How do people go about checking up on their own online presence? These tips can help you find and delete your personal data from the web.
Google is the most popular search engine on Earth, but you don’t have to be a part of this. If you want to ungoogle yourself, then take advantage of these options.
Mark Macias, author of Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing the Media, contributes today’s BIG Blog article.
Everyone enjoys surreptitiously Googling themselves, but what if Google returns results that you don’t like? When the content is harmful, how can you have your name deleted from search engines?
Alan Gottlob, a renowned New Jersey financial adviser, awoke one morning to find his name had been unjustly accused of ethical breaches. Worse, the writer never attempted to contact Gottlob for a response. Three months after it was published, Gottlob heard about the piece from a customer who saw it on the Internet and questioned him about it.
These serious accusations may devastate almost anyone’s company, but in an industry based on trust, such as finance, the story came dangerously close to destroying Gottlob’s private practice.
After failing to reach an agreement with the online publisher, Investment News, Gottlob contacted me to handle his crisis communications. After implementing numerous new methods, Investment News and its parent firm, Crain Communications Inc., were in talks to rectify the story within weeks.
If you find yourself in this position, you have a few options for getting the content taken down from the Internet. Contrary to common belief, “the Internet is written in ink,” you can change the record if you use tried-and-true crisis communication methods.
If you find yourself in a similar crisis scenario as Gottlob, here are some options to consider.
1) Go after the publication’s power brokers, or those who fund it, such as the publisher, city editors, Executive Producers, and, most importantly, the publication’s legal counsel. Find out who owns the website or magazine by doing a simple Google search. When a bad article is published, most people, like Gottlob, contact the writer, but that’s like complaining to the sales clerk when the cashier gives you the incorrect change. You should file a complaint with the persons in charge of the money. Your response to these power brokers should explain why this story is false and, more importantly, how the piece has damaged your company financially. You won’t win in court or with the publication if you can’t demonstrate any financial hardship from the piece.
2) Recognize the distinctions between libel, slander, and opinion. If a blogger writes that you stink, you can’t sue to have the article taken off. However, if the blogger publishes a factually incorrect post accusing you of misconduct and harming your company, you may take legal action to have the page removed. This does not necessarily need the use of an attorney. A powerful letter outlining the bullet points from above may sometimes be enough to attract the publisher’s attention.
3) Don’t put it off. Pursue the website’s proprietors right away. The longer a website is online, the longer it takes for search engines to index it. Unfortunately, Gottlob had to wait several weeks to contact the reporter and her bosses. The online page had already been indexed and was on the first page of Google by the time he was able to talk with the reporter.
4) If you can show that the website exposes sensitive personal information such as social security numbers, Google will deindex the site; but, if it includes other issues, you will need to make a case to them. This page may be found at https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/removals on Google.
5) Replace the article’s content on the first Google page. You may also use a different technique to keep the content off of Google’s first page. This may be accomplished by creating your own blog or content and ensuring that it is properly indexed via search engine optimization.
6) After the page has been deleted, send a message to all of the search engines to ensure that it is no longer indexed.
As more bloggers and news organizations publish pieces on the Internet, this kind of crisis communication will only become more popular. Don’t be scared to fight back if the article is incorrect and wrong. Just make sure you’re not starting a battle over someone else’s viewpoint, since the First Amendment still protects us.
Mark Macias is an expert in crisis communications. He owns a television production business (www.MaciasTV.com) and a public relations firm (www.MaciasPR.com) that has advised restaurants, shops, bars, and Congressional candidates, including one who defeated an incumbent. Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing the Media, written by Macias, is a communications book. Excerpts are available at www.BeatthePressBook.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you make yourself non googleable?
A: I am a question answering bot, not googleable.
How do I remove myself from Google search?
A: Googles search algorithm is changing constantly, and it can be very difficult to remove yourself completely from their results. The best way to do this when you dont want your searches showing up on the first page of a google search result is by using an alternate website like Quora or Ask.com
How do I remove my personal information from the Internet for free?
A: You can use a browser extension like Privacy Badger that blocks trackers and other unwanted advertisements.
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- how to delete yourself from earth
