- A PR agency works through people: journalists, analysts, partners and investors. An online reputation firm works through platforms: search, reviews, listings and AI answers.
- PR can win new coverage and shape a story. It cannot ask Google to move a result or ask a review site to take a post down.
- An online reputation firm can act on a specific article, review or result. It does not write your press strategy or brief your spokesperson.
- Few agencies of either kind publish prices. Ask for the pricing model in writing before you sign.
- Big programs use both, with one named owner for each channel. The scope template below sets that up in an hour.
- Reputation Resolutions does the online half: results-based work to repair, improve and protect online reputations, with the result agreed in writing.
In this guide
Top pick for online reputation management in 2026: Reputation Resolutions
Scored 93 out of 100 on our five-criteria methodology, the highest of any firm we rank for reputation management. Results-based services for repairing, improving and protecting online reputations on Google and AI, and payment is only required after results are achieved. A+ BBB Accredited, in business since 2013.
Do PR Agencies Do Reputation Management?
They do, and the professional bodies say so. The Public Relations Society of America lists reputation management among the disciplines inside public relations. The method is relationships and coverage, not search and platforms.
The Public Relations Society of America defines public relations as a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. On the same page it lists protecting an organization's reputation as one of the jobs of the field. So when a PR agency says it does reputation management, it is telling the truth.
The catch is the word reputation. For a PR agency it means how journalists, analysts, regulators, customers and employees see you. For an online reputation firm it means what a stranger finds in the first few minutes after typing your name or your company name into Google, or asking an AI assistant about you. These overlap, but they are not the same job.
That is why a company can have excellent press relationships and still have a three year old article, a cluster of unfair reviews or a wrong AI answer sitting in front of every buyer. It is also why a company can clean up its search results and still have no story for the press when a real crisis arrives. Each side leaves a gap that the other fills.
What Is the Difference Between PR and Reputation Management?
PR earns attention from people who publish. Online reputation management changes what shows up when people look you up. Think of PR as the voice and online reputation work as the shop window.
PR agencies mostly work through media relations, thought leadership, executive visibility, analyst relations, awards, events and issues advice. Their output is coverage, quotes, bylines, briefings and a message that holds together under pressure. They are strongest before and during a story.
Online reputation firms mostly work through search suppression, review management, content and listing cleanup, platform removal requests and monitoring. Their output is a changed set of results and a cleaner record. They are strongest on the problems that stay behind after the story: the article that keeps ranking, the post that breaks a platform rule, the review pile that nobody answered.
Both kinds of work lean on the same rule of thumb: never write, buy or hide reviews on a client's behalf. A good agency of either kind tells you so before you ask.
A one person consultant is a third option, covered in the guide on reputation management consultant or agency.
Ready to Fix What People See When They Search You?
Talk to a specialist at Reputation Resolutions, the top-scored firm on this list. You get a straight answer on what can be removed, what can be pushed down, and what it will take. Every service, from repairing to improving to protecting your reputation, is results-based and agreed in writing.
Who Owns Which Channel: A Plain Table
Use this table to decide who is on the hook for what. If a row has no owner on your team today, that is the gap that will hurt you in a crisis.
| Channel or job | PR agency | Online reputation firm |
|---|---|---|
| Press coverage and journalist relations | Owns it | Does not do it |
| Executive thought leadership and bylines | Owns it | Supports with search and profile work |
| Analyst and industry briefings | Owns it | Does not do it |
| Crisis messaging and spokesperson prep | Owns it | Works alongside |
| Google results for your name or company | Can influence it through new coverage | Owns the plan: suppression, content and removal requests |
| Reviews on Google, Yelp, Glassdoor and similar sites | Rarely a focus | Owns it: replies, requests and platform reports |
| Removal requests to a platform or publisher | Rarely done | Owns it, when a policy or legal route exists |
| What AI assistants say about you | Early and uneven | Owns monitoring and the source content behind answers |
| Monitoring for new mentions | Press and social mentions | Search, reviews, listings and AI answers |
| Board, investor and employee communications | Owns it | Not its job |
Notice that two rows say works alongside or supports. That is where most real programs succeed or fail. The agencies need to know what the other side is doing on the same day.
