DISQUS

Scott Clark · 2 years ago

All it takes is one .gov or .edu site to put your name on there and all bets are off.

I have a business associate who, via a legal technicality, was listed on a .gov site for a state atty general. Nobody is going to unseat that page from #1 Google. He did not get arrested or anything, but was issued a "warning" for not filing a form on time one year.

He is taking a legal path to remove it because they are supposed to use an ombudsman approach to limiting ad-hoc access. But so far he's gotten nowhere as the law is so vague on the matter.

All of the items above except Flickr/Wiki were done (and a few you've not listed) but it makes little difference.

Just a perspective from a real-world situation.

Andy Beal · 2 years ago

@Scott - there's a lot that can be done to clean up a Google reputation nightmare. The above will help many prevent one from happening, but I agree that a .gov etc are tough. There are a few tactics that I keep to myself - to help pay the bills. ;-)

Scott Clark · 2 years ago

This is my list of brand hygiene approaches. I may steal one of yours. :- )

http://www.sitecreations.com/social-reputation-...

Also, an article on social forgiveness and Google. If you don't like links in the comments, just nix this one. I just wanted to show you.

http://www.sitecreations.com/blog/2007/07/googl...

Dan Schawbel · 2 years ago

Great toolkit for personal brand reputation management.

Andy Beal · 2 years ago

@Scott et al - there's a lot more of this stuff in my new book. ;-) http://www.amazon.com/Radically-Transparent-Mon...

Tom Drugan · 2 years ago

Andy,
Great stuff, and thanks for the mention. I saw that you are in the process of writing a book on reputation management. It's a very opportune time for a guide on rep management and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Let us know if we at Naymz can help out in any way.

@Scott - I second Andy's viewpoint. It takes a lot of work to displace .gov and .edu, but it is possible if the right tactics are used.

Jeremy Luebke · 2 years ago

@Scott,

I beg to differ. There is a lot that can be done to take that page off the front page of Google. The question is, are you or your associate willing to put in the time and / or money to get it done.

If you were talking about a top 50 internet phrase that was obviously hand edited, that might be impossible. But someones name? Easy, I don't care what site I am competing against.

Scott Clark · 2 years ago

I am absolutely sure you're right. It does come down to committing to do it (or getting paid to!)

I should qualify to say that "passive" vs. "active" efforts are very different when a .gov or .edu is involved. Passive solutions are more preventative in nature while active ones could nudge it.

Joy · 2 years ago

This is an interesting article..^^..thanks for posting it. I will keep in mind all your tips and suggestion on how to land on Google's first page.

xufon.com · 2 years ago

These tips are also work for getting more traffic to your website if you look at them closer. For example get social network's profile and upload images to flickr.com.

Blake Brannon · 2 years ago

Nice tips. I will have to work on my sub domains.

Manny Hernandez · 2 years ago

Andy:
Loved your tips! I have implemented many of them, including starting a Social Network with Ning.com (www.TuDiabetes.com for people with diabetes).

BTW, I am an Amazon.com reviewer (#75). I am interested in reviewing your book. Can you email me so we can talk about this and I can give you my mailing address?

Jason Bartholme · 2 years ago

Hi Andy. Thanks for the nice tips. I never heard of Naymz.

Nils · 2 years ago

This is about the lamest advice ever.

Ted Menks · 2 years ago

Even if you're not in any kind of business, this might be a good way to make sure family and friends can find you. If only they will think of Googling your name. I'm seriously thinking about trying this and find out what happens. :)

webdrops · 2 years ago

Hey Andy thanks for diverting my attention to wetpaint and Naymz.com ... first time heard about them. Will definitely give it a try...

Dinu · 2 years ago

I have to say a lot of the stuff you've stated here are misleading and untrue.

Management · 2 years ago

At the end of the day its a matter of weight and how important is your name in the context of the site. These are good strategies to push a bad reputation page to higher SERPS. It doesn't eliminate the problem! so better work your way out the long way.

Scott Clark · 2 years ago

Dinu and Nils - These smell like spambot posts.

If not, how do you expect anyone to take you seriously if you don't post something to support your remarks?

