In short
- Image audit: what it is and why it is done: Image audit is the systematic verification of a company's reputation on the internet.
- What to check during an audit: four places where the customer looks for information: Image auditing covers four areas. In each of them, the question is different, and the cost of an error can vary.
- Monitoring mentions: how to collect data so as not to drown in the noise: Monitoring mentions is the collection and review of what appears online about the company, its products, and the individuals on the management team.
- Reviews about the company: how to read them and how to respond to them: Reviews about a company are today one of the most trusted sources of trust.
Image audit is about checking what people are saying and writing about your company online, and what a customer who types the company name into a search engine will see. You examine four places: search results, reviews, mentions in the media, and online profiles. The result is a map of what works, what harms, and how to react to it before someone else does it for you.
KOKPIT COMMPLACE® · RADAR OF DECISIONS
The audit consists of six control points, not a list of observations
The radar leads from the current situation to recommendations. The arm sweeps past additional points, and each of them must be proven before the company changes course.
- 1Final state
- 2Evidence
- 3Risks
- 4Recommendations
- 5Action plan
- 6Control
The schematic of the Commplace® method · illustration, not client data
Image audit: what is it and why should it be done
Image audit is an organized check of a company's reputation on the internet. A company's reputation on the internet is the sum of what is visible about it in search engines, in reviews, in media and on social media. In B2B, a customer rarely buys without checking: before the meeting, they type the company's name and read what they find.
The audit answers three questions. What will the client see in the first search results? How do opinions and mentions compare with how the company wants to be perceived? Are there weak points that could grow into a bigger problem in a difficult moment? This is a preventive study, like a checkup at the doctor: it’s better to do it before a problem arises.
- before a major contract, tender or negotiations with the investor,
- after a change in brand, name or management,
- after a negative opinion or publication that attracted attention,
- once a year, as a regular health review of the brand.
Don’t you know what the client will see when they type your company name? Describe the situation to us and we’ll tell you where to start the review.
Make a short conversationWhat to check during an audit: four places where the customer looks for information
Image auditing covers four areas. In each of them, the question is different, and the error can cost differently. The table below shows what we check and what we pay attention to.
Start with a simple exercise: open the private window of your browser, type the company name and browse the first two pages of the results as a customer would. Note what you see and ask yourself whether you would like to talk to such a company. This simple observation often suffices to point out the first improvements. We describe this comparison with the competition in the text about competition audit.
Also check the search results for the company name combined with words such as „reviews”, „price list” or „complaints”. These phrases are searched for by customers who are close to making a decision. If the first results come from sites that the company has no influence over, it is worth taking care of your own content that answers these questions first.
| Place | What we check | What we consider important |
|---|---|---|
| Search results for the company name | Top 10 results: company pages, media, reviews, profiles | Inaccurate information, from a third party higher than your own |
| Opinions and assessments | Sites with reviews, company profiles, employee reviews | Repeated accusations, no response from the company |
| Mentioned in the media | Publications, statements, comments on the internet | Topics discussed without the company's participation, outdated data |
| My own profiles and page | Consistency of the description, contact details, name and message | Different versions of the company's description in different places |
Auditing on one screen: assessment, gaps, evidence, and plan for corrections
This is what the cockpit looks like, which monitors the audit in Commwork®AI. You can see the overall assessment, the number of vulnerabilities, how many findings the auditor has, and who is improving which area.
| Period | What we do | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–30 days | Supplementing evidence and making quick corrections | Auditor and owners of the areas | in progress |
| 31–60 days | Improvement of four critical gaps | Marketing team | waiting |
| 61–90 days | Re-measurement and inspection report | Auditor | plan |
Monitoring mentions: how to collect data so as not to drown in the noise
Monitoring mentions is the collection and review of what appears online about a company, its products, and the individuals on its management team. It can start with very simple actions: alerts in the search engine, regular review of industry media and social media profiles. Paid tools help on a larger scale, but they do not replace human evaluation.
The biggest problem is not a lack of data, but rather an excess of them. Hundreds of mentions per week don’t mean anything without organization. That’s why we establish four levels with the client: a positive mention, a neutral mention, a negative mention, and a mention that requires a response. Only the last group goes to the team with a request for a decision.
It is also worth determining which individuals within the company are visible online. The CEO, sales director, and key experts have their own profiles and statements that influence the company’s image. If their descriptions are outdated or inconsistent with the company’s communication, the client perceives this as a lack of order. Therefore, the audit also includes reviewing the visibility of key individuals.
