Reputation management is an unregulated market. Anyone can use the title, the work is largely invisible from the outside, and results are difficult for a buyer to verify. These are the questions worth asking before signing anything — including the ones we expect to be asked.
Questions worth asking any firm
- What specifically will you do? A proposal should name the properties, the platforms, and the sequence — not just an outcome.
- What can’t be done here? Every engagement has limits. A firm that names none has either not looked at your situation or is not telling you about it.
- Who does the work? Ask whether it is in-house or subcontracted, and who reviews it.
- How is progress measured? Agree on what is being tracked, and how often you will see it, before the work starts.
- What happens if it does not work? Ask what the firm considers failure, and what follows.
Claims to treat carefully
- Guaranteed removal of content the firm does not control. Removal depends on the publisher, the platform, or a court — not on the agency.
- Guaranteed rankings. No one controls a search engine’s results.
- Guaranteed timelines for outcomes that depend on third parties, including Wikipedia’s volunteer editors.
- Reviews or coverage that can be bought. Paid placement presented as independent is a liability, not an asset.
Related reading
Reputation management vs SEO explains where the two disciplines overlap, where they genuinely differ, and why buying one when you need the other is a common and expensive mistake.