Slowly but surely, the idea of small business reputation management is taking hold. Proactive small business owners are learning to manage their reputation on review sites like Yelp. This is new territory for many small businesses, and traditional media occasionally picks up on the idea — sometimes reporting the good and sometimes the bad.

Good or bad, I hope the message is clear for small business owners: It’s time to pay attention to what’s being said online about your company, your industry, and your products or services.