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Removing content online from Google search

Apr 27, 2022 12:56:10 PM

Negative, defamatory, or libelous content can have devastating effects on businesses and brands. This could impact your customer trust and negatively affect your sales.

 

You might be wondering how to remove negative articles from Google?

 

The more negative content remains online, the worse it will be. If the site is of high authority, such as a news article or media publication, it will be seen by more people.

 

This article will teach you how to manage your digital footprint and remove any negative online content. We'll also talk about what to do if content removal proves impossible. This includes updating outdated information, de-indexing websites hosting negative content, and suppressing any negative search results you have.

 

There are several ways to remove negative content from the internet

 

Your situation will determine the best way to remove unwanted online information. This includes information about the content and location of the information.

 

If you have control over the website where the harmful content is posted, log in to remove it. What can you do if negative content is published on a website you don't control?

 

90% of people who search for your business will only view the first page in search results. What happens if you see negative results? What options are available to you if defamatory and libelous content is found on the first page? How do you remove negative news articles from google searches?

what percentage of traffic goes to the first page of google results

This can be challenged by requesting that the content be removed. Google will typically remove the content from search results pages within a few days.

 

You have a few options to remove search results.

 

1) Ask the author to delete it

 


It's unlikely that they will do so, as they decided to make it available online. They may, however, remove it if asked.

 

This can come with a potential downside. This could be added to the original page by the author, which can encourage commenting. Google considers this to be refreshing the content. This makes it stronger. This could make it appear higher on search results.

 

This is why a phone conversation is often better than an email. An email can't convey emotion as well as a personal conversation. You also have the benefit of not being able to 'copy and paste' conversations at the end of an article.

 

2) Ask the webmaster or publisher to remove it

 


While this won't work for personal blogs, it could be an option for small and medium websites such as local news sites. You can find out who the webmaster is or who the publisher of a website using many online tools. Ask the webmaster for permission to remove search terms that are not relevant to the page, such as your company name.

 

3) Ask the webmaster to add a no-index tag

 


The no-index tag, an HTML tag that controls how bots treat certain pages or files on your site, is used to stop them from indexing those pages or files.

 

Search engines can be told not to index a particular page by including a no-index directive to a robot's metatag Simply add the following code into the Section of the HTML.

 

<meta name=”robots” content=”noindex”>

 

Alternatively, you can add the no-index tag to an HTTP header.

 

x-robots tag: noindex

 

Googlebot won't index a page if it crawls it with the no-index tag. Google will remove a page that was already indexed but the tag was later added, even if it is linked to other sites.

 

These are only a few examples. A reputation management company can explore other options for you.

 

What content will Google remove?

 

Search engines can remove defamatory or negative information in certain cases.

 

Information that could lead to identity theft or financial harm

 


This information is considered to be in violation of the Google service agreement. Google will delete bank account details, signature photos, and credit card numbers, as this content could lead to identity theft or financial fraud.

 

Sexually explicit information

 


Search engines will remove explicit sexual information without consent if it meets the following criteria.

 

  • You are nude or exposed to a sexual act.
  • You intended that the content be kept private. The image is made public without your permission, e.g. revenge porn.
  • You're underage.
  • The act was not your consent and the image is made public without your permission.

 

Flagging for Terms of Service Violations

 

Many websites, including Google, have terms of service pages. The TOS is an agreement between the service provider (or the person who uses the service) and the user. The TOS is an agreement between the service provider and the user of the site.

 

These terms usually limit the types and nature of content that users can post. There may be restrictions on what content users can post, such as hate speech, pornographic material, and speech that incites violence. Many social media sites, video-sharing websites, review sites, search engines, and other sites offer a way for users to flag inappropriate content.

 

The website host will be notified if a user flags inappropriate material. After reviewing the content, the host determines whether it should be removed because it violates the TOS. The host can review flagged content within 24 hours, or even up to one week after it was flagged.

Flag and fix inappropriate content

To flag content, you don't need an attorney. Attorneys charge a large initial fee with no guarantee of successful removal. Hiring a reputation management company is a much more cost-efficient way to remove content online.

 

What legal reasons can you use to remove search engine information?

 

Copyrights protect you from theft of your intellectual property. Google and Bing will also remove copyrighted information that falls under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. (DMCA)

 

Copyright is a type of protection that is grounded in the U.S. Constitution. It grants authorship rights to original works fixed in tangible media of expression. Copyright applies to both published and unpublished works. - To see a complete list of protected property, visit the U.S. Copyright PDF.

 

Google won't display negative results if you delete unwanted or harmful content. It is difficult to remove negative content from Google. This is why reputation management companies exist.

 

NewReputation can help Individuals and businesses with:

 

  • Defamatory and negative news articles about you, your brand.
  • Removal of negative images or reviews about a company.
  • Cyberbullying and Cyberstalking
  • Social media crisis management plan
  • Protection from potential future search result issues

 

Suppress Negative Content

 

Not everything can be removed from the internet. If you are unable to get the content removed, updated, or de-indexed, then the next step is to try to suppress it.

 

People rarely go beyond the first page in their Google search results - or even the first entry. The first page of Google search results receives 90% search traffic and the organic results garner 32.5% overall search traffic.

 

Although the negative content that you want to remove may still be there, if it isn't, it will do you no harm. An online reputation management firm can help you get rid of negative content and promote positive messages about you. This means that 90% of people who google you or your company will see only the positive.

 

It's worth looking into ways to increase your reputation score in search results if you are not getting the desired results for keywords that relate to your business or name. Although removing negative results from Google can be the fastest way to achieve this, it can often prove difficult. You may be able to stop negative results from Google by building new positive content. You can significantly increase your chances of concealing negative results and better manage your online reputation. 

 

To learn more about how to remove negative content from Google, contact NewReputation today for a free consultation. 

Removing content online from Google search

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