- Create a list of names to monitor: company name, brand name, products, people from the board of directors.
- Determine the sources: search engine, industry media, opinion sites, social media.
- Establish a review schedule: daily for important alerts, once a week for the rest.
- Determine four levels of evaluation of the mention and the person who performs it.
- Determine who and at what time reacts to mentions that require a response.
- Once a month summarize the numbers and topics, once a quarter propose changes.
Reviews about the company: how to read them and how to respond to them
Reviews about a company are today one of the most trusted sources of trust. It’s not just the average rating that matters; what is repeated in the content of the review is more important, as is how the company responds to it. A customer who sees a calm, factual response to criticism often trusts the company more than someone who only sees praise.
Remember that not every critical opinion is a branding problem. Sometimes it is valuable information about a process that needs improvement. Companies that treat feedback as a free customer survey usually improve their service faster than those that see it only as a threat.
How to respond to critical opinion
The principle is simple: be calm, specific and without controversy in your comments. Thank the author for their opinion, refer to the facts, propose a conversation outside of a public forum. Do not accuse the author, do not disclose client data, and do not delete the comment if it does not violate the site's terms of service.
- respond within the specified time, for example 1–2 working days,
- Do not argue in the comment, offer a direct contact,
- do not disclose client data or details of the agreement,
- the conclusions of the opinion are to be communicated to the person responsible for the service.
Analysis of sentiment without illusions
Sentiment analysis is an assessment of whether mentions are positive, neutral, or negative. Automated tools do this quickly, but often get it wrong, especially when it comes to irony and industry jargon. Treat the result as a preliminary selection, and leave the final evaluation of important mentions to humans.
Commwork®AI on this topic: reputation radar
Commwork®AI is a system that guides a company from order to decision. In the area of reputation, it combines data on mentions, opinions, and search results in one place. It analyzes changes, identifies issues that require action, and monitors response deadlines.
The radar shows six reputation areas on one screen and changes between measurements. The decision about responding, correcting, or changing the process is always made by a human being. We describe similar implementations in Case studies, and the system itself in Commwork®AI description. The screens and values in the animation are illustrative.
Commplace® Cockpits: what it's like to work on evidence
Six views that guide our decisions. All the charts below are illustrative examples, not given to clients.
The path of decisions with gates
Cost breakdown: not a single number, but a range
The roadmap for decision-making: from ideas to implementation
24-hour monitoring: what was detected
Growth and impact: the difference counts
Three scenarios instead of one forecast
The screen, graph and values are examples. The decision about further steps is always made by the person.
Tool radar: evidence from many sources in one place
A thorough audit requires evidence from search engines, analytics, advertising, mail, and documents, not opinions. Radar shows 28 tools, from which Commwork®AI collects data for review. The guidance circulates through the sources, just as the auditor checks the next areas. The conclusions are always approved by a human.
How these tools help in auditing (examples of use):
- Final state: Search Console (GSC), Google Analytics (GA4) and Ahrefs provide the numbers from which we calculate the change.
- Evidence and gaps: Sheets and Docs collect findings, and each of them has a source and a date.
- Plan and control: Tasks, Calendar and Slack monitor revisions, deadlines and owners after the audit.
How to react: a plan of action after a reputation audit
An audit without a response plan leaves the company with knowledge but without tools. We divide the plan into three levels according to urgency. The table below shows examples of responses, and we always tailor the decisions to the company’s situation.
| Level | Example | Reaction |
|---|---|---|
| Urgent | Fake information about a company in a search engine or media | Quick response, correction, contact with the author or the service |
| Important | Repeated critical opinions on the same subject | Process change, public response, information for customers |
| Orderly | Outdated data and various descriptions of the company on the internet | Standardization of descriptions, updating of profiles and data |
Do you want us to review what is visible online about your company and propose a response plan? Schedule a short meeting.
Make a short conversationHow Commplace works during the image and reputation audit
We work like a doctor: diagnosis, tests, plan, implementation, control. Image audit is for us a preventive examination, after which a plan of action is created: what to improve immediately, what to monitor, what to prepare in case of a more difficult situation. If the company needs help in a crisis or in preparation for it, we work as part of the offer. crisis management.
