search results, we have not been hindered in our sales process since.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Seamless. No other way to describe it. They did exactly what they said they were going to do.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their guarantee.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that easily come to mind. We are still actively working with them and have had no issues since starting.