You can’t keep 100 percent of people happy 100 percent of the time. The internet has brought added complexity regarding reputation management, but it’s also given us the tools to engage with customers like never before.

 

Your brand should have a plan in place to reduce the impact on your brand of negative results on page one of Google, before they even exist. Proactively monitor your brand online. Claim your social profiles. Create a strategy to populate these and get them onto the first page of Google. Work to maintain positive relationships with your key media influencers.

 

If you’ve seen negative listings appear on Google for your brand and would like to discuss how to minimise the impact it has on your business, get in contact today.

 

There are many techniques and strategies, used primarily by companies and people to remove negative search results from Google.

 

Below are some of the options you use to remove negative content from Google :-

Option 1: De-index the URL to get the negative links of Google search results

Option 2: Use copy-write law to remove negative content from search engine

Option 3: Use the EU privacy removal form to submit a personal information removal request

 

A bad search result on the first page of Google is one of the worst things that can happen to your reputation. It doesn’t really matter what it is. It could be a link to a business page with bad reviews, a negative news story, or even a blog post that paints you or your business in a less than positive light. Whatever it is, it’s bad news for you, leading anyone who searches for you down a negative path first thing — and you’re probably ready to nuke it.

 

Tips to move down your negative Search results

 

• Setting up new social media profiles and making sure you’re active on all.

• Write blogs and post excellent content.

• Publish other media too like Info-graphic, video, GIFs, etc

• Create quality links from authoritative websites that are relevant to your content or web pages.

• Publish expert advise in professional forums.

• Leave comments on other websites within your industry.

 

Start recovering your online reputation.

 

There are plethora of companies that offer services to help people and businesses & remove negative content from Google search.

 

But they charge a huge fee and the cost of forgetting on Internet does not come handy, especially for small businesses and working professionals.

 

So, my aim is to recover, track, and strengthen your reputation without drilling a hole in your pocket.

 

When you first notice the negative search result, your instinct is probably to panic. Is there someone at Google you can call to get this taken care of? Not really — search engines don’t really work like that. But there is plenty that you can do. Read on to learn how to get negative search results off of Google — or at least, bury them down until they don’t matter anymore.

 

The most direct and permanent way to remove a bad search result from Google is to completely remove it from the Internet. Eradicating the link means Google no longer has the bad result to link to, and anyone who searches for your name won’t see it again in the future. Once it’s gone, you’re done, the nightmare is over. Take a deep breath. But, getting links removed from the Internet is far easier said than done.

 

Links on the Internet will fall under one of two categories: websites or profiles you own and control, and those that you don’t. Obviously, it’s much easier to remove links that you own — but chances are, if it’s a negative link, you don’t own it anyway. We’ll assume that any domains or websites you own are positive search results for you or your business, as issues with your own website may point to bigger problems than a negative search result.

 

Removing Pages That You Own

For profiles that you own, such as a Yelp business page or Facebook profile, you can do what you can to edit your profile and improve the information so that it portrays you or your business in a more positive light. Fill out the profile completely and truthfully with interesting, positive information. If the page is too far gone, and you don’t think you can salvage the profile, it may be possible to completely delete the account and remove your presence from the site.

Still, this approach is not without its risks. Read the fine print: some websites may allow you to remove your business account, but the reviews will still remain. And that means you’ve lost control of your account and will be cut off from adding more positive reviews in the future. Be careful.

For this situation, it may be better to simply maintain the account and commit to working on earning great reviews.

 

Removing Pages You Don’t Own

Chances are good that if you’re dealing with a negative search result, it’s not on a page or website that you control. And that means you’ll have to ask for help in getting negative content removed. It’s not always easy to take this approach, but if you’re successful, it is the most effective, as removing a page completely from the Internet is better than removing it from Google, or burying it under other search results.

 

The best approach for requesting removal of pages is a direct one. Contact the website owner by email and explain that a page on their website is causing problems for your reputation, and that you’d appreciate it if they remove the content.

 

Understand that you may be completely ignored: website owners may not be sympathetic, or not even see your email at all. But it’s always worth it to try. It may help if you explain why it’s important to you to have the content removed, and even better if you can provide evidence that you’ve improved since the content was shared and you’d like to move on from the past. For example, mug shot websites may be open to removing your photo from their pages if you can prove you weren’t charged, or if you’ve gone through rehabilitation. Whatever your approach, be polite and personal, and remember that if they do help out, they’re genuinely doing you a favor.

The fact: apart from Google information removal policies, and apart from the information you want gone from Google search results being on Google’s own products/services. You are left alone at the mercy of these website owners who post and publish your details.

 

And not to mention the sharks, some are just as bad so called Online Reputation Management Services (usually promise you to remove the results) (which in itself is a lie for 99.99% Google search results). Because, online reputation management services must also adhere to Google policies. And perhaps just like you, they will contact the website owners who will usually ignore your email messages.

 

If you are unsure as to who owns the website your details are at, simply conduct a Whois search, and also note down as much details about the website hosting company (usually emails found with Whois search will reveal which company hosts the website online) (which you may actually contact if contacting the website owner doesn’t result in any response) (you may want to send a letter of abuse about the domain in question to the hosting company. Note that even if the web hosting company takes action, the website owner can easily find another web hosting company to re-put the same detail).

 

Getting Help from Google and Legal Authorities

If you’re not able to get pages removed, either by your own control or with the help website owners, you still have options. For some sensitive or false information, you can get help from Google and legal authorities.

 

Google policy allows for the removal of certain sensitive information, including financial information or identification numbers that may put you at risk for identity theft or financial fraud. Google also removes or hides certain offensive images and videos. You may also be able to have Google remove content that violates the law from search results.

 

If you have information that falls under Google’s removal policies, it’s a good idea to reach out to the search engine for help. However, keep in mind that removing the content from Google is not the same thing as removing it from the Internet: the page will still exist, and the link can still be shared.

 

If you’re really serious about getting stubborn content removed, you may want to look into online defamation laws or laws that protect certain segments of the population. However, keep in mind that a lawsuit or legal action may only serve to draw more attention to the link that you’d like to get rid of.

 

It is more common than not that a disgruntle customer, competitor, or just outright idiot leaves a bad review for your business (or name if you are a famous person) usually the small business community who suffers due to negative reviews, perhaps, Google Plus My Business Listing Reviews, Facebook Reviews, Yelp Reviews or other review related sites.

 

What you can do in such scenario is actually be the wiser business owner and actually craft a response because the more time you avoid responding will mean that you are actually losing business. Your reply will counteract the negative review and show others who read it that you are a dedicated business owner who is willing to own up to bad customer service provided by your employees and that you are taking care of this. Being polite and professional will go a long way. This is the first course of action you should take.

 

If the review is just wrong and provided for your Google My Business Review, then you can flag and report the review by following Flag and fix inappropriate content

 

The Internet Never Forgets

 

Whether you’re successful in removing links from the Internet or search engines or not, there’s one important fact to keep in mind: the Internet never forgets a link. If you’ve seen the page on Google, there’s a good chance it’s been archived on the Wayback Machine, or cached by the search engine. Even if you’ve had it removed, content never really leaves the Internet. Still, only the most persistent searcher is likely to look that deeply to find information about you or your business, so if you’re able to have the page removed from the Internet, or even just search results, you can rest easy that it’s as good as gone.