Search engine reputation management explained

Removal, de-indexing and suppression all change a search result. They are not the same job, and the order matters.

What is search engine reputation management?

Search engine reputation management (SERM) is the work of shaping what appears when people search for a person, a business or a brand. It is a narrower job than reputation management as a whole. It cares about one place: the results page.

The reason it matters is plain. Most people check a name before they call, hire, invest or book. What they see in the first screen of results is, for many of them, the whole picture.

What are the three ways to change a search result?

There are three. They differ in how permanent they are and who controls them.

• Removal at the source. The page itself is taken down by the site that hosts it. The result disappears from every search engine, and from the AI answers that draw on it. This is the most durable outcome.
• De-indexing. The page stays on the web, but Google stops listing it. It works only for narrow cases and does not touch other search engines. See how to de-index a URL from Google.
• Suppression. New, accurate pages are published and promoted until they outrank the unwanted one. The unwanted page remains and can return. See how to push down negative search results.

A related route is a name-based request, where Google is asked to remove results that expose personal information. Which requests Google accepts is covered in how to remove your name from Google search.

How do you choose between them?

Start with the question of who controls the page. If you or a cooperative owner control it, edit or delete it. If a third party hosts it, ask whether it can come down at the source. If it cannot, ask whether Google has a narrow rule that fits. Suppression is the last resort, not the first.

• Speed. Removal can be quick once it is accepted. Suppression takes weeks or longer, because new pages must earn their rank.
• Permanence. Removal lasts. Suppression holds only while the new pages keep their position.
• Fit. De-indexing needs a specific ground. Suppression works on almost anything. Removal depends on the host.
• Cost over time. Suppression is ongoing work. Removal is a one-time job per item, plus monitoring.

Suppression hides the problem. Removal ends it. Use the first only when the second is not available.

What does Google reputation management cover?

Google reputation management is search engine reputation management aimed at Google, the engine most people use. It includes the organic results for a name, the business profile and its reviews, and what Google surfaces around them.

One distinction saves a lot of effort. Google does not own most of what it lists. It indexes the web. A defamatory article, a complaint page or a forum thread is controlled by its host, not by Google. Google's own properties, such as Google reviews on a business profile, follow Google's own rules. See which Google reviews qualify.

How does Erase My Reputation approach it?

Removal first. Erase My Reputation assesses each URL and tells you, before you spend anything, whether we expect to move it. Items we decline are never billed, and where something cannot come down, we say so and discuss what can be done about its place in search.

Google, Yelp and Trustpilot reviews are priced per review and billed only once each is confirmed gone. Articles, websites, videos, social posts, forum content, search results and records are quoted per item in writing, with a deposit and a full refund on any accepted item still published 14 days after work begins. See how much review removal costs.

Most reviews come down within 24 to 48 hours, and some take a little longer. We actively monitor for reposts. The work is discreet, and we never name clients. For the full service, see online reputation management.