How to Clean Up Bad Press on Google (Step-by-Step)

James Dooley: How do I clean up my online reputation? That's a great question. A lot of people want to suppress bad reviews or bad publicity that may have happened—maybe a CEO did something wrong over the weekend, or a company went bankrupt and is trying to start again. There are many reasons people want to clean up either corporate or personal branding. The first thing I’d look at is whether you can get the bad content removed. Some websites allow removal; others, like government mugshot pages, won’t. In those cases, you need to suppress the bad content and push it to page two or page three of Google. James Dooley: Kasra, if someone wants to suppress bad publicity online, how would you push it to page two? Kasra Dash: First, the reason we mention page two is because SEOs have an inside joke: the best place to hide a dead body is page two of Google. So the faster we move negative content down, the better. I’d start by creating a personal website if you don’t have one—like jamesdooley.com or kasradash.com—then upload content: info about you, images, videos. More images help push negative images down. I’d even hire a photographer, get 90 photos, and upload them. Treat the site like a secondary Instagram or gallery. Then start producing videos too. James Dooley: That’s a great way to clean up bad press online. Another method is dealing with one-star reviews. Reply positively, try to take the conversation offline, and see if you can fix the issue. If not, at least people will see how professionally you respond. And then work on getting more five-star reviews—collect case studies, testimonials, and as much positive sentiment as possible so the negatives blend in. Kasra Dash: Next, activate all your social profiles—Reddit, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, plus your website and YouTube. That’s seven platforms that can outrank negative content. And don’t just create profiles—be active. Google ranks active social profiles higher. James Dooley: Another big factor is Parasite SEO, or Barnacle SEO—leveraging third-party authority websites. If you've won an award, posting it only on your website isn’t enough. Announce it on major third-party sites so those pages rank. They also pass branded backlinks to your other platforms like Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and your website. This helps you rank for your brand with positive sentiment. Kasra Dash: My next tip is the opposite—publishing blog articles on your own website. Demonstrate expertise, share who you are and what you do. These articles can earn multiple top-10 positions in Google for your name, pushing negative results down. James Dooley: If you want online reputation management—removals or improving your brand—visit fatrank.com. There are many strategies we haven’t covered—like tier-2 backlinks, building links to links, and building a Social Fortress (your online moat and defense system around your brand). Fatrank offers ORM services for small businesses all the way to enterprise brands.