I sure don't.

Baza Noclegowa · 2 years ago

Thank you for your advices. I have used a few of them already. I hope, they will be useful for me. Greetings from Poland.

septianw · 2 years ago

it may usefull advise, thanks

wapeller · 2 years ago

Thank you for your advices. I have used a few of them already. I hope, they will be useful for me. Greetings from USA.

Horisly · 2 years ago

your talking is basic to an online bizz man. would you give out some more deep research.

Andy Beal · 2 years ago

Thanks all!

@Horisly - the in-depth stuff is in the new book. ;-)

@Scott - I'll check to make sure they're not trolls.

@Manny - Thanks for the offer. I'll drop you a note closer to publication - around end of Feb.

Tolie (not my real name - some · 2 years ago

Best way to have a good reputation is to develop good character (all that negative stuff about me is lies anyway)!

Andy Beal · 2 years ago

@Tom - just rescued your comment from Akismet. :-)

Thanks for the support. Naymz is mentioned positively throughout the book. You'll have to buy lots of copies! ;-)

Jordan Meeter · 2 years ago

Thanks for the tips. :)

Josh Giese · 2 years ago

I have also found that buying your name as a domain name really helps also. example, Josh Giese... JoshGiese.com google eats that stuff up.

Chris Thomas · 2 years ago

Great article!

One thing you haven't mentioned is Google's new Universal Search. Aside from images and video, Google's placing Google News articles in search results on occasion. They don't hang around for more than a day or two, but they rank high and there's very little anyone can do to get rid of them!

So if there's a bad news story about your organisation i.e "Glass found in 'famous brand' hamburger" - you're pretty much stuffed, no matter what you do!

Andy Beal · 2 years ago

@Chris - good point. However, you'd really have to make the headlines to have a Google News result show up for your name. :-) And as you mentioned, that's just a short term issue.

tarihteneski · 2 years ago

In terms of social networking, FaceBook has become an inevitable choice. Just to mention...

Stephanie fierman · 2 years ago

Andy -
Thank you for the article. Not many people understand how Google works - that it rewards popularity over credibility, for example - but it is, nevertheless, considered by the average person to be the "gospel" for search. All the more reason that companies and individuals alike need to make sure that they have authentic and credible information about themselves out there.

[links removed]

David Ciccarelli · 2 years ago

I've since registered the domain names of everyone in my family. That's all 5 of us. Thanks for the insight.

J · 2 years ago

Great list. You cannot go wrong with this kind of online reputation arsenal. The suggested sites are a good combination. If someone googles your name, chances are the whole first page will be from these sites. So when you sign up to these, make sure you put the information you would like people to see.

Chris Martin · 1 year ago

I have seen government and wikipedia articles get bumped in Google. Most of this was post the QDF (query deserves freshness) update by the Google algorithm team. I personally find that it's a matter of convincing Google that the company or individual name is actually a revolving topic that is frequently updated with news and content. Once that transition occurs than a static page on a government web site begins to lose relevance to the update content related to you or your company's name. But pre QDF it seemed near impossible. Now it's not easy but definitely an attainable goal - just takes time and persistence.
-reputationHAWK

George Arauz · 1 year ago

Good info.. thanks a million

Steve Kennedy · 1 year ago

Thanks for the great advice. I have heard of and used most of these suggestions, but it was nice to have them organized.

Jayson · 1 year ago

Nice list - one of the comments mentioned that these things can make it easier for family and friends to find you which I definitely think is a plus.

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned yet but submitting articles to article directories is another way to fill the Internet with information from you that you want everyone to know about.

Scott Fish · 1 year ago

This is a great list that you've compiled! Thanks for putting this together Andy!

Jayson · 1 year ago

Oh, and another one that might not been mentioned yet is Squidoo. Though I think I've heard it doesn't work so well anymore.

Andy Beal · 1 year ago

@Jayson - yeah Squidoo got hit by Google last year and I don't recommend it now.

peter lublin · 1 year ago

Looking for help with google

Bill · 1 year ago

Great post - thanks :)

Posao · 1 year ago

THX Andy for the great tips. Just what I need ;)

Tiffany · 1 year ago

Very useful! Especially for newbies...Thanks for the tips.