If you are weighing one named firm against the field, see companies like Reputation Pros scored in one table.
The Main PR Networks, Described and Not Ranked
These are PR and communications firms that buyers ask about. Each description comes from the firm's own site on the date shown. They are listed in alphabetical order inside each group, not by merit, and we do not score them.
Global networks with reputation and crisis practices
| Firm | How its own site describes the work | Prices published |
|---|---|---|
| FleishmanHillard | Calls itself a global communications consultancy and lists crisis management as an inquiry category | None found |
| Weber Shandwick | Calls itself a communications and public relations agency and offers corporate reputation and crisis and issues services through its advisory practice | None found |
Descriptions are summarized from each firm's home page on 2026-11-09 and are not quotes of results. Both firms ask you to make contact instead of publishing a rate card.
Advisory and crisis communications firms
The firms below are the ones most often shortlisted when the problem is a high-stakes issue, a deal, an investigation or a leadership change. Their descriptions come from the same evidence files that power our crisis PR guide.
Brunswick Group
Describes itself as a global advisory firm that helps organizations build relationships with their key stakeholders, including under high-pressure, high-stakes conditions (https://www.brunswickgroup.com).
brunswickgroup.comDezenhall Resources
Describes itself as a public affairs and crisis management firm, with a Washington, D.C. address listed (https://www.dezenhall.com).
dezenhall.comFTI Consulting Strategic Communications
FTI's Strategic Communications practice says it advises large organizations through complex moments of opportunity, change and geopolitical risk (https://www.fticonsulting.com/services/strategic-communications).
fticonsulting.com/services/strategic-communicationsJoele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
Describes itself as a strategic communications firm that helps clients in their most critical moments, with offices in New York and San Francisco (https://www.joelefrank.com).
joelefrank.comKekst CNC
Describes itself as a global strategic communications firm that helps protect and enhance client reputations, with Crisis and Issues Management listed as an expertise (https://www.kekstcnc.com).
kekstcnc.comSitrick and Company
Says it focuses on corporate, financial, transactional and crisis communications, with offices in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. (https://www.sitrick.com).
sitrick.comListed alphabetically, not ranked. Descriptions summarize each firm's own site, accessed November 9, 2026.
No rank is implied by the order. Check each firm's site for its current practices, because agencies reorganize often. If a firm you know is missing, that means we have not yet read its site, not that it is worse.
Corporate and B2B Tech: What to Hire for Each Problem
B2B tech buyers lean on analysts, press and reviews on software sites. Corporate buyers lean on executives, investors and regulators. The right mix differs.
A B2B technology company wins deals in two places before a sales call: what analysts and reviewers say, and what comes up when a buyer searches the company and its founders. PR covers the first place well. The second place is often a mix of review sites, old news and executive profiles, and it needs search and platform work.
A listed or large corporate has a heavier media load and more people with a stake. It usually keeps a PR network or a communications consultancy on retainer. It still needs someone to own what Google and AI assistants show about the company and its leaders. Our ranking of the best reputation management companies for executives covers the search side of that for named people.
- Founder and executive name searches: reviewed every quarter, with a named owner
- Employee review sites: replies written to a policy, not in a panic
- Analyst and software review profiles: complete and current
- A holding statement for a crisis, approved before it is needed
- A list of the top ten results for the company name, saved with the date
- One person who can approve both a press statement and a platform report
For companies that want to compare scored online firms, see the best business reputation management agencies. For a single crisis that is moving across search and social at once, see the best crisis management firms for online crises.
Do I Need a PR Firm or an Online Reputation Firm?
