What is reactive reputation management?

Reactive engagements come with constraints the client did not choose. A negative article from a major outlet has already accumulated link authority and freshness signals; an inaccurate Wikipedia sentence has already been quoted by an AI engine; a name SERP has already settled into a problematic composition. The work is still doable, but the pace is set by Google rather than by the budget. Reactive engagements typically run longer, cost more per month of program, and start with a candid assessment of which outcomes are realistic. We accept reactive engagements often, and we are clear with clients about the trade-offs: the program will improve the situation, durably and measurably, but it will not erase the prior six months of news coverage by month two. Anyone promising otherwise is either inexperienced or selling something else.