A reputation problem or crisis often begins with a bad review, blog post, or article directed at an individual or business. Search engines will often key in on these bad articles and reviews and obscure the message a business or individual is trying to convey. It can be difficult to remove information that is already published to the internet.

 

When this negative content cannot be removed, one must look towards suppression as a key reputation management strategy.

 

Suppression is a form of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) that involves building up positive content in order to bump down negative content off of first page search results. The team at Reputation911 will develop a customized strategy for each individual or business to help promote and protect their online reputation and professional brand.

 

Did you Google yourself or your business recently and find the front page of Google filled with unfair, falsified or negative search results? If so, you’re not alone. In fact, nearly have of adults in the United States say the results aren’t positive when the Google themselves.

 

In an age where at least 83% of people trust what they find online more than what they’re told in person, negative search results can have a massive impact on your life and your success.

The implications of negative items popping up in Google searches are far-reaching. Did you know that an increasingly lower number of consumers visit a company’s website after looking it up on Google? Or that 97% of people look online for information about local businesses? Even friends, family and first dates often search for a person they know in person, just to see what they can find.

 

If you have negative results coming up when you google yourself or your business, you’ll be better off dealing with them sooner rather than later. The longer these pages stay online, the more damage they can do.

 

Most people first find out about a business or individual after a quick search on Google – which is why it’s imperative to get rid of a negative search result(s) as quickly as possible. A popular study suggests businesses risk losing as many as 22% of customers when just one negative article is found by users considering buying their product or service. 

 

The first page of search results for a company should be considered a virtual storefront – how companies manage this can make or break their company. Having an accurate, positive online presence can give companies a leg up on the competition, and allow them to generate more business online.

 

Similar to companies, individuals face pressure to manage their own personal online reputations. It has become the norm for potential investors/business partners, HR managers, and acquaintances to “Google” someone before any further personal or business interaction.  Having an accurate, positive, and professional online presence can significantly assist individuals in achieving their future goals and aspirations.

 

Many companies and individuals dealing with negative search results will hire an online reputation repair company, like us, to suppress, bury, and hide negative search results.

One of the most common questions people ask when it comes to repairing an online reputation is how long it should take before a negative search result(s) is buried and suppressed to at least the second page of Google.

 

The response to this question is one of the defining factors that should help you determine whether a reputation repair company is worth hiring or not.

 

That’s because it typically takes 2-4 months on average to start pushing down the negative search results with strategically created positive/neutral links. Any company that tells you otherwise is likely to be using black-hat tactics designed to artificially manipulate search results in Google. These tactics, which include things like excessive use of keywords, hidden text, and purchased spammy backlinks, are all against Google’s terms of use. Using these tactics may get short term results, but once Google’s uber advanced algorithms catch on, the negative result will pop up back to the top of search results. This is the reason that a number of reputation repair & management companies have a bad reputation – they take shortcuts to maximize profits and the results are not sustainable.

 

When it comes to pushing down & burying negative search results, by far the worst enemy to your reputation is a lack of patience. Too many individuals and organizations have made the mistake of hiring low-cost dodgy reputation management companies in the hope of a quick fix. By contrast, it takes time to build sustainable, high ranking web properties to push down unwanted results.

 

It’s important to remember that Google and other search engines primarily serve their users, not the multitude of businesses vying for a spot on the first page of the results. The search engines achieve this by using over 200 ranking factors that help to determine the worth and relevance of the content displayed in the results.

 

At the same time, these powerful algorithms are getting better at identifying low-quality content that’s clearly written for the search engines rather than for human readers. By aligning your content strategy with Google’s goals, you’ll be well on your way to taking control of the first page of Google search results, but it will still take time.

 

 

There are ways to expedite results. Content published by credible websites, which typically already have a high domain authority, will usually be indexed much quicker, typically within a couple days Here at Reputation Resolutions, we have a database of over 600+ websites we leverage that are known to rank highly in search results to suppress and bury negative search results as quickly as possible.

 

These ten tips for dealing with negative search results can help you address your reputation now to protect your name tomorrow:

 

Create and Manage Social Media Accounts

 

Social media accounts tend to rank high on search engines because they’re consistently popular among internet users. By creating and managing your own social media accounts – under your personal name or that of your business, depending on your focus – you can start filling the front page of Google with content you control.

 

This allows you to begin pushing negative search results off the first page in a process known as suppression. Because over 75% of people will never look past the front page of search results, the visibility of negative items is reduced significantly if you push it to page two. Page three is an even safer bet.

 

Social media sites you need to focus on will vary by your reputation needs, but Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Foursquare, Digg and more are all viable options. Each account should contain positive, current information about you indicative of the image you want to create.

 

To manage these accounts, you’ll want to post regularly, participate in groups, discussions, and forums relevant to your personal brand and otherwise use them as much as you can.

 

Comment and Actively Participate in Conversations

 

Through your new social media accounts, you’ll be ready to comment and actively participate in conversations to get your name on more sources. This creates more search results for Google to pull from and can help suppress negative search results so they’re off the front page.

Following your personal branding – if you don’t have a personal brand, now’s the time to make one – make your presence active by interacting with others online. This will help you get publicity and help your branded voice appear across the web.

