Is the “As Seen On…” Banner for You? Only if you Want to Build Backlinks and Be Found Online!

Sheila had just published a business book to promote her consulting services. But she had a reputation problem not of her own making. A family member had been incarcerated on a drug charge. When potential clients searched Sheila's name, they saw page after page of results about the drug charge story and requests for clemency. She didn’t want her clients to find the reputation-damaging story as the ONLY reference when her name was searched.

Subsequently, I worked with Sheila to publish online content that publicized her books and consulting services. Soon, her own name and brand dominated the first five pages of Google results, in front of the story about her family member's incarceration.

Sheila says of her results, "You are awesome! I thought that this was never going to happen, and I can't tell you how much it means to me that you did this!”

Sheila's first positive search optimization results were achieved in only one week.

This case study reveals a practical way to benefit from a Reputation Management Program with the right information and guidance.

A side note of interest to many online business owners is that Sheila’s resulting media placements on hundreds of news sites not only got her media placements that benfitted her reputation, but also allow her to use an “As Seen On…” banner on her website and marketing funnel.

Such banners are being used by consultants, coaches, and other experts on their sites and profiles.

Contrarian articles about the "As Seen On..." banners have appeared on social media channels, with some critics calling the banners “fishy” or “unethical.”

I have a very different opinion of this. IF your brand actually has been published on multiple news sites that feature your content, this allows you to utilize the 'As Seen On...' banner. It is completely ethical and in fact, it is recommended!

Media authority can be extremely helpful to you if you own a business and you're working to create an impression online and differentiate yourself from your competition. In addition, the news site stories create backlinks to your online assets, which helps you be found by your customers and clients.

It is a fact that public relations professionals use paid services to distribute their content all the time. This results in many more placements than could be secured through a pro’s personal contacts within the media.

Of course, PR pros call their favorite reporters and editors when they have a story. But they also use paid services to send the story to the wire services other distribution services. Getting the story placed in multiple media outlets is often only accomplished through these companies. This service is one of the reasons it’s beneficial for businesses to use the help of a professional.

On one site, a content distribution company describes its service: “Sending [content] via [our service] is proven to build awareness, boost online visibility, and gain media pickup.”

On another site, the company urges visitors to use their service in order to, “Reach your disclosure targets. Get more views with multimedia. Track your results and refine your message. Be the news everyone talks about.”

I offer a similar program, just like I did with my client Sheila, and provide personalized attention and research expertise to my clients with better reach. My staff and I interview the client, research key terms and phrases, write the content to incorporate all we know about search engine optimization, human interest, and newsworthiness, and curate the right images for the story.

We publish the content to get our clients' stories all over the internet. The story is on the site, just as it would be if an international or national brand paid a large PR firm to provide placements.

This helps you as a small business owner get started with your media relations campaigns, improve your search results, and provides you with the opportunity to compete with the larger companies by adding your “Trust Banner” (that's my own name for the “As Seen On...” banner) to your online assets - whether it's a social media profile, a website, or a funnel.

I think that the online visibility available through publishing online content should be available to anyone who is willing to put in the effort, not only to large, national brands and multimillionaires. A bonus of this service is that it also gets my clients’ photos into Google Images, and often even gets their stories on Google News. The icing on the cake is the ability to add the prestige of a Trust Banner to online profiles, just like my client Sheila.

This is the very essence of reputation management and the egalitarian nature of the internet.

If you want to know more about reputation management services and The Trust Banner for small businesses and online entrepreneurs are invited to visit The PR Secrets.