Dealing with a Negative Search Result
Tips from BrandYourself.com on how to handle a search result nightmare
It can happen to anyone. You Google your name and BAM — a negative result (or two) is screaming at you from the first page: a photo your frat buddy posted 6 years ago, collateral damage from a relationship gone sour, a negative review from an ex-employee, a mistake you made long ago — OR —maybe it’s not even about you, but could definitely give someone looking you up the wrong idea. If you don’t want the potential employer, colleague, client, or date stumbling across it, consider the result negative.
When you do find yourself on the wrong end of a search result, don’t completely panic. Yes, you want to deal with the situation ASAP but, fortunately, you do have several options for some damage control (some more effective than others).
First things, first:
If you have control over the content, delete it
This might be stating the obvious, but if the offending result is coming from a page that you own, like your Twitter or Facebook, then immediately go and delete the content. Then do a sweep of everything to prevent any more surprises — clean up your social media profiles, websites, blogs, comments (pretty much anything you posted online). Familiarize yourself with social privacy settings and understand what your friends, friends of friends and the general public can see.
That all being said, nothing is every truly deleted from the Internet AND even if something is set to private, it could find its way into search results. There’s the ultimate wild card: everyone else on the Internet. If it’s been posted online, then it’s been seen by other people and you never know if someone took a screenshot for a rainy day. Plus, you don’t know where else your frat buddy posted that pic (or what his privacy settings are).
Try to get the content taken down
Getting the content taken down or “removed” from the web is probably your gut reaction once you see something negative. While this is possible to accomplish, it’s very unlikely you will see success here and it’s usually not the best option (more about this later). However, it’s at least worth the try and there’s a couple ways you can approach it:
- Ask to have it removed —Find out who posted the content or who owns the profile/site it’s on. Send them a polite, professional email explaining why it’s damaging to you and ask they remove it. An email plugin like Signals app or Streak, tracks if the person opens the email (so you know when they’re blowing you off). If polite doesn’t work, try a heavier hand and point out that the post is defamatory and you will take necessary action if it is not removed.
- File an official complaint with Google — Here’s where some of that necessary action comes in. For the most part, Google takes a very Laissez-faire approach to content removal from search results but they WILL take down certain types of information like your social security number, bank account, credit card and other info if they believe it could put you at risk for identity theft or financial fraud. They will also remove child pornography, images of child abuse and other types of offensive images. If you think your results fall into one of these categories, just submit a request to have the info taken down. HOWEVER, for the most part, it is Google’s discretion to determine what comes down and they may deny your request. If you’re thinking they’ll take down your name, address or phone number, think again — Google explicitly states they probably won’t do it.
- Get the Website Removed — It’s possible to get an entire website or even a domain removed if it’s in violation of the hosting company’s Terms of Service (find out hosting company with a tool like whois.net) and file a complaint. Typically, this method involves bringing in the appropriate attorney and pursuing legal action (which can set yourself up for a long and expensive process).
Your best bet: Bury the negative with positive
This is the most effective tactic for dealing with a negative result. The concept is simple: bury any negative result(s) showing up when people Google your name with the positive stuff you actually want people to find. This strategy not only combats a negative result but it sets you up for a long-term solution for maintaining a good online reputation (and will help prevent a different negative result from creepin’ up on you).
The name of the game here is content. Create lots of positive content about you on the web — set up a personal website, create social media profiles, blog, comment on articles, etc. Any type of content you can create about you that is relevant and positive will help. And remember: More is better. A couple things:
- Use your full name wherever you can — This is important. Use the name that you think people will use to Google you (the name on your resume or your business card) across everything you create. If the negative result only shows up for a specific variation of your name & you’re confident people are searching for it—like if your name is John R Smith but the negative only shows up for John Smith—then focus on that variation. Use your full name for all usernames, bios, about me sections (write in the 3rd person), etc.
- Social Media is important — Social profiles are a super easy way to get content about you online. AND they tend to rank well since they can be constantly updated. At the very least, you should be on the big four: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+. Remember to use your full name when signing up and filling out your profiles.
- Snag a domain name or two — If you don’t already have “yourname.com”, go to a registrar like GoDaddy.com or Hover.com and buy it. If you can’t manage to get your.com, try to get .net or .org. It’s easy to set up a personal website with the domain using a free tool like Wordpress. Even if you aren’t planning to use it right away, it prevents another John Smith from pulling it out from under you.
The new content you create should find its way into search results within 1-6 weeks.
A secret weapon: Bump it off with a new result
Bumping a result is different than burying one. Search results don’t typically like to show multiple results from a single domain. So if you have a result from HuffingtonPost.com smack on your first page, it’s most likely the only Huffington Post result that will rank there (unless you happen to be a reporter for them). That means if you can somehow get another result about you onto Huffington Post, then it just may bump the older one off. This might seem like an impossible task, but most major sites like this actually let you create a profile to comment on articles or contribute your own. Now you probably won’t get your article on the first page of the Huffington Post, but there’s a good chance you can get it into the first page of your search results.
A few things to keep in mind…
- Things will take time to move — We know it’s frustrating to have the negative result right there on the first page, but it will take time and effort for it to move lower in the rankings. Depending on the result, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months (and even longer) for you to get the result to budge. In the meantime, getting positive info about you to rank alongside it on the first page will help dilute the negative’s impact to others looking you up.
- Not all search results are created equal — A negative Ripoff Report or .gov result is much more difficult to deal with than if someone wrote a scathing post about you on their personal blog. These types of results require A LOT more content before seeing movement. A number of factors contribute to the “stickiness” of a search result including relevancy, domain type, engagement and what type of competition it has (which is why creating positive results is so important).
- New negative results can appear — A new negative result could always appear — either completely new or related to your existing result. For instance, a mugshot could reappear on a different mugshot directory site. By creating a solid foundation of positive content about you, it’s easier to combat a new negative result and minimize its impact on your online reputation.
You work hard to maintain a good reputation and having something negative show up can be disheartening—but you do have options. If you’re in a similar situation and have any questions about your options or need some help, check out our free tools as well as custom services on brandyourself.com
