When it comes to dealing with arrests.org removal, first you have to know what it is you’re dealing with. Arrests.org is the parent company of a number of local sites throughout the US that capture, collect, and post public mugshots of people. The sites are searchable by state, although the only states available are those that have open record laws. The mugshots available here are then eligible to be featured as search results on search engines like Google.

On the one hand, the argument is that all of this information would be available to any citizen who did a little bit of digging.

On the other hand, sites like arrests.org make damaging photos immediately accessible and highly visible in search results. Even people who were never charged, have had the charges overturned, are pardoned, or served their sentence will still suffer from the negative effects of an arrests.org search result.

Arrests.org: How to Remove Your Info

We’ve identified the Arrests.org opt out steps below, however, there is a caveat. Supporting documentation is required in order to process a removal and the removal is at the discretion of Arrests.org. There is no guarantee that your info will be removed from the site.

1. Go to Arrests.org .

2. Enter your first name, last name, and state into the search bar.

3. Identify the listing with your info. Click “Record removal.”

4. Select a reason for removal, provide the required documentation, and click “Submit opt-out.”

There are a few different reasons for removal options for Arrests.org, each requiring specific documentation:

• “The arrests have been sealed or expunged.” Requires a copy of the expungement order.
• “The charges were dropped/dismissed/adjudicated not guilty.” Requires proof of identity and proof of disposition.
• “Remove data of birth and address.” Requires proof of identity.
• “Other.” This includes if the person is deceased, active military, not a US citizen, or a law enforcement/government official. Requires supporting documents to verify.

5. Give it some time.

It can take Arrests.org anywhere from 5-30 days to process the removal request. As we mentioned above, this doesn’t guarantee that the info will be removed. Even if you are able to get the listing removed, we recommend speaking with one of our experts about safeguarding your online presence.

More about Arrests.org

Arrests.org provides very little information about the site and its practices, save for a few sentences on the contact page.  If you read the fine print below this contact information, you’ll also see an admission from the site that the owners take no responsibility for the accuracy of the information, and that people featured were not necessarily convicted of any crimes. The site owners also refuse to take any responsibility for user comments.

While arrests.org lacks sufficient information about the site’s intentions, owners, or courses of action, this brief statement speaks volumes.

Many sites like arrests.org claim to perform a public service by “informing the public” about the background information of citizens. However, the statements found on the site strongly suggest that the site is all about entertainment value.

Users are able to tag and search mugshots based on the following criteria:

• Beat Up
• Celebrity
• Handicap
• Grills
• Hair
• Hunks
• Hotties
• Scary
• Tatted up
• Transgender
• Wino
• WTF

The fact that you can’t easily filter mugshots based on the type of charge, status, time served, etc – but instead you can only sort from the tags mentions above suggests that the intent is not to inform citizens, but to mock the subjects of these mugshots.

In addition to this questionable form of categorizing mugshots, the comments section is a wild west of opinions and generally crude and lewd behavior.

Users can link to specific photos and make comments that are then featured on the front page of arrests.org.

The comments are typically degrading, damaging and explicit.

What to watch out for with mugshot databases

The truly controversial aspect of these kinds of practices comes into view when considering how the site is monetized. While some states have tightened up the loopholes regarding “removal” companies, there is still a real chance of extortion when it comes to posted mugshot photos.

Luckily, arrests.org did away with the “pay for removal” system, as they faced legal action along with other sites.

However, some sites like arrests.org still work with companies specializing in removal services. Basically, this secondary company (although it may also just be an extension of the mugshot network) will charge you a certain amount of money to remove your photo from this database. This fee can range from a few hundred dollars upwards.

While there is a chance that this will resolve your problem in the short-term, unfortunately, this is not a guarantee for your online reputation in the long-term.

Even if you pay to get your mugshot removed, there’s a chance that other people can still see it in cached image searches. Additionally, just because you pay for an image to be removed from one database, that doesn’t mean it won’t pop up on other sites down the road. This image could also re-appear on the site you paid for in the future.

