Online Reputation Management (ORM) and SEO: What’s the difference and do I need both?
As a business or brand, how do you know if you need online reputation management (ORM) or search engine optimization (SEO) – or both? The distinction between the two is often blurred, because both utilize some of the same search engine optimization principles and tools.
What is Search Engine Optimization?
– SEO focuses on promoting a specific website and increasing targeted traffic.
– SEO typically focuses on competitive keywords such as “men’s hiking boots” or “brown rain boots” rather than on the name of a company.
What is Online Reputation Management?
– ORM impacts searches for branded keywords in order to shape how stakeholders see your brand. It typically focuses on the name of a company, brand, or individual.
– ORM isn’t about making a sale, but about having a positive impact on the brand for long-term success.
– ORM focuses on the entire search results page. This includes the organic search results, the knowledge graph, crowd-sourced information, videos and images, and Wikipedia and business profiles.
The key difference is that the goal of SEO is to ensure that people find your company online, while ORM shapes the opinion people form of you based on information available online. To distinguish the two even further, it’s helpful to remember that SEO gets your foot in the door and gets you noticed, while ORM gets people coming through the door once they’ve heard about you.
Implementing ORM tactics can have a powerful effect on your brand and your business, as search results influence the perception and opinion of key stakeholders and clients. Search engine optimization is often owned by the marketing department since the goal is typically to increase leads and sales; while online reputation management is usually integrated with communications and PR efforts.
As digital marketing becomes more important for virtually every company, there is an increased need for brands to leverage both ORM and SEO to maximize their online potential. Five Blocks recommends using both; while most people have heard of SEO, ultimately ORM efforts will have a broader impact on your brand and your business.
At Five Blocks we leverage data, proprietary technology, and over a decade of expertise to help clients achieve a fair digital representation of themselves and their work.
If you’re looking to implement a digital reputation management program, or need help managing your digital reputation, contact us for a free assessment of your current situation.
You may also like:
- Managing Your Online Reputation – Where Do You Start?
- How One Small Technical Error by Forbes Changed the Reputation of Fortune 500 CEOs… Overnight
- Five Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Brand’s Digital Reputation