Pick by the problem in front of you. A story that is still moving needs PR. A result that will not go away needs an online reputation firm. A serious crisis needs both, with a split of duties.
Start with a PR agency when
- You want coverage, quotes or a byline in trade or business press
- A story is still developing and you need a message and a spokesperson
- You need analyst or investor communication
- The issue is about strategy and trust across stakeholders, not a single page
Start with an online reputation firm when
- A news article, review, record or post keeps showing up for your name
- A platform decision looks wrong under its own published rules
- Your Google or AI answers show outdated or unfair information
- You need monitoring so you hear about the next one early
No agency controls Google, a newspaper, a review site or an AI model. A PR agency cannot force a journalist to write a story. An online reputation firm cannot force a platform to act. Be wary of anyone who says otherwise, and ask what you pay if the plan does not work.
If you want a longer checklist before any call, read questions to ask a reputation firm. To compare a freelancer with a firm, see the best online reputation management experts.
A foundation weighing the two can see the best crisis management services for nonprofits scored.
How Much Do PR Agencies Charge for Reputation Management?
Neither of the agencies we read for this page publishes a rate card. Most PR work is sold as a monthly retainer or a project fee after a call. Online firms use retainers, projects or results-based fees.
We will not guess a price range, because we have no published source for one. What we can say is how the work is usually billed, so you can ask the right question.
| Model | How it works | Who carries the risk |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly retainer | You pay each month for time and a team | You, whether or not anything changes |
| Project fee | A fixed price for a defined piece of work | Shared, depending on how done is defined |
| Results-based | The result is agreed in writing and you pay when it is reached | The firm, for the agreed result |
Our guide to reputation management pricing models explains each model and what to ask. Always ask for the scope, the fee and the end condition in writing.
A Joint Engagement Scope Template
If you hire a PR agency and an online reputation firm, put the split on one page. This template takes about an hour to fill in and prevents most overlap fights.
Name one owner for each channel
Use the channel table above. Write the owner's name beside every row. If a row has two owners, pick one.
Set a single source of facts
Keep one shared document of approved statements, dates and figures. Both firms work from it, so a press quote and a platform report never disagree.
Agree what each side shares weekly
The PR agency sends upcoming coverage and spokesperson plans. The online firm sends new results, new reviews and any platform decisions.
Set approval rules
Decide who may approve a statement, a platform report and a public reply. Time limits matter in a crisis, so set them now.
Write the exit condition
For each firm, write what done looks like and what you owe at that point. Ask for it in the contract.
Review monthly
Look at the top search results, the review pages and the press coverage together. Move any task that has no owner.
Reputation Resolutions is the online half of that pair. See reputation management for public figures for how its team describes the work. It offers results-based services for repairing, improving and protecting online reputations on Google and AI, and payment is only required after results are achieved. It is A+ BBB Accredited, has been in business since 2013 and works with clients in 40+ countries. Typical removals take 30 to 60 days, and no firm can promise an outcome.
Agencies that add reputation tools to a PR offer can read the guide to white label reputation management platforms for agencies.
Where to See Online Reputation Firms Scored
PR agencies are described on this page. Online reputation firms are scored on a published methodology on our ranking pages, with a dated source behind every score.
Start with the best reputation management companies of 2026 for the full field. Use the best online reputation repair companies if you already know what you need fixed. Use the best reputation management companies for executives when the subject is a named leader. The table on each page shows who ranks where today, and how we score explains the rules.
Ready to Fix What People See When They Search You?
Talk to a specialist at Reputation Resolutions, the top-scored firm on this list. You get a straight answer on what can be removed, what can be pushed down, and what it will take. Every service, from repairing to improving to protecting your reputation, is results-based and agreed in writing.
Anthony Will
Founder and CEO, Reputation Resolutions
Anthony Will founded Reputation Resolutions, the publisher of this site, and has worked in online reputation management since 2013. He reviews the methodology and every scoring change.