While paying for removal may give you some peace of mind in the short-term, using this as your only strategy leaves you vulnerable and sets you up for disappointment.

Consider any course of action you can to get a mugshot removed, but keep in mind that it’s unlikely to do much for you in the long-run. That’s why we suggest an alternative strategy.

Alternative strategies

Through years of experience working with clients, we have refined our strategy for dealing with negative search results like a mugshot. Even though full mugshot removal is allusive, mitigating the negative effects of a mugshot through personal branding is attainable.

We have found that the most successful way to do this is by following these four steps:

1. Remove any Google results that can be taken down.

Again, this is the first thing that you should look into when improving your online presence. Even if you can’t get your mugshot taken down, do a full audit of search results (links, videos, images, news, etc) that come up for your name. From here, unpublish or remove any content that you control. If you choose to work with BrandYouself’s Managed Services, we’ll also create a strategy for identifying and drafting any useful Takedown requests.

2. Create a personal brand that showcases your assets.

Because you are specifically dealing with a negative image result, there should be a heavier focus on cultivating social media profiles that deal with visual content. However, your personal brand development should be holistic, and relevant to your specific goals – not just a reaction to this mugshot.

3. Create positive content to protect your good name from any future damage.

This means regularly engaging on social media and building an audience engaged in your industry and interests.

4. Continually monitor your online presence and track changes in search results.

In addition to monitoring the progress of your mugshot from arrests.org, you also have to be on the lookout for other negative (or positive) search results for your name and how their rankings fluctuate over time.

Remember, at best, paid removal is a short-term solution while you work on building your online reputation management strategy. At worst, paid removal is ineffective and costly.

If removal is an option for you financially, use your own discretion. However, if removal is not an option due to financial constraints, focus your attention on building optimized, well-branded properties that you control. You can learn more about building a strong foundation, by signing up for our free tool, checking out our foundational guides on the BrandYourself blog, and reading the tutorial in BrandYourself University.

Additionally, consider the states that are accessible on arrests.org. This network only features information from states that subscribe to open record laws. Instead of arguing for the public’s right to information or invoking the freedom of information act, arrests.org ensures that they can’t be charged of violating any of these rulings.

If you find your mugshot on a site like arrests.org, you’re probably going to want to sign up for removal services ASAP.

But don’t be fooled! Approach your personal brand holistically, and leverage profiles that you control to showcase your assets.

FAQs

How do I delete a mugshot?

Unfortunately, you cannot simply opt to delete a mugshot, unless it appears on a website or profile that you control. And in most states, arrest records are part of the public records so they are available online. However, you can try emailing the webmaster directly. Because the odds are slim in terms of working out in your favor, we suggest that you instead focus your efforts on building a strong personal brand online that highlights your accomplishments while suppressing this negative image of yours.

How can I disable comments on my mugshot from arrests.org

Unfortunately, you can’t disable comments directly through the site. We also don’t recommend engaging with other users in this forum. Instead, we suggest that you focus on the social media profiles and personal websites that you do control.

Why is my mugshot showing up on multiple sites?

Sites like arrests.org pull from state-run databases that release this information as a matter of public record. Therefore, even if you get the image removed from a site like arrests.org, it can still show up on similar sites or the original database.

How long before my mugshot disappears?

Unfortunately, your mugshot may not disappear. However, as you start to build your personal brand, you’ll notice that properties that you control will start to rank for your name. So the idea is that over time, you’ll significantly reduce the chances that anyone will see your mugshot. The farther down in rankings, the less likely someone is to see it. So while the image may not fully disappear, over time, you will start to see more positive relevant information overwhelm this negative result.

What states does arrests.org cover?

