Search engines drive the most amount of traffic to any website and behind it all, deciding who sees what, is an incredibly complex algorithm.

Much like the Oracle of Delphi, ask a search engine a question and it will decide what is the most relevant, engaging and useful content for you to see, and it makes these decisions for every single organisation, association or individual in existence, constantly re-evaluating its position throughout the day.

This makes search engines both a litmus test of a brand’s digital performance and its reputation. However, despite this, companies around the world have yet to harness its potential.

We saw the impact on Fortune 500 companies in our Critical Conditions report and now our analysis of the top businesses in the UK shows this is rife on our shores too.

75 million people search for the FTSE100 companies, and 54% of them will see negative content on the first page of search results – which loses them up to 15 million leads every month.

Media headlines are driving the issue and they do not fade away naturally, with the oldest content on a FTSE100’s first page of search results going all the way back to 2009. Companies need to prove that they have better and more positive content to replace the negative content. No doubt that many, if not all, of these companies have positive stories to tell, but whether it’s through misfiring or simply not firing at all, search engines aren’t listening.

Let’s be clear, this isn’t about dirty tricks, authentic integrated communication strategies – underpinned by search engine insight – is the cure. Try and trick Google, you’ll get burnt, play by its rules and if you genuinely deserve your goal, you’ll be rewarded.

That’s why we’ve put our money where our mouth is and invested in technology that specialises in this area, GCore: enabling brands to take control of their search presence. Using its data and our extensive experience in reputation management, we’ve created the UK’s most comprehensive online reputation analysis, filled with insight for your communication strategy.

Download our free report below to learn more.

Contact our Team: If you are interested in talking to our experts about how we can help you in 2019, please contact uk@grayling.com.