James Lassman · 1 year ago

Very useful information! There seems to be a lot of buzz on the news lately about companies that offer this type of service. I have looked into two such companies ReputationDefender and Cyberfootprints - I was just wondering if anyone has used them or another similar company? Your feedback would be appreciated.

[Links removed]

Seologia · 1 year ago

A lot in this post comes in handy! Thanks for the tips! :D

Seologia's last blog post..Google no es tonto, vos sí

For water 4 gas review · 1 year ago

Andy your tips are always helping me. This article is really great one on reputation management.I will definitely try out your techniques to come up on google's first page for my targetted keywords.
Thanks and keep posting the great stuff.

lonnieb · 1 year ago

Of course my name is a spoof, but the issue is real: My real name shows, as it is the same as other folks, up as all kinds of things on the SERPs. I could spend half of my life in rep' management and it wouldn't help.

I am seriously--very seriously--thinking about suing Google and the court document aggregators and forcing them to put robot no-follow tags on entires. You pay for the service or search theri site and you can find the dirty laundry, but should not be # 1 for a 10 year old crime someone else committed because of Google's screwy algorithm

Andy Beal · 1 year ago

@Ted - you might want to save your legal fees. Google will argue that any negative results exist because the "wisdom of the crowds" says it's the most relevant web content for your name. A reputation management campaign is where you fight back, by convincing Google that the 10 year old crime is not the most relevant thing about you. Although in your case, "Ted Bundy," even I can't help you! ;-)

Jeff · 1 year ago

One fairly easy way to rank on page one for your name (worked for me at least), is to submit a couple articles to ezinearticles, or similiar directory.

Now you got first page results declaring you an "expert author".

Jeff's last blog post..angel paintball

Social Marketing Journal · 1 year ago

We always recommend that companies practice pro-active good reputation management techniques such as: social marketing, social networking, social bookmarking, online publicity, article marketing, blogging, etc...guess what all of these things can also help build your brand and generate visitors to your site as well!

Social Marketing Journal's last blog post..Working Smarter On Your Reputation Management

PS3 · 1 year ago

@Jeff, how easy is it to submit an article to the likes of Ezine, what is involved exactly?

Mike · 1 year ago

Hi Andy, I am having a different sort of problem, where a page that I have uploaded to some stupid classified ad service still haunts me on Google every time someone looks up my name. That content is old and is quite embarassing, but I cannot seem to be able to get in touch with the company (Tunza products, owners of classifiedclub.com) to get them to take down the page. Is there anyway I can get Google to drop the page? or should I just try to push it down using the methods described. Thanks

Mike

Andy Beal · 1 year ago

@Mike - unless the page is spam or violating a law, Google will not take it down. Sorry.

Dieta Dimagrire · 1 year ago

Thanks Andy, great article.

I have gotten a "google pages" page to rank high in the se.

The only disadvntage is that these pages dont remain there for a long time.

It is possible however to use them in your link building when they get page rank.

Roby

Dieta Dimagrire's last blog post..Scienziati Di Fama Mondiale Per Herbalife

tasarım · 1 year ago

Good info.. thanks

Kevin Staker · 1 year ago

Andy:

Thanks for the tips. Hopefully they will work. Great of you to share some of your trade secrets. I am the victim of some crazy person on ripoffreport.

Jeff · 1 year ago

@PS3

It's not difficult at all. You just have to write a decent article, I think their current minimum length is 500 words, but I am not sure.

Just make it something worth reading, something that delivers value. Then signup, select the apropriate category, and submit. Seems to take about a week to get it approved.

Also, it is important that you own the rights to what you are submitting, and it isn't duplicate of already published material.

Jeff's last blog post..green

MB Web Design · 1 year ago

Readers of the article might be surprised to learn - if they aren't in the industry and have encountered this themselves - just how common the "I don't like this page, get Google to remove it for me" syndrome is. It does tend to be the least savvy individuals (older company directors in my experience) who believe this is a viable outcome.

seopositive · 1 year ago

Cheers for the tips.