Arrests.org features information from states that subscribe to open record laws. Below we’ve described the regions covered on arrests.org sites by state:

Alabama.arrests.org: The Alabama arrests.org database has grown significantly over the past few years. It now covers 18 counties – it used to list just 5 counties.

Arizona.arrests.org: There are only four counties on the Arizona arrests.org page (Cochise, Maricopa, Mohave, and Pinal).

Arkansas.arrests.org: One of the larger databases out there on the site, the Arkansas arrests.org page includes 23 counties. If you live in this state and have been arrested you should definitely do some digging to see if you’re listed.

California.arrests.org: Surprisingly, there are only 7 counties listed on the California arrests.org page but each is fairly thorough.

Colorado.arrests.org: One of the smaller pages on the site with only two counties. Worth exploring if you live in the state, but the Colorado arrests.org has far fewer mugshots and listings than other state pages, so your chances are a bit better here.

Florida.arrests.org: The arrests.org Florida database covers 52 counties which increases your chances of being listed here significantly. This also means that your mugshot has a great chance at being picked up by another website.

Georgia.arrests.org: The Georgia arrests.org database is also quite large with the page covering 37 counties.

Idaho.arrests.org: Only four counties are included in the Idaho arrests.org page (Ada, Bingham, Canyon, and Elmore).

Illinois.arrests.org: On the Illinois arrests.org page there are 7 counties listed but it is updated quite regularly and has an active comment community which means the chances of someone seeing your mugshot when visiting the page is higher than other states.

Indiana.arrests.org: Indiana’s arrests.org page covers 24 counties and has some fairly active engagement around their listings.

Iowa.arrests.org: Only eight counties are included on the Iowa arrests.org database with moderate activity from visitors.

Kansas.arrests.org: The Kansas arrests.org page has nine counties in their database but very low engagement on their listings.

Kentucky.arrests.org: There are a whopping 70 counties in the Kentucky arrests.org database although the engagement and comments across all Arrests.org KY listings are actually on the low side given the quantity.

Louisiana.arrests.org: 19 counties make up the Louisiana arrests.org page with moderate engagement throughout the site.

Maine.arrests.org: Only the county of Somerset is on the Main arrests.org database.

Maryland.arrests.org: Allegany and St. Mary’s county are the only two on the Maryland arrests.org database page.

Michigan.arrests.org: 7 counties make up the arrests.org Michigan database with lower than average engagement and activity across them.

Minnesota.arrests.org: There are 26 counties in the Minnesota arrests.org database with moderate activity and comments on their listings.

Mississippi.arrests.org: The Mississippi arrests.org page has 19 counties but very low activity and engagement.

Missouri.arrests.org: The Missouri arrests.org page has 23 counties with a high engagement and comment rate on their listings.

Montana.arrests.org: Missoula and Ravalli are the only two counties you can find on the Montana arrests.org page.

Nebraska.arrests.org: Gage, Lincoln, and Sarpy are the counties listed on the Nebraska arrests.org page with low engagement.

Nevada.arrests.org: This page is down right now. We will update this once it’s available to the public again.

New Jersey.arrests.org: There are only four counties on the New Jersey arrests.org page (Essex, Ocean, Salem, and Sussex).

New Mexico.arrests.org: There are five counties on the New Mexico arrests.org database with above-average activity and comments across all listings.

North Carolina.arrests.org: The North Carolina arrests.org page has 30 counties with above-average engagement.

Ohio.arrests.org: 36 counties make up the Ohio arrests.org database with above-average engagement across their listings.

Oklahoma.arrests.org: The Oklahoma arrests.org database contains 11 counties with moderate activity.

Oregon.arrests.org: 18 counties are included in the Oregon arrests.org page with much higher than average activity and engagement from the visitors to the page.

Pennsylvania.arrests.org: There are only 7 counties in the Pennsylvania arrests.org database and below-average engagement.

South Carolina.arrests.org: You can find 22 counties on the South Carolina arrests.org page and the listings receive above-average activity and engagement.

