A Reality check about Internet Reputation Management

Because the Internet is such a fast and accessible method of communication, many people assume that Internet problems can also be solved quickly.

Each day we hear from people who want their Internet reputation “fixed.” Many of them have the idea that companies like ours have the ability to do this immediately by  “removing” offending websites. These people seem to think that we have a big powerful machine that can reach into the search results and pluck out the ones they don’t like. Most of these callers also believe that we can provide this service for a modest fee.

Here is the reality:

Nobody can remove content they do not control. We can’t remove content that is owned by others – and nobody else can either.

If you want content removed, and you have a good reason, you can send an email, write a letter, make a phone call and hope for the best. Sometimes this actually works.

You may also be able to get content removed by hiring a lawyer and obtaining a court order.

Most of the time it is very difficult to remove negative content.

The good news is that you don’t have to remove bad content to get the results you want. It’s almost as good to move the negative content down the rankings. Yes, they’ll still be there. But few will notice them.