4 Ways to Get Rid of Search Results You Don’t Like

search results

According to Search Engine Journal, 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine. With something like 18 billion web searches completed in a typical month in the United States alone — well, that’s a lot of online experiences.

That’s also a lot of eyeballs, potentially, on search results you’d rather the public didn’t see. For whatever reason: because said results are inaccurate, or because they portray you in an unflattering light, or because you’re a private person who doesn’t want your dirty laundry (or your company’s) aired for all to see.

Candidly, you don’t need a good reason to take ownership of your web presence. It’s your right.

But removing search results from Google isn’t always easy — or possible, unfortunately, even if there are ways to suppress search results that can’t be removed (a story for another day).

These four results-removal tactics often get results, though. Here’s what to know about each.

1. Check Whether the Content Is Outdated and Request Removal

Sometimes, outdated text or images appear in Google search results. These wayward bits of content have already been removed from the pages on which they once appeared, but for whatever reason (ask Google!) they remain in the search engine’s index.

Because outdated content serves no purpose other than to confuse searchers, Google is usually happy to remove it. Use this link to request to remove outdated content from Google’s cache.

2. Determine Whether the Content Violates Google’s Policies

Google is also happy (usually) to remove content that violates its personal privacy policies. This includes content on any site that you don’t directly control that:

  • Includes personally identifying information, such as your full name, address, or ID number
  • Includes medical information or certain other sensitive personal information you don’t want shared
  • Is sexually explicit or includes your name in proximity to sexually explicit content, regardless of if the content is genuine
  • Violates your legal rights in certain other ways

Learn more about removing personal information from Google here.

3. Contact the Website Owner Directly (And Ask Nicely) 

Believe it or not, website owners are often willing to remove information upon request, especially if the content that concerns you is incidental. Failing a complete removal, they may be willing to “noindex” the offending page or remove keywords that you’d prefer not to show on the page, such as your full name.

4. Get Creative With Your Takedown Request

Asking nicely doesn’t always work. It’s not illegal to offer money or other forms of non-monetary compensation to website owners who won’t do you a solid.

If you’d prefer not to deal directly with the owner, consider exercising your rights under the E.U.’s “Right to Be Forgotten” law. This won’t solve your problems stateside, but it could prevent 500 million Internet users from seeing the results you’d rather they not. 

Beyond Google Removal

Google is the elephant in the organic search room, but it’s not the only place folks get information online. A comprehensive online reputation management plan goes beyond Google search to encompass YouTube (a Google property, but still) and Facebook and online review sites like Yelp, among other venues that often or always bypass Google search. If you can’t afford a single blemish on your web presence, your valiant efforts to remove negative Google search results represent only the opening salvo in the war for your reputation.