7 Ways to Bury and Remove Negative Google Search Results and Restore Your Reputation

How do you remove negative Google search results before they bury you?

More than ever, people are turning to Google for info on your personal brand. 

And what they find on the first page of Google search results is what shapes their opinion of who you are and your value as a job candidate, employee, colleague, and member of the community.

Negative Google search results, really just one or two negative search results, are all it takes to create a bad first impression. When left alone, that negative result can erode your reputation, hurt your career and scare customers away from your business.

And if negative search results and negative content are hanging around in searches of your name, it may be time to take action and remove those negative links from search results fast.

Have negative search results on Google? Bury and suppress negative search results and negative content by calling our expert reputation management team today at 941-259-4554. 

What’s the first step to bury negative search results on Google?

Want to learn how to bury negative search results in Google? It’s important to understand why those negative search results rank in the first place. Understanding why certain negative search phrases and results rank over others in search engines – and why your name pops up for different keywords – determines the time and effort it takes to bury negative search results in Google search and boost positive content.

There are a variety of reasons content ranks on search engines results pages (SERPs). But the most important include:

• Content quality (how well content is written, displayed, and addresses search queries)
• How relevant the content/result is to the search query
• How many visitors view that content regularly (site traffic) 
• The number and quality of backlinks directing visitors to that content

Knowing what affects search ranking can improve your understanding of why some results are higher than others. It can also provide a better idea of why negative search results are showing up during searches of your name.

But knowing how to push down negative search results and strengthen your personal brand online is something else entirely. Our online reputation management company and search engine optimization experts can help you create a strategy to push negative search results lower in the rankings.

So, exactly how can I change the negative search results in the Google search engine?

Changing negative search results on Google and improving your first-page presence usually requires a good online reputation management (ORM) strategy. When done right, a professional online reputation management campaign combines the power of optimized asset creation, search engine optimization, and information and content removal with SEO best practices to remove and suppress negative search results from Google search engines. In turn, this helps strengthen your online footprint.

But while ORM can sometimes take months to start achieving results, there are things you can do now to mitigate problems and repair your brand.

Here are 7 ways to suppress negative search results in Google search results and turn things around for your reputation:

1) Start a blog

Starting a blog can be an effective way to nudge negative Google search results off of the first page of Google itself. An optimized blog allows you to create fresh, useful content that grows your digital presence and gets the attention of Google crawlers. High quality content from Google search results allows you to build authority in your industry.

And the more you update your blog and highlight your expertise, the more positive and robust your reputation will become. The better content Google search has to choose from, the less likely the negative search results are to appear first in the Google search results.

As you write blogs, concentrate on incorporating search engine optimization features and optimizing existing content to improve online visibility. As the search engine categorizes your content, you can attract new eyes to your web page and properties while improving your online reputation.

2) Build additional blogs on free content networks

Free blog sites like Blogger, Medium, and WordPress offer a golden opportunity to develop quality content around your name or business. They also provide a great way to support existing content and build authority in your given field.

Most of these blogging sites incorporate search engine optimization to give you a boost in search results. Be sure to use these features to not only highlight your knowledge but to bury negative results in Google searches.

And, free blogs allow you to create even more positive assets to populate positive search results. In turn, these new assets help change Google results and bury negative articles in search results hurting your reputation.

Here’s a helpful WordPress tutorial on setting up a free blog fast to help suppress negative search results on Google:

3) Create profiles on all major social networks

Claiming your name and brand on social is free, easy, and an effective way to expand your digital footprint. Sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok are prized by Google and get the VIP treatment during searches of your name.

Creating profiles on social media and updating your social feeds regularly helps build a protective barrier at the top of page one. It also helps push down any negative search results haunting your brand on Google.

4) Remove images associated with negative search results from social

Unflattering images often get posted and buried in social feeds, only to show up on Google as negative search engine results in the future. Unflattering Google results and negative feedback that have damaged many reputations and can stand in the way of your goals. And when that happens, they can create real problems for your personal brand, presenting a negative image that hurts your reputation and kills opportunities.

Fortunately, the power to remove unwanted content and bad images from Google is often in your hands.

Take time to sort through photos on your website, social media sites, and elsewhere. Once you identify questionable photos that could be used in negative search results, take steps to remove them quickly. Doing so may provide a much-needed boost to your reputation and even more opportunities to suppress negative search results.

5) Write quality content for authorities in your industry

One of the best ways to build a positive search presence is through guest blogging. Publishing useful, high-quality content on industry forums and discussion boards helps get your name in front of a much larger audience. It also strengthens your online resume and showcases your expertise on trusted third-party platforms. 

What’s more: getting published on high-authority sites provides others a way to find, share and link to your content down the road. In turn, this helps strengthen your own authority and control in Google searches of your name.  

6) Use visual content to increase exposure and improve engagement

No matter the industry, people love content they can engage with. By posting more engaging images, videos and graphics, you create a cache of shareworthy assets with the potential to reach a much larger audience.

And as the likes and shares grow, your content begins to generate the web traffic and engagement Google loves.  

Infographic tools like Piktochart.com or Infogram provide easy-to-use templates for creating that next catchy graphic for your blog. And apps like Lumen5 and Filmora can help put the finishing touches on your latest video tutorial.

7) Utilize press releases and global trends

Press releases are commonly picked up and indexed by Google. Where most press releases go wrong is that they’re irrelevant to 99% of people online.

To get more visibility out of this valuable online tool, keep your press releases relevant to what’s trending now on sites like Google Trends, Twitter, and World News. By doing so, your website and brand will be more likely to get picked up by other media outlets.

Using press releases to announce recent accomplishments, professional benchmarks or upcoming company events helps generate more positive press for your brand. By extension, that increased coverage helps bury negative search results damaging your image. 

Improving your Google reputation is possible. But sometimes results won’t budge without some extra help

Many individuals and brands can improve Google rankings with these tips and best practices. 
But often there are stubborn articles and links that just won’t budge in search rankings, including:

• Negative news articles
• Bad business reviews 
• Slanderous blogs
• Unflattering comments
• Images and videos tagged to your name

When that happens, developing a strategy to bury or push down those negative Google search results may take some extra help. This is particularly true with ever-changing algorithms and the opportunity for searchers to share and spread bad news at a moment’s notice.

Getting Google search results to change for good isn’t just a matter of posting new content and hoping for the best. Removing a bad link and looking your best online takes a robust, professional online reputation management (ORM) approach.

A good ORM plan optimizes your existing assets, maximizes brand impact, and ensures you’re in control of your first-page results for the long term.

How ORM can help to bury or push down negative Google search results

A personalized ORM strategy attacks online threats from major search engines, through multiple angles. This multi-layered approach helps you bury bad Google search and negative search engine results fast and take control of your personal brand.

Customized brand management, search engine optimization, and feeding the search engines what they want works to strengthen the assets you have online.

It also creates and pushes new, positive items up in search engines results while building a first-page firewall that protects your reputation. Remove negative Google search results easier and faster than ever before!

With ORM, you can build a stronger digital presence that not only pushes negative results off of SERPs, but maximizes your potential and positions you for success.

To schedule a free consultation, visit us today or call 941-259-4554. We’re happy to provide you with a free, personalized reputation analysis.