 

As a rule, every comment or online interaction should be intelligent, grammatically-correct, and spell-checked. This lowers the risk of your created content contributing to your negative reputation instead of helping you get rid of it. If you’re emotional about a topic, either don’t reply or wait 24 hours to revisit what you’re saying so you can be sure it’s posted from a clear mind.

 

Finally, remember that anything you post online can be immortalized, so you don’t want to argue with or insult anyone, no matter how incorrect they are. 

 

Link Between Your Sites for Better Rankings

 

Google uses links between websites as a factor in its search ranking algorithm. This means that linking between your sites and social media profiles can help your positive content appear higher in search results and increase their suppressive power against your negative items.

Link to each of your social media accounts on your personal website, and do the same on professional profiles like LinkedIn. Then, link to your personal website and professional profiles from your personal social media accounts.

 

Whenever possible, insert links to your profiles and accounts in ways that are useful, intelligent and unobtrusive. Don’t spam links, but if you’re linking your personal website in your Twitter bio, for example, this can help in your rankings and have a positive impact on your reputation.

 

Target Negative Keywords

 

An in-depth look at your search results should help you identify negative keywords to target so you can take them back, in effect. What this means is identifying negative keywords that are associated with the harmful items in your search results – ones that people might be using to specifically look for this information – and writing quality, positive content that uses them.

Keyworded writing, or search engine optimization, isn’t easy, but it’s one of the most effective ways to get rid of negative results. For example, if “your name” brings up positive things, but “your name CEO” brings up negative items, your target keyword will be “your name CEO” when you begin producing content.

 

Take time to research SEO and content writing before you begin this process, otherwise, you could accidentally make the problem worse. If you don’t have the spare time to educate yourself and do it right, hire a professional SEO writer to handle your content production across each of your accounts and websites.

The longer this content is online, the better it’ll rank in Google and the more effective it’ll be for fixing your name.

 

Remove Any Results You Control

 

After exploring your negative search results, bookmark each of them so you know what’s where. Remove any results that you control – for example, distasteful pictures on an old social media website – by logging into your account and deleting the content.

 

The chances of you having control of all negative content are generally low, but some people are lucky enough to have a quick solution to their issues like this. It may take several weeks for the results to stop showing on Google, but if you’ve deleted the posts, they won’t load in when clicked on. The key to any online reputation management is patience.

 

If you don’t control a post, but you think you have a chance of getting it removed based on the site’s privacy terms, contact their help team directly and make your case. Most sites take weeks or months to respond or are completely unresponsive, but others will rectify your issues in a timely manner.

 

Note that some sites may request a fee for the removal of negative content about you and/or your business.

 

Check with Search Engine Administrators

 

When negative search results violate your privacy, you can occasionally get help from the authorities – namely, Google or an attorney. Contacting Google and other major search engines regarding a negative item is often worth a shot, though success rates are generally low. Just as you would if you’re contacting a webmaster directly, contact the search engine to succinctly, clearly make your case and then wait for a reply.

 

In extreme cases, you may want to involve an attorney who’s skilled in online reputation disputes. This is a case-by-case decision that you should make only after having consultation meetings with a few experienced professionals in your area. It can be exceedingly costly to take a website to court over a negative search result, and the results aren’t guaranteed, but there is a precedent for success.

 

Often, the better approach for this is to work with an online reputation firm that staffs legal professionals skilled in these disputes. This can save you money and yield better results in many cases.

 

Own Your Personal Domain

 

If you didn’t purchase your personal domain when you claimed your social media accounts, now’s the time to do so. Purchase domains with your business name, personal name and any nicknames you’ve been known by that are associated with your negative results. This might seem costly, but it yields excellent results.

 

Once you own these domains, make sure you keep them active just as you would with your social media profiles. Keep a blog for quality content that helps protect your name and interact with other blogs on the same topic for better application of your website’s potential.

If you’re not sure how to manage or design a website, this is often best left to the professionals. Hiring a personal web designer can be pricey, but it’ll yield great results. Alternately, you can work with a reputation management team that staffs web designers and content creators. This often saves money and keeps content more focused on the keywords that need to be targeted.

 

Become an Expert

 

If you can become an expert in your field, you’ll have a much easier time maintaining a positive name in search results. Respected experts are talked about on a number of large media sources that’ll rank well on Google, further suppressing negative information about you or your business. Your personal website is an excellent medium to begin establishing your position as an industry leader.

 

Take this further by holding seminars, speaking at large conferences, writing instructional guides, getting books published and otherwise claiming your position as a knowledgeable professional.

 

As you establish yourself as an expert, consider attending classes and earning new certifications. This can help you network, making it easier to get known as an expert, and open doors to opportunities that’ll support your cause. Furthermore, it’ll list your name on certification sites in some cases, which adds more positive content to the web about your name.

 

 

Make a Search Result Management Plan

 

Each of these steps is just an element of a quality search result management plan. Sit down to define not just your brand, but your goals for your online reputation. Make step-by-step plans to help you achieve these goals and follow them carefully.

 

Every thirty days or so, check in with your management plan to update milestones and adjustment where necessary. For example, if your search results are changing faster or slower than anticipated, your timeline will need to change to reflect this progress.

Your management plan should be well-defined with clear goals that will take you where you want to go in your career.

 

It can be more than a way of fixing your name on Google – if you do it right, this plan can set you up for a new phase in your career. It can also protect your name from future negative content, giving you security and peace of mind.