Question: Are You Reselling Private Label Online Reputation Management?

 

Online reputation management is among the relatively new services offered by private label SEO providers. From a marketing perspective, ORM is simply monitoring and influencing the reputation of an individual or a business on the Internet. According to Wikipedia, reputation management "was originally coined as a public relations term, but advancement in computing, the Internet and social media made it primarily an issue of search results."

But exactly what is ORM for private label SEO resellers? 

For many it is treated as an "extra" or additional service, apart from search engine optimization which is the main product. They think of it as a complementary service that is very much suited for companies that are paying to get SEO. What resellers do not understand is that online reputation can be a precursor to many other private label services, not just an extra or add-on. 

 Or reselling ORM services? You should!

Online Reputation Management Statistics

Here are some figures that can make you -- and your clients -- seriously consider acquiring ORM services:

• 57% of consumers read reviews before deciding to book a hotel, says TripAdvisor
• 40% of consumers who leave a hotel's website to validate their decision actually end up booking a room elsewhere, says Tnooz
• 90% of HR recruiters consider searching a candidate on Google as common practice, says Ruby Media Group
• 57% of users now search what information is posted about themselves online, says Pew Internet
• 83% of companies will face a crisis that will negatively impact their share price between 20% and 30%, during the next five years, says Oxford-Metrica

We could go on but the meaning behind these numbers is the same. Everyone in the sales funnel -- from consumer to seller -- is concerned about their online reputation. It is more important for sellers to manage their online reputation because it impacts sales. That is why it is important to resell private label online reputation management and is the reason why you should be reselling it as well.

Some companies and individuals have yet to realize what ORM can do to their businesses. By letting them see the positive and negative results of this service, you'll be able to convince them to acquire your services.

Among the many prospects you can pitch private label online reputation management services are:

• Entrepreneurs - These are people who are very passionate about what they do. They are personally invested in their businesses and that alone is enough for them to take action to protect whatever they have built so far. While they cannot stop people from posting negative comments elsewhere, they can counter these negative comments by answering with more positive posts. Or, they can hire you to do so.
• Local Businesses - As the marketing adage goes, nothing beats word of mouth as the best sales promotion. Local businesses are in the prime position to benefit from ORM because people search online but buy locally.
• SME - Small and medium enterprises do not have large marketing budgets, especially when compared with large corporations. But they if you make them understand the importance or ORM, they will consider it.
• Executives - A survey by New York-headquartered PR firm Hill & Knowlton revealed that 87% of respondents believe the CEO’s reputation is an important part of a company’s reputation. Need I say more?
• Freelancers - Freelancers get recommendations from clients that found their service satisfactory. They get a lot of negative -- and sometimes unfair -- reviews from clients who weren't happy with their work.

Positioning and Using Data to Convince Your Market

What you should remember here is that pitching ORM to targets means you need to adjust your approach based on what field they belong to. For instance, the hotel statistics will work better, obviously, for hotel businesses. Although they can also be used for similar lodging businesses like motels, inn, and resorts. You need to adjust the data you will use to better suit your market. Better yet, you can come up with a document that contains general statistics about ORM and then include a "customizable" section, which you can adjust based on the target you are about to pitch your services to.

Question: Are You Qualified to Resell Private Label SEO Services?

Private label SEO is basically a partnership. It is the bond between the provider and reseller that matters. This bond needs to be strong. Otherwise, the partnership will collapse and in most cases, it's the reseller that's left buried underneath the rubbles. Why so? Because he's in the middle of the business flow! If the business collapses, he will lose providers and clients alike. He will lose both supply and demand, and without these, there is no profit.

She asks a question, you answer.

Also known as white label SEO, this is the type of product that is supplied by the provider and rebranded by the reseller. To the client, it will appear that the reseller IS the producer when in reality, he is merely outsourcing the work to a provider. But that is not where the problem lies. In most cases, the problem is between the reseller and the provider. We will discuss that some other day.

For now, what's important is to be able to help everyone determine if they are fit to become resellers. Now that you have an idea of what private label SEO is, you now more or less know if this is the kind of business for you. But to be sure, here's a list of people or companies that may be suited to reselling this service.

You are qualified to resell if you are:

An SEO company - Search engine optimization is a multi-billion dollar industry with a global audience. That's why a lot of investors are bent on setting up their own SEO company. Want to avoid spending on staff, office space, and IT infrastructure? Outsource your SEO and focus on gathering clients instead. Are you currently servicing retail clients and you want to take in more campaigns without hiring more people? Outsource it. Want to grow your SEO business without additional upfront investment?

A PPC company - Pay per click advertising often goes hand in hand with SEO and if you provide natural search methods, you most likely provide PPC to your clients as well. Ask your white label SEO provider and chances are they also provide pay per click advertising.

An online advertising company - if you're running ads or creating them, you qualify too. That's because the best online marketing providers also often have web design and content creation teams that you can tap.

A web design company - Same as above. You can take in more clients without growing your team and shouldering the expenses. One strategy is to focus on new and big clients and then outsource smaller projects.

A PR agency - Public relations firms specialize in building the reputation of their clients. To execute all their strategies, they will need assistance in creating content, publishing that content online, improving the online visibility of clients, "burying" negative comments, and the list goes on. Take note that major providers of private label SEO services also offer online reputation management so they understand your perspective. They also can help you with your Internet-related needs.

A Social media optimization provider - Because of the demand for marketing services related to Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and pother social networks, a lot of SMO providers struggle to meet the demand. That is why they opt to outsource some projects and take a cut from the deal instead. They get to keep clients and earn from projects.

A freelancer - If you provide any of the services above but you are a one-man team, the white label SEO way is the best path you can thread. It has the most benefits for you since you know the business. You want to expand your business and increase your profits but you don't have the extra money yet to grow your office and your team. The best way to approach this problem is by assigning your projects to your "own" white label team.

A salesman/manager by nature - Finally, if you have a knack for managing teams and clients or selling stuff, then you qualify as a reseller. While SEO, web design, and other online marketing related services are complicated, the idea behind reselling is easy. You find clients and projects then outsource the projects to the provider. You make your profit by marking up the provider's original price.