Online reputation can have a huge impact on your personal brand. Did you know that about 30% of people who look for information on Google only go through the first search engine results page? What if negative content is dominating the first page of search results? Your initial thought may be to remove negative news articles from Google search to protect your online reputation. While this is easier said than done, you can use tactics to suppress or bury negative results, even if removal isn’t an option.
Some tips on how to suppress negative search results the right way –
Here’s how you can suppress or remove negative news articles from search results.
- Create New Content
One of the solutions to remove negative news articles or suppress negative search results is to publish new content online. You can turn your focus to being more aware and mindful of the keywords that you use. This means emphasizing SEO. When you create content considering SEO, your brand will feature higher on Google, suppressing the negative news articles ranking on the first page. This improves your online branding efforts and goes a long way in maintaining your reputation.
- Take Charge of Social Media
If you are not on social media, it is time to get on board right away. Responding and engaging in conversations with your followers can help you build loyalty around your personal brand. If you don’t have time to respond on your social media platforms, it’s better off just closing down your accounts. A lack of response is more harmful than having no response at all. You need to know what your followers are saying and sharing so you can solve potential issues before they grow into bigger ones. This way, you can turn negative feedback into a positive one.
- Promote Positive Reviews
If you are concerned about how to remove negative news articles, you can shift the focus to positive ones. For a business selling products or services, reviews are critical to promote your brand and build trust among leads. If you are a public figure, other people talking about your talent and skills can boost your profile. It is a known fact that most people base their decisions on what others say about you. As a business, if you have a reputation-related issue, then highlight the positive reviews by posting them on social media and your website. Asking others to write something positive about you helps build an impactful reputation online. - Optimize your Website
You should optimize your website as it can make a difference in your reputation. An optimized website ranks higher up on search engines. You want to focus on the web pages, titles, meta descriptions, and all other aspects as it increases your chances of ranking higher rather than negative results showing up. Since the removal of negative content isn’t always possible, suppressing it is a better solution. You can do this by optimizing SEO and including authentic, positive client testimonials.
- Press Articles
You can publish press articles as a way to suppress and remove negative links. You can promote and publish newsworthy content in places where your audience is most likely to see it, such as known publications. Brands and public figures often do this after a flaw has gone viral or when negativity has increased more than expected. Carefully strategized press articles can save your reputation and improve your online presence even if you had a crisis recently. Reputation management agencies can help you get the right press coverage so you can rebuild trust.
Conclusion
A media PR agency or an online reputation management agency can help you suppress negative news, search results, and reviews. It is done by making your content SEO-friendly, getting your social media accounts verified, increasing your online presence, and improving your engagement on social media. Unwanted online content doesn’t just disappear with time. You must take timely action if you want to suppress negative search results.
