According to an article I read on the net recently, Yahoo! have been keeping busy by getting some extra exposure on radio channels in the United States, appearing as an attempt to up their game against Google. Their added features have created a new possibility of competition in the search engine industry. Yahoo!`s proactive approach carries the slight potential of disrupting Google`s comfortable spot at the top of this industry. The more exposure Yahoo! gets, the higher the chances are that some of our clients will be asking to make sure they are in the top 10, not only of Google, but Yahoo! too.

In today`s advertising scene, radio and the internet are finding a middle ground, to some degree. Internet companies are extending their advertising to radio stations, as such in the case of Yahoo! However, it seems that radio is lacking the insight into realising what fruitful opportunities are being missed by not fully utilising the internet`s advertising benefits to expose the positives of radio advertising in addition to other forms of advertising.

Warren Buffett once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” I would compare reputation management to walking through a swamp. If you know where the sturdy branches to hold onto are, you`re likely to make it through. But low and behold, you stand in an area of quick sand, or swamp water and you aren`t holding onto anything for support, the feeling of helplessness overtakes you. Once the first foot is in, it`s going to take a lot of sweat (maybe some blood) and tears to try and get back into that safe zone, ultimately saving you from eternal reputation damnation.

When in high school my brother wore his hair in a side sweep, at a time when that flick in the front and short back and sides was the hip regulation. He waited patiently, enduring ridicule, until he left school and the Emo kids took the stage. Whereupon, he cut his hair in the anti-fashion again. What does this serve to demonstrate? That my brother is one of us.

I, probably like you, write for a blog. I read a bunch of news sites and professional blogs, and occasionally comment on them. As part of my job I conduct online research, interspersed with news and SM forums (which supplement my attention span, I insist). I find cool posts, and horrible posts. But most of all, I interact with a bunch of people who are in fact surfing the same web circuits that I am. You found this post probably because you know the internet well and you know how to hop along the search wire. You know where to look for the things you want.

According to market leaders there are three winning strategies when networking with affiliates. These are achieved through implementing visionary and daring strategies, having a winning organisation with people working together for the same goal, and finally, relentless innovation. At certain strategic times it is necessary for two companies to partner up and combine their skills and resources to build a thriving functional business network.

This is practical in the SEM industry where organisations that don`t specialise in all areas of online marketing partner up with a professional or fellow SEM agency to cover all their bases. In this way they are able to supply the client with the most comprehensive solution that is required. As the saying goes “It is better to have a smaller slice of a larger pie than a larger slice of a smaller pie.” It is best to focus your resources on what you do best in your particular field and then construct a partnership with another organisation that can assist you in achieving a complete result, thus satisfying or even exceeding the client`s expectations.

No one likes to see his or her neighbourhood decline as bad influences move in and disrupt established living conditions. No one likes to see the rules of social etiquette breached to such a degree that those of good standing feel compelled to relocate to a more civil and welcoming environment. We don`t tolerate malicious and inconsiderate behaviour in the real world; it then stands to reason that we won`t tolerate it in the virtual world either.

The term “virtual blight” has been coined as a reference to online behaviour that repels respectable, legitimate traffic and wilfully aims to tarnish the contributions and reputations of established community members. Jonah Stein, creator of the site VirtualBlight , identifies three types of virtual blight, bot blight, human blight and entropy blight.

A press release is a strictly news-structured article detailing a new development or enterprise within a company. It has excellent SEO benefits owing to its high link potential, and of course, it’s great PR. The problem comes in when SEO firms try to punt press releases through news sites, even when their clients don’t have news worthy of telling. This disobeys the first rule of good reputation management: don’t let news sites get hold of your negative press. And if you`re submitting poor, fluffy press releases to popular news sites, it’s definitely negative press.

Sending a decent number of press releases out over time can reinforce a brand’s presence in the public consciousness. Spamming hollow press releases will have the same effect, but the brand will be seriously compromised. Moreover, when your client actually has something remarkable to say, you’ll have already burned your networks and no one will believe you. Remember that with every client you`re targeting pretty much the same market with each press release. The commercial side of the internet is a dog eat dog world, and none is going to read your press release if it’s facile.

A website can act as a portal to your business, especially if you are an online company and rarely get customers coming into your offices. It is imperative to ensure that the impression they receive of your organisation is solid, credible and likable. An ‘about us` page is one that allows others entering your site to learn about your business and its story. This page could be the difference between a potential client deciding to use your services or bouncing off to the next site that they were considering.

You need to ensure that you have control of your online identity. There are certain credibility guidelines that are recommended when publishing information about your business on your site. These guidelines focus on building trust and displaying your expertise in that particular industry.

PR has changed its arena and has progressed into an online format, following an exciting approach to the future of online PR. WebPR enhances brand awareness, exposure, as well as SEO efforts. The channels that are used to achieve this are online article directories, press release sites, industry related sites, online newsrooms, blogs, forums and Social Media sites (like Digg). These are the basic WebPR tools to get you started.