The Navigators team combines analysis of search results, opinions and media with the communication experience we have been collecting since 1996. We write about preparing for a difficult situation in our articles. crisis preparedness audit and crisis communication in the first 24 hours. Pricing after a short conversation and an initial diagnosis.
Image and brand consistency: why one company's version online matters
In many companies, an audit reveals a problem of consistency rather than reputation. The website says one thing, the social media profile another, and the old publication in a trade publication is a third thing. The client doesn’t know which version to trust. Just a few inconsistent descriptions are enough to build the impression of a company that doesn’t know who it is.
Organizing descriptions and data doesn't require a large budget, and often yields the fastest results. Start with one short version of the company's description and one version of the contact data, then update them everywhere the company has influence. See also How it works brand audit and its report.
How to check if image-building activities are having an effect
The effects of reputation work are rarely visible in a single number. Track several indicators: what is visible on the first page of the search results for the company name, how the number and content of reviews change, how quickly you respond to mentions and how many mentions require a response. Write them down as a reference before taking action.
Correlation is not a factor. Better reviews may come from the season or from a single large client, rather than from an audit. To verify this, compare longer periods, note the dates of the changes made, and ask customers in conversations what influenced their decision. Asking „what did you check before your first conversation with us?” often reveals more than any tool. We do not use advertising equivalents as a measure of the value of an image: what matters is the impact on customers’ decisions, not the conversion of publications into dollars.
When an image audit is not necessary
If the company is small, operates locally, and customers come to it through direct referrals, a full audit is not necessary. It is enough to enter the company’s name into a search engine once a quarter, review the reviews, and check that the contact information is up to date. That is half an hour that prevents most surprises.
External auditing pays off when a company is visible in the media, has many products or branches, enters a new segment, or is preparing for a major transaction. Then an independent perspective reveals what is missed in day-to-day operations. It is always worth consulting a lawyer about the legal aspects of managing data and opinions: this text is not legal advice.
See what a customer will find about your company before they call you
We will arrange a brief discussion about your company and its online presence. After that, you will receive an initial diagnosis of the four places where customers search for information, and a proposal for the scope of the audit. No pressure or obligations.
- an initial overview of the search results and opinions,
- identification of urgent and orderly image issues,
- proposal for monitoring and a response plan.
A network of experts: who checks which area of the audit
Auditing is the work of many roles at once: gathering evidence, assessing risk, verifying numbers, and preparing recommendations. This network shows how one system connects these roles so that no area is overlooked.
The network of virtual experts works together: one system, many roles
- How to read the screen: Each point represents one role in the system, and the lines show which roles are exchanged during negotiations.
- Checking: The individual roles ensure that evidence and compliance are in place so that conclusions are not based on assumptions.
- Approval: The role prepares proposals. The evaluation, recommendations, and plan for amendments are approved by a human being.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is corporate image audit?
It is an organized review of what is visible about a company on the internet: in search results, reviews, media, and social media. It ends with a map of strengths and weaknesses and a plan for response. This is a preventive study, not just a response to a crisis.
How often should you check a company's reputation online?
A basic review, i.e., entering the company name in a search engine and checking the reviews, is worth doing every quarter. A full audit once a year or before important events, for example, a tender or a large contract. Alerts about mentions are updated on an ongoing basis.
How to start monitoring mentions without paid tools?
Set up alerts in the search engine for the name of the company and the board members, browse industry media and social media profiles. Write down mentions on a simple spreadsheet with a rating: positive, neutral, negative, requires a response. Paid tools are worth considering at a larger scale.
Is it possible to remove negative reviews about a company?
Usually not, unless they violate the service's rules or are false and can be proven so. A better strategy is a calm response and an improvement in the process that they are related to. Consult with a lawyer about legal matters because this text is not legal advice.
Is sentiment analysis sufficient for assessing the image?
No. Automated tools help to pre-sort mentions, but they often get things wrong when it comes to irony or industry jargon. Evaluate important mentions on your own and ask customers what they checked before their first conversation with you.
How much does a reputation audit cost at Commplace?
We do not publish the prices for image audits because the scope depends on the size of the company and the number of sources. After a brief conversation and an initial diagnosis, we present the price together with a description of what you receive. This way, you know exactly what you are paying for.
It is worth reading further
Source: preparation by the Commplace® editorial team. The numerical examples are illustrative and based on explicit assumptions; they do not constitute legal advice or guarantees of results.