Needhelp · 1 year ago

Andy, I need help with the .gov reputation problem that I have. How can I fix the problem?? Please send me email at vfssfs2000@yahoo.com

Raman · 1 year ago

Cheers Andy...........Gr8 post once again.

Raman's last blog post..Free Download mp3 album-Singh Is King

blogfixes · 1 year ago

Wow! Thank you so much for this very Informative post... Cheers!

blogfixes's last blog post..Dynamic Social Bookmarking Script

Brick Marketing · 1 year ago

This is one of the best lists regarding search engine reputation management! Great reference.

Miadeo · 1 year ago

Too much work to me

CH Web Design · 1 year ago

Very interesting post thanks for sharing your tips. Its a unique way of looking at things!

Chetan · 1 year ago

Thanks for the list of resources. They are very useful for internet marketers.

Chetan's last blog post..Teaming Up With Other Bloggers

Internet Marketing & SEO i · 1 year ago

I have one very well known name I'm doing SEO/rep management work for and the most difficult part of the task is informing non-web saavy old schoolers that it takes time and a lot of work to cover the entire first page of Google for relatively well known name/phrases.

btw, some good resources on this post :thumbsup

-S

Revolvermänner · 1 year ago

Nice tipps. During our work on online reputation management, we try to convince our clients, that it is most important to be honest. To react on critics in a serious/ transparent way, can make your company more authentic. Reviews can make your product better and critique is a very healthy form of dialog - when you make an effort to answer...

PS3 · 1 year ago

Thanks for the tips, much appreciated.

Bill Canaday · 1 year ago

@Andy in re: #37-39
That "short time" can take on an added dimension if the blogosphere / Usenet picks up and repeats the info. That's the sort of nightmare Microsoft encountered with its "Halloween" email. The durned thing is STILL making the rounds.

The internet is anonymous. It never sleeps, it never forgets and it never forgives.

I just took a look, and a post I published AT LEAST 10 years ago is still on page one of the Google results.

http://www.mail-archive.com/linux-setup@senator...

I'm not going to identify which one is mine, but I am sure glad that I was 'being nice' that day.

Bill Canaday's last blog post..Ad test

WebTrafficROI · 1 year ago

This is an interesting article..^^.. I will keep in mind all your tips and suggestion and i will try to get the ranks in search engine ...

WebTrafficROI's last blog post..The Right Time is Now

Ami Ohayon · 1 year ago

I'm new to Marketing Pilgrim and am slowly wandering through some older articles. There are some excellent suggestions here, and I have at least one client that badly needs to implement several of them as soon as possible.

Ami Ohayon's last blog post..My Neighborhood in Jerusalem

Hubcaps · 1 year ago

Creating a squidoo lens can also be a good idea.

Washington DC Web Designer · 1 year ago

I'm sure you know already, but you may want to let your readers know that Google Pages has been replaced by Google Sites.

Kit Homes · 1 year ago

Great post.It is something that companys have to be very aware of with the amount of imformation on the internet.It is not all good about everyone.I quite often find my self googling a company and will find a lot of negetive info which will put me off dealing with them.

You have too keep your finger on the pulse

cheers

Amrita Shahra · 1 year ago

This is best lists regarding search engine reputation management!

Busby SEO · 1 year ago

These tips are also work for getting more backlink and traffic to your website.

Busby SEO's last blog post..By: Keris

Internet Marketing Do-Follow B · 1 year ago

Great post, I think these are all effective strategies even if you don't have any negativity on the net and I will check out Ning, looks interesting.

Internet Marketing Do-Follow Blog's last blog post..4 Tips for Writing Effective Articles for the Internet

Xbox · 1 year ago

Google seems to hate me anyway so, hopefully these can help.

usdigital web design · 1 year ago

Thanks for the seo tips. Great blog. We use wordpress for our blog and was only thinking the other day that we must use Flickr. I am definately going to set up a Flickr and my space account for the company. Wordpress has definately helped our rankings. Thanks

SEO Test gladioolers · 1 year ago

i've read, then i'll do it, like what you've said in this post. Visit the sites. I think they're can increase our traffic and seo.
thanks.

