The SEO community is buzzing about Elixir Interactive this week.  The company released their long-awaited online reputation management case study which documents in detail an ongoing attack on Elixir’s own reputation.  Usually ORM companies are hired to help clients with negative results showing up in search engines.  In this case, the ORM company is the target of someone (or some company) that wants to hurt Elixir’s search results.

Back in 2009 a number of ORMs came under limited attack, as false reviews were published on a number of complaint sites.  Elixir first noticed they were under attack in March.  Rather than quietly correct for the attack, CEO Fionn Downhill used her blog to expose the tactics being used against all the top ranked online reputation management companies.  Downhill feels that incited the attackers to ramp up their campaign.

“Brands Under Attack” details the systematic tactics used against Elixir.  Along the way it reveals some of the dangers faced by anyone with an online presence. The ease of posting anonymously combined with the ethically-questionable business model of some complaint sites makes it all too easy for a disgruntled employee, former client, or even competitor to rank false reports for branded terms.  Add to this the fact that the legal system hasn’t caught up to the internet age and so ends up protecting the criminals rather than the slander victims, and it’s a recipe for reputation sabotage.

The Elixir Interactive case study also provides some tips for anyone who faces a similar attack.  Moreover, most of these tips could be taken proactively, to build strong defenses against future negative campaigns.  Because Elixir already had a strong web presence, the damage against their brand has been negligible.