There is one thing in business that carries no specific dollar amount. It is priceless. That thing that I’m talking about is your reputation. Whether you have actively developed an online presence or not, one of the most important tasks in 2016 is protecting your reputation!

Yes, managing your reputation today must include your online reputation. Similar to the lengths you would go to protect your credit, regularly checking for activity connected to your name and your business is essential. Anyone can post information about you whether you have a strong web and social media presence or not. Ultimately, it’s better to develop your own online reputation so you are in control of generating positive search results through your online posts and profiles.

One of the easiest ways to monitor your reputation is by setting up a Google Alert which will inform you of anything that has appeared about you online. Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic. Go to www.google.com/alerts and set up a free alert on your name and your firm’s name. Whenever anything appears online that you or someone else has posted about you, you will receive an email with a link to the online occurrence. You can add alerts for your team members too.

People make decisions about you based on your online presence. How strong is yours? Does it match how good you really are? If not, you need to think of ways that you can change that because it is hurting you and your business. Your online reputation is a fast way to attract a lot of positive – and negative – attention to you and your firm. Control the message and you will control your reputation.