How to Protect Your Online Reputation

How to Protect Your Online Reputation

The Internet provides us with an unbelievable amount of information about facts, technologies, and people. Once you start any Internet activity, your digital footprints may stay there forever.

We create or change our digital portrait with simple actions we don't even pay attention to every day. If you think it doesn't influence your life, it does and can enhance or ruin your prospects. Don't forget that the Internet is a public place, no matter how we see or want to see it.

What is Online Reputation?

If you want to know your online reputation, start by googling your name or your company's name. The information found is personal or business online reputation or the way how other people see you online. 

Search results are the fastest way to draw your approximate digital portrait. For a more advanced and adequate understanding of online reputation, use special tools or consult professionals like MBS Tech.

What Makes a Digital Portrait?

Any digital portrait is built by digital footprints you leave on the Internet. What do you do online? Any answer can lead to the information about you that is either given publicly on purpose or can be potentially tracked or accessed.

Let's look at common sources where your digital footprints can be easily found.

Online Shopping Websites

When you accept cookies, they stay to track your browsing history and website preferences. In such a way, targeted advertising based on your location, requests, and websites you choose appears on your pages. 

Social Networking Sites

If you aren't careful with privacy settings, everything you share, publish, follow, like, comment, send, etc., becomes public. Something funny today can ruin your prospects or relations in the future. And even if you delete harmful data, it still can remain in online archives or somebody's copies.

I Have Nothing to Hide. Why Should I Care about My Online Reputation?

But would you like any stranger to know all the details of your and your family's life? The first important issue is Privacy. Lack of privacy may affect you not at once, but, eventually, it certainly will. Not all information about you is appropriate to anybody who accessed your digital portrait. Potential harm can be done to relationships, possible job opportunities, legal proceedings, credit history, etc.

Moreover, your digital footprints information is always tracked and can be sold to retailers, etc. Are you still good with that?

Business Online Reputation

Nowadays, businesses' success highly depends on their online reputation. Many customers search for information and reviews about unknown companies they are interested in. Business owners should look after the digital portrait which a search engine provides users with after entering the company's name. If online reputation is low, most customers will refuse to cooperate with such a company. If it's positive, the company will build trusted relations and attract many future customers.

Positive Online Reputation with Tips about How to Use the Internet Sensibly

1. Delete negative content. This tip doesn't work 100% because you won't know whether the data really disappeared. Of course, it's better to think carefully about what you post or do online from the very beginning. But this tip is still worth a try.  
2. Think carefully about what you share via the Internet and manage permissions. That data is probably more public than you might guess. And it's not that simple to get rid of anything once it's on the net.
3. Separate your digital life by dividing it into categories (home, work, etc.). Use different names, accounts, emails. In that case, private information can stay unknown for an unnecessary audience.
4. Create your own website and consider an SEO audit. Publish relevant, high-quality content regularly.
5. Be more mindful of online apps and services. Make sure their settings safeguard cybersecurity to avoid private data disclosures or leaks.
6. Explore cybersecurity enhancing tools and expert solutions.
7. Manage cookies. Clean cookies in your browser and install special plug-ins to protect against unwanted cookies.
8. Think about whether you need everybody to know your exact location. Switch off automatic GPS navigation tools if not required.

For more advanced professional data search, explore OSINT capabilities and our other services to help maintain, improve, or protect your online reputation.