* There are millions of searches through online search engines...every hour.
* Google, Yahoo and Bing are the largest information resources in the world.
* The search engine market is a global, multi-billion dollar industry, and growing.
* The word "reputation" has risen 93% in global top-tier media from 2001 to 2007.
* 29% of Fortune 500 chief communications officers report that reputation management will be their number one priority for 2008.1
* 63% of a company's market value is attributed to reputation. 2
* Among global business executives, reputation risk is considered most problematic -- twice the risk posed by terrorism, foreign exchange, natural hazard and political risk.3
* An increasing number of constituencies use the Internet as a tool to find information about individual people - in addition to companies and products.
* According to a December 2007 survey by the Ponemon Institute, a privacy research organization, roughly half of U.S. hiring officials use search engines when vetting job applications.
* 2007 PCP market research also shows that purchasing and hiring decisions are influenced by online reputation.
* 20% of potential employees have searched for information about a prospective employee before accepting a job.
* Finally, 32% of private employers conduct online research before filling full-time or contract positions.
1 Weber Shandwick/Spencer Stuart/KRC Research, The Rising CCO 2007
2 Weber Shandwick/KRC Research, Safeguarding ReputationTM 2006
3 Economist Intelligence Unit