SEO Test gladioolers's last blog post..What's Wrong With This Site??

Brand your Name · 1 year ago

Great Post.
I think that it is becoming really important for everybody to be found in Google for their names. I myself have profited many times from doing things just like Andy is describing here.

brandon alan scofield · 1 year ago

I will use myspace.com to fix my reputation (google ), the rest I already did ...

brandon alan scofield's last blog post..First post

Seotest · 1 year ago

yes google is powerful.

Seotest's last blog post..Busby SEO Test My Opinion

first page google · 1 year ago

Interesting…so, I’m assuming it would work for any web site. For example I have a successful work at home business online, if I apply the same principal it will work for my site as well?

SandyM · 1 year ago

I found this article really interesting. Searchers love trusted website domains with good reputations. Thanks for the info.. S

Justin · 1 year ago

This article is great but also different from my approach to suppressing bad reviews found in Google's search results. I created a post to explain how, I effectively push defamation or bad reviews to page 5 and bellow for free! seopositions.net/blog/seo/84/remove-defamation-and-bad-reviews-free.html

Justin's last blog post..Understanding Web Hosting

Reputation Armor · 1 year ago

I am in the reputation management field and liked your entry here. Nice blog..

Sonny

Naila · 11 months ago

This is a very comprehensive and detailed list of sites one needs to look through. Linkedin is very powerful and i know it works!

David · 11 months ago

Great toolkit for personal

David's last blog post..Lirik Lagu Glenn Fredly feat Dewi Persik - Hikayat Cintaku

BusbySeoTest · 11 months ago

Google reputation is SEO topic for Google in 2008 and maybe extend to 2009, and you can add aboutus.org also as a list.

BusbySeoTest's last blog post..SEO Starter Guide E-Book 1.1 Official Google

Suhendrawan · 11 months ago

wow great tips guys thanks thanks for your share, i come again

Suhendrawan's last blog post..Komunitas Blogger Jember

nindrianto · 11 months ago

what about other social network from google, Google Connect?

nindrianto's last blog post..Kreativitas, Plagiat dan Cerdik

warren noenkz · 11 months ago

gov and edu already have a special service from google...so it does not a good comparison. Thanks for this post. It's really help us..

warren noenkz's last blog post..Smart Shopping for Your Garden and Outdoor Decoration

Shirley · 11 months ago

Very good tips. Reputation is SO important online. I've known companies to change their names to escape a couple of bad search results.

Shirley's last blog post..Perhaps You Shouldn’t Blog!

Paul Andrews · 11 months ago

I think a lot of companies make the mistake of renaming to quickly. You should fight negative comments with getting positive comments out there.

nindrianto · 11 months ago

I read again this post...it's very useful..thnks for sharing..

nindrianto's last blog post..SMP-SMA masuk lebih awal, solusi kemacetan Jakarta

the_noenkz · 11 months ago

I do not understanding how the google algorithm is. For me, it is very mysterious thing. But, may be now more clearly after I read this post...Thumbups!!!

the_noenkz's last blog post..SMP-SMA masuk lebih awal, solusi kemacetan Jakarta

Laura · 10 months ago

Andy - I have tried filling out one of your contact forms but it doesn't seem to be working.

lowongan · 10 months ago

thanks for the great tips. that is useful

lowongan's last blog post..Lowongan Kerja Japanese Restaurant

SEO Devon · 9 months ago

Thanks for the tips Andy - this is great stuff!

oyun · 9 months ago

Thanks for list of resources. They are very useful for internet marketers.

Pulsindo · 9 months ago

great tips, thanks for sharing

water Tanks · 9 months ago

Great post andy. Alot of great info and tips reputation management.Thanks for helping with my current seo stuff.
Thanks and keep up the good work.

Watch Shop · 9 months ago

Great post.It is something that companys have to be very aware of with the amount of imformation on the internet.It is not all good about everyone.I quite often find my self googling a company and will find a lot of negetive info which will put me off dealing with them.

Watch Shop's last blog post..DKNY Watches

marctu · 6 months ago

This is an interesting article.

marctu · 6 months ago

Thanks to http://www.barcosbarcelona.com