There are a lot of elements to online reputation management. Really, depending on how far you want to take it, the elements are basically limitless. Any web property out there that gives people a voice caters to potential reputation smearing.

There have been entire books written about online reputation management, and countless articles, but I just wanted to take the time to point out five things to keep track of that you may not have considered (or maybe you have…if so, good thinking).

This week Google released some findings from a test Google Netherlands conducted with Metrixlab, Heineken, and Heineken’s agency Twist. They set out to find what effects paid search ads had on branding, and were quite pleased with the results.

Not all big brands are using social media tools to the potential they could be. For this reason, it really sticks out when they do. There are plenty of small businesses you can learn a lot about ways to use social media from, but it is the big brands that have the truly wide reach. These are the ones that are easier to find, just because they’re brands that you know.

Google’s DoubleClick is presenting findings from a new study it commissioned with Dynamic Logic,  this afternoon at the ARF Conference. The study, titled, "The Brand Value of Rich Media and Video Ads (pdf)," analyzes image (gif/jpg), simple Flash, and rich media (with and without video) ad formats.

Google wants to make sure you don’t forget about Google like you forgot about Dre. With Bing, Microsoft has created the most buzz the company has ever seen in the search industry, and it is spending a large (and well-publicized) sum of money to make sure people know about this one.

Microsoft is launching an ad attack against Google to the tune of $80-100 million, according to AdAge. This will include ads on television, radio, print, and of course online.

The phrase “attribution model” may be a bit too industry-jargonish, and for those of us who remember parcels of information left over from late-night Psych-class cramming, “attribution” means something else entirely.

Cybersquatting is not a new problem on the web. People have been squatting on domains for years. The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act defines cybersquatting as registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The cybersquatter then offers to sell the domain to the person or company who owns a trademark contained within the name at an inflated price. And it’s on the rise…

Here we go again with the whirlwind of search engine brands from Microsoft. Joseph Tartakoff with paidContent.org is reporting that Microsoft has trademarked what appears to be a new brand name of an upcoming mobile search engine. And that name is "Sift." He writes:

LinkedIn wants you to use their social network. It only makes sense that they would provide helpful tips for doing so on their company blog. What’s a better use for a company blog anyway?

But LinkedIn is a popular social network among business professionals anyway, and those who already use it heavily and those who don’t can potentially benefit just the same by taking LinkedIn’s advice.

Tips for Personal Branding 

A recent SEOBook article highlights a good deal of evidence that Google is placing more emphasis on brands than ever before. Author Aaron Wall takes an in depth look at how Google’s algorithm has evolved over his own SEO career, and points out some hints Google has provided in the media as to where its headed before answering a few questions from me for this article.

Recently I’ve discussed how businesses can use Facebook and Twitter to drive traffic to their sites, and even looked at some specific examples of how local businesses here in Lexington, KY are using Twitter.

eBay injects its brand name into its classifieds subsidiary Kijiji, which launched four years ago. Starting with two cities, the Kijiji name will change to eBay Classifieds.

On Monday, Google announced that Dr. Larry Brilliant from Google.org was changing positions and becoming the Chief Philanthropic Evangelist for Google itself.

Still wondering just how social media can actually benefit your business? There are a variety of ways, and some ways may be more relevant to your own business than others.

MarketingSherpa’s "chart of the week" highlights seven business uses of social media, and rates their effectiveness based on results from a survey fielded in December. The biggest impact of social media seems to come in the form of influencing brand reputation.

Hulu is making quite the name for itself. Super Bowl ads will do that. According to Brandon Eshman with Nielsen online, from November 1 to February 1, 2009, Hulu averaged about 300 mentions per day in the online community. 

It’s not just about clicks and easily measured click-through-rates. Search marketers shouldn’t forget about the power of branding, or presence as I’ve called it previously, in the search results. Just because a consumer sees the brand but doesn’t click right away, it doesn’t mean that appearance was without worth.

Google has decided it would be a good idea to give away Gmail stickers. Some might ask "Why would I want Gmail stickers?" But others are certainly enthused about the idea. You can simply browse the comments on a site like GeekSugar to get that impression.

Companies put all sorts of time and effort into getting people to search for certain terms.  This happens with the expectation that people will then visit corporate sites, but a fresh Hitwise report relays the somewhat threatening news that about 13 percent of searchers wind up somewhere else.

WebProNews is in full force at Pubcon, this time not only covering the event, but presenting as well.

Pricing a Link

When trying to understand the value of a link a variety of factors can be considered, including: