This Time article asks, “when is it time to call the experts?” regarding Internet Reputation Management. The question is one that gets tossed around often, but the answer is much easier than it seems and much easier than this article makes it. The answer, of course, is…don’t wait. Don’t be reactive, be proactive. Fortify your online reputation before something happens to it, rather than waiting until after.

But for a growing number of people, these searches can also drudge up something ugly: blog posts written by an ex about a nasty divorce, an ill-advised YouTube video of a rowdy night out, details of a decade-old bankruptcy. As much as we might be loath to admit it, what the Internet is saying about us matters.

This is why it is important to act before anything is actually wrong. Search engine reputation management works better as a proactive solution than as a reactive one.