Tennessee.arrests.org: The Tennessee arrests.org database has 20 counties and above-average engagement.

Texas.arrests.org: 51 counties make up the Texas arrests.org database but the activity level on the listings is actually on the lower side of things.

Utah.arrests.org: You can find 7 counties on the Utah arrests.org page but moderate activity throughout the database.

Virginia.arrests.org: The arrests.org VA database covers 13 counties with significantly above-average activity and engagement from the visitors.

West Virginia.arrests.org: 10 counties are included in the West Virginia arrests.org database but the engagement level on this page is extremely low.

Wisconsin.arrests.org: There are only 6 counties on the Wisconsin arrests.org page but the engagement across the state database is slightly above average.

Wyoming.arrests.org: Goshen, Sweetwater, and Teton are the only counties listed on the Wyoming arrests.org page. The engagement level is very low as well.

If you’re dealing with a negative search result like a mugshot from arrests.org, schedule a consultation with a BrandYourself Reputation Advisor to discuss the best option for you from our managed services packages.

The post Removing Yourself From Arrests.org appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

Highly sensitive information is relatively easy to get removed (or de-indexed) from the internet (ie social security numbers, credit card numbers, government ID numbers, etc) because the law is on your side.

Unfortunately, some information that you deem as too private, has no legal recourse for removal. Instead, you have to find alternative steps to reclaim your privacy online.

This is where things can get a bit more tricky.

Even taking care of highly sensitive information doesn’t just magically happen. You have to be proactive about monitoring the information that appears about you online.

So, let’s get into the nitty gritty of removing public records online.

Your personal information lives online

Gone are the days of flipping through Whitepages and filing information requests by snail mail. Today, all kinds of information is not only available about you, but it’s easily accessed online. It seems like nothing is off-limits.

Think about it, your:

• Home addresses
• Homeownership documents
• Voter registration
• Divorce records

And other public records are available to anyone online who types in the right keywords. With that in mind, we’ve created this guide to help you better understand the most effective ways to remove public records about you from the internet.

Why public records of today differ from those of the past

Public records are nothing new, but the level of accessibility and volume of information aggregators online present modern problems.

In the past, an individual would have to physically go to a government office and/or submit a formal request to access this kind of information.

In all likelihood there would be multiple offices, buildings and requests involved.

Online “personal information brokerages” of today, remove all of the red tape and legwork that used to create a natural barrier. Now with the click of a button, anyone can access all of this information instantly without leaving home.

This is what often makes people most uncomfortable. It is also what makes understanding how to remove public records so difficult.

How to remove information from public records while setting realistic expectations

While it’s true that there are a number of steps that you can take to reduce most of the public records accessible about you online, it’s also true that there is always the chance that there will be some remnants of you online.

Even with the help of a legal team, people who are particularly adept at finding information (think private investigators, government agencies, hackers, etc) online, may still be able to.

But, there are a number of precautions and steps that you can take to reduce the chances of the typical internet user finding this kind of information about you online.

How to remove my name from public records in 10 easy steps

Step 1: Google yourself

Start the process by identifying all of the private information that you want to remove or hide online. Search through as many pages as possible for all web results, images, videos, news clips etc that are attached to your name online. Keep in mind that this doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll locate all info that’s available about you online, but it will give you a strong sense of prioritizing the records you want to get rid of!

If finding and tracking these kinds of results seems a bit overwhelming, sign up for BrandYourself’s free DIY Reputation Management Software which automatically scans search results for your name and flags potentially damaging or private search results. .

Step 2: Change your address and phone number

No, we’re not suggesting that you move to a new home just because of a few invasive search results. Instead, get a P.O. Box or head to UPS and get their version of a post office box. This way you can attach a mailing address to most records and it can differ from your home address.

Additionally, consider getting a phone line that’s used exclusively for this type of documentation or business purposes. This can range from a single landline (if people still do that), or a free/inexpensive number from services like Google Voice, whatsapp or Skype.

