Why it Costs What It Costs

This guide aims to answer some of those questions and pull back the curtain on the sometimes dark world of online reputation management pricing.

We’ll look at both the disreputable and reputable–including how costs are calculated, what objective factors determine pricing, looking at a real-world example, and questions to ask both oneself and an online reputation management firm.

The Average ORM Fee

Generally, most solutions require 50 to 300 hours to complete over several months, costing about $5,000 to $50,000.

For a real-world example, this equates to about thirty hours per month, six hours per week, or about one-plus hour per day for an excellent online reputation management solution. (There are, of course, exceptions, such as if one negative link appears on the bottom of the first page–this could be much less costly).

What Could Go Wrong?

Disreputable Pricing

Disreputable online reputation pricing includes sizing up a client and charging whatever they think they can get.  

• Does the client look wealthy?
• Are they desperate?

Some unethical firms may pounce on an unsuspecting person and raise prices dramatically.

Unrealistically Low Prices

In other cases, companies offer an unrealistically low repair price. What’s wrong with that?

Some might propose charging $2,000, but knowing in reality that it is actually a $10,000 job.

They have the client’s money, do very little, and the consumer is left angry and still has the a damaged online reputation. Why does this happen?

A firm or sales person could be desperate to sign a client, so they lowball their repair fee to make the solution appear palatable.

But, in reality, success is rarely achieved, and unfortunately, the firm knows it right from the start.

Not only is it a massive waste of money, but more importantly, it means the negative item is out there hemorrhaging business and sales for many additional months (it also harms the online reputation management firm’s reputation. Why do they do this–this hurts reputable firms too).

Promising the Unpromotable

There are instances where firms say they can delete links, images or articles in just a few weeks.

However, this is almost impossible. Once something is published online, it’s very difficult and usually impossible to delete.

There are some exceptions, such as links that go to “dead pages”, copyright violations, specific personal information such as bank accounts and social security numbers, sites’ terms and conditions violations, but that’s about it.

Impossible Time Frames

Another issue is completing the repair process with unrealistic speed. Most of the time, it takes more than several months to solve a case–not days or weeks.

So if a firm quotes a concise time frame, be suspect. The only exception here, as mentioned above, might be deleting a deadlink.

A reputable approach to repair pricing is transparent, honest, and straightforward.  A proposal should include goals, detailed step-by-step solutions, a time frame, and an estimated number of hours to complete the online repair process. If they don’t or are vague, it’s probably best to look to someone else.

How Prices Should Be Calculated

Each case and solution is unique, and there is no cookie-cutter approach, at least when dealing with a good reputation specialist.  

Generally, the price is determined by:

1. Severity of the problem
2. Where the negative link appears in Google searches
3. If the article is from a trusted sources, such as Wikipedia, New York Times, etc. 

There are more factors but for simplicity, stick with these.

Cost Based on Effort Needed

The calculation of an online reputation management solution is relatively simple:  the cost is based on the effort needed to solve it. 

Usually, this involves hard work, requiring around 50 to 300 hours of targeted content creation, extensive development of multiple online platforms, and slogging through the problem day-by-day for months.  

Rarely is there an easy solution. Several factors come with an online reputation management repair price, but it is based on research and analysis of the problem.

Severity Drives Solutions

A significant factor in calculating online reputation management prices is determining the severity of the issue. A case will take longer (and will be priced higher accordingly) if the negative link is on well-regarded, trustworthy pages.  

Examples include news sites such as The New York Times, CNN, ABC, and the Wall Street Journal.

Additionally, niche publications that are important within a specific industry could be just as challenging, such as Artforum for the art world or AboveTheLaw.com for legal-related matters. Federal, State, and local government sites are also unusually very difficult to push down.

Those that end in “.gov,” such as the IRS or SEC, can take many months to resolve too.  Others that are hard to move are RipoffReport.com and the anonymous complaint sites.

Things that are a bit easier to handle are individual blogs where an ex-employee or disgruntled client started a purposeful online smear campaign using a simply created website or stand-alone article. Fortunately, Google rarely ranks these sites extremely high–unless the victim has little or no other online presence.

Top of Page or Bottom

A problem occurring on the bottom of the first page of Google search results is more straightforward to solve than one ranked at the very top and is less costly.

The first link on the first page might need nearly ten times the effort because many more campaigns and platforms need to be crafted, developed, and frequently updated.

Existing Platforms or Web Sites

If there are few or no existing platforms and websites, the online repair process takes longer and costs more.  Developing a quality presence is time-consuming, and Google looks for and rewards high-quality sites.

Creating original content is vital, including photos, images, videos, presentations, and sound recordings. Again, this takes time–and thus money–to develop.  Note that putting out subpar content or engaging in publishing syndicates (i.e., “link farms,” a black hat, or a disreputable approach to online reputation management), are cheap but might result in a penalty from Google since it could be considered spam. Beware of low-cost solutions for this reason.

Negative Comments

Google sees blog post comments or social media Likes or re-Tweets/X as a “vote” in popularity. If there are many negative comments on social media or in response to an article, the repair process is much more involved.

So, an online repair price requires evaluating several factors, including the severity of the problem, where the negative link shows up in search results, how many existing current platforms there are, and what negative comments exist. Let’s look at a sample online reputation management issue and plug in some numbers to develop a price.

Real-World Online Reputation Repair Example

Let’s take a real-world example. In this case, the problem is relatively severe and include several negative links toward the top of the first page for a C-Suite executive. This also impacted their company’s reputation.

Problem

• 3 damaging articles
• Top of the first page of Google
• Highly trusted/ trafficked sites
• No current online presence 

Solution

Here are some steps necessary to repair an online reputation and some of the hours required to accomplish it.

Analysis and Issue Review

Understanding the current business and developing an effective repair strategy.

• Gather client information
• Review and analyze
• Develop custom strategy
• Write/update bio
• Itemize all content–both positive and negative

   20 hours

Search Engine Optimization and Key Search Terms

Analyzing and researching search terms and updating existing websites and platforms.

• Research content topics based on strategy
• Create pertinent search terms
• Update the existing website with new bio
• Optimize website with links, headers, metadata

    20 hours

Content Creation

Generating unique text and visual media.

• Strategize and fine tune content process plan
• Write new blogs, articles, whitepapers
• Record and make videos, images and audio pieces

    150 hours

Social Media

Determine the best platforms for the intended audience/clients and update each very frequently, sometimes several times daily.

• Make presence on major platforms such as LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram
• Post appropriate content daily
• Follow key related industries and leaders
• Find and develop dozens of other platforms 

    150 hours

Administrative Review and Setup

• Configure Google Analytics 
• Set up speed tests, webmaster tools, etc.

    5 hours

Monthly Maintenance Services

• Check performance
• Review strategy and progress

    5 hours

Thorough Pricing Approach

Once estimated hours are assigned to each of the repair tasks, a realistic price can be calculated.

This example ranges from about 150 to 350 hours, or a few hours per day for eight months.

If the hourly cost is $150 for this example, then multiplying 150 by 350 equals $52,500 total or $6,500 per month for eight months.

Fee Calculation

• Hours per month: 350
• Cost per hour: $150
• Multiply 350 x 150
• Total cost: $52,300
• Divide 52,300 by 8 = $6,675 per month

Thus, it would take about $52,300 to complete this case. This is no “pick-a-number out of the air,” but a reasonably accurate repair price based thoroughly on research and rigorous analysis.

Questions to Ask

Since an online repair solution can represent a sizable investment ($5,000 to $70,000 or more), it’s essential to know what you are getting for the price.

Here are some questions to ask:

• What kind of practical, targeted, and original content is created?
• Is a robust social media campaign included where industry thought-leaders are sought out?
• Realistically, how many months will it take (yes–months: most projects take between three and eight months)?
• Is the work customized, AI generated or copy-and-pasted into some form or template?
• Who is doing the work?  Is it farmed out to low-wage workers somewhere else?
• Are you paying for layers of management, salespeople, project managers, and offices?
• Is the company huge and doing what worked two years ago, or is it small and nimble to react immediately to monthly changes that Google makes to its search algorithm?

Final Thoughts

While there are disreputable approaches to online reputation management pricing, a thorough analysis of the problem is best–not low-balling the client or gouging them.

When getting a quote, look carefully.  If the proposal is vague or lacks estimated hours or details on how the job will be completed, look for someone else. There is no magic button to push.  

Repairing an online reputation takes time, effort, and hard work, but it is possible, and it’s worth it to increase revenue, sales and clients.

Questions?

Feel free to reach out to Steven W. Giovinco at Recover Reputation for an honest, no-cost evaluation.