Brands beware, Google is rolling out real-time search this week - a move that not only could revolutionise the way people search the Internet but perhaps even more singificantly could mark a seismic shift in online brand reputation.

Once rolled out according to Google when you search, not only will you get the standard organic and paid listings but you will also get the real-time listing- ie tweets, updates and news stories that have just been posted. This means that brands will no longer be able to brush under the carpet PR disasters, customer complaints or negative news stories. As soon as people start talking about them and the Web buzz builds then they will be displayed bang right in front of people searching.

The reality is that for many, Google is now their Web browser and they use Google to filter information and to navigate the Web. Negative tweets, updates and listings could well change people's purchasing or consideration decisions.

For companies who are still pretending to play dumb when it comes to online reputation- Google's move to incorporate real-time should be a huge wake-up call and it doesn't necessarily have to be all bad news, After-all, real-time is an incredibly powerful way of spreading a message rapidly and building awareness around for example a specific campaign or a competition. So the challenge will be for companies to give serious consideration to real-time, how they utilisie it and how they build it into their broader marketing and social media plans but at the same time they also need to devise proactive not reactive strategies as to how to monitor and react to Web buzz.

A lot of brands are already listening and are responding- as was evidenced by the recent spat between Gilette's PR agency Porter Novelli and Will King, the founder of King of Shaves but a proactive appraoch is needed now if companies aren't to be caught unaware. There will no doubt be some very high profile examples of brands who do get it wrong but for those who are ready to both utilise and listen then the opportunities could far outweigh the negatives!