Step 3: Start a business

You don’t have to go full on Bezos-mode if that’s not your style. Instead, investigate whether or not forming an LLC (limited liability corporation) would make sense as a means of detaching your personal information from public records attached to properties that you own or rent. Make sure to do your research and consult with a professional.

Step 4: Visit the county clerk’s office

Before you visit, make sure you check out the hours, and any suggestions for forms of id to bring. Additionally, there are a number of request forms that you can obtain to fill out from the local county clerk’s website.

Once that’s resolved, be prepared to ask for the following information:

• Permission to review all public records related to you
• What information is allowed to be removed/redacted/modified from these records
• Which documents can include your “new address”

From here, request that all information that can be removed/redacted/modified is. Your telephone number and most of your social security number should be removed or at least partially obscured on most records in question.

Some of the records kept by the County Clerk include:

• Marriage licenses
• Court records
• Deeds and mortgages
• Old wills
• Probate cases
• Government surveys
• Civil circuit files
• Birth certificates
• Death certificates
• More

Most of these records are publicly accessible for free or a nominal fee, so make sure that you are thorough when it comes to examining your own public records!

Also, don’t forget to ask about the UCC database! This is the Uniform Commercial Code database and it deals with records related explicitly to property ownership and Financing statements. This is something that you may also be able to look up on your state’s “.gov” website. So feel free to find out what you can online before your in-person visit.

There’s a pretty good chance that your social security number could show up on some of these records! So make a point to ask about this particular database.

Once you’ve reviewed and discussed all of these records with the clerk, make sure to furnish any additional information needed from formal request forms to updates on your end (namely your new P.O. box address – or a phone number different from your personal number). Follow up as needed.

Step 5: Take a trip to the DMV

Or at least give them a call. Find out if legally you’re allowed to change your address to that of a P.O. or UPS Box. If so, head on over and make the change. That way, in the future, it’s more likely that this address will be attached to your name in legal documentation instead of your actual home address.

Step 6: Make the rounds

While it’s definitely worth a call ahead, think of other publicly funded places where your address is part of the ID. Places like:

• Public Library
• Public Pool
• Unemployment office
• Parks and Rec offices

Ask if you can update the address with the P.O. or UPS Box that you’ve just started renting.

Step 7: Request removal from information brokerage services

When it comes to dealing with exposed private information, you can now focus your attention to data brokerage services online. Some of these include sites like:

• Radaris
• Peoplefinders
• Spokeo
• Intelius
• Truthfinder
• Checkmate
• Peoplelooker

These are data aggregation sites and users pay to find out as much information about other people in one place as possible. This information can vary in nature, but most of these sites provide an opt out request form. Examine the website to find out exactly how to go about the process. Naturally, most of these sites don’t make it easy.

You’ll likely have to send a request via fax that includes a copy of documentation that identifies you as you! This is to ensure that they are removing the correct information from the database. However, feel free to redact your image or key ID#s – just read the details of the site carefully. You don’t want your removal request to result in exposure of more personal info!

And if you have trouble with certain sites removing your information, the law may be on your side (depending on the information that they’re sharing). Sensitive information that can lead to fraud or identity theft (like social security numbers and bank account numbers) must be taken down. This is exactly having separate checking accounts for businesses is extremely important. You can submit a takedown request to Google, or even enlist the aid of a legal team. And if you live in the EU or Argentina, you also have the protections of the right to be forgotten.

Step 8: Expedite the removal process

Unfortunately, this can be a time consuming process if you don’t come up with a system. Look for a removal request template, and keep track of when you send these requests. Consider setting up alerts to remind you when you should check back in with these various requests you’re sending. Avoid requests getting taking longer than necessary by staying organized and setting up a schedule for yourself for checking on the status of these requests.

Step 9: Review privacy settings

This should be a regular part of your digital health. Stay up to date with the personal information that you choose to share on various accounts online. If you are required to store information like a phone number or mailing address, make sure to update it to the new information that isn’t reflective of your primary phone number and home address. Whenever you get alerts saying that a website you use is updating their privacy agreement… make sure that you review your settings. While the information you share doesn’t necessarily fall in the realm of “public records”, there’s a pretty good chance that by using the site you’re agreeing to your data being tracked and sold to other companies. So limit the amount of personal information you use when creating an account.

Step 10: Build your brand and suppress

Enlisting the help of lawyers is not guaranteed to work and will likely be expensive. However, every case is different, so it may be worth it to you to consider the help of an attorney. However, do your homework and make sure that they are not paid by the offending sites.

Whether you choose to include the justice system in your action plan or not,  we suggest that you focus on steps that you can control.

Removing public records with our DIY tool

Another great way to make the process of removing public records easier is by signing up for a free DIY account.

This gives you instant access to our reputation management software which monitors and tracks your online reputation. This means that any new public records that might show up will be flagged and brought to your attention.

Also, our proprietary technology also shows you how to build and protect your online presence and privacy step by step. By creating a strong personal brand online, you’re not only boosting your professional earning potential but also decreasing the likelihood that people will see exposed private information when they search for your name online.

Wrap up

While dealing with public records can make you feel vulnerable, it is within your power to reduce and remove sensitive information about you from the internet. It’s definitely a process, and cannot be completed in a day, but don’t give up. Keep track of the steps you take and celebrate progress.

Following the steps above is how to remove your information from public records online. While you may not be able to get rid of everything, you can significantly reduce the information that’s out there and the likelihood that anyone will see it.

Don’t have time? Let us do the work for you. If this whole process seems overwhelming, reach out to a Reputation Advisor by calling (646)-863-8226 or scheduling a consultation to discuss the best option for you from our managed services packages.

The post How to Remove Public Records From The Internet appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

One of our most common requests from clients is to guide them through Ripoff Report removal options.

The reason for this is simple, having a Ripoff Report about you or your business really stinks. It can cost you money, a job, or damage your overall reputation.

Anyone can write a report about you with little to no proof, and the Ripoff Report will likely show up in your search results (and take some real effort to get rid of).

So what can you do to remove your Ripoff Report?

Since we’ve been doing this for quite some time, we know how to deal with sites like Ripoff Report. From outright removal to suppression, we’ve tried it all, and only keep the most effective long-term strategies in our company’s playbook

And guess what? We’re going to share it with you.

We want you to have a complete understanding of your options for removing a Ripoff Report. It’s something we’ve seen hurt a lot of people, and we want to do what we can to help at scale.

Read it, take action on it, and let us know if you need any help along the way!

What is Ripoff Report?

Let’s start here so you know what you’re dealing with from top to bottom.

Ripoff Report is a privately owned and operated for-profit website that lets anyone publish their opinions or complaints about other people or businesses. The site encourages and even requires authors to only file truthful reports, but they do not guarantee that all reports are authentic or accurate.

While consumer reviews and complaints are of course important and should be heard, a major criticism of this site is that there is no fact checking or follow up with these complaints. While other large review sites have made serious efforts to fight against false negative reviews, that does not seem to be the case with Ripoff Report.

This means it is very easy for a disgruntled employee, business competitor, anyone who doesn’t like you to create a Ripoff Report that is very difficult to remove.

How to Remove Ripoff Reports From Google Search Results

When it comes to fighting a complaint from ripoffreport.com, there are of course options. If you know who the complainant is, you can appeal to them directly. However, this person will not be able to delete the original comment. The best that they can do is add on to the original – which ultimately may just make the negative report rank higher in search results. And if the person who aired their grievances through ripoffreport.com is unreasonable, then this request may make things worse for you.

Best case scenario? They do nothing. Worst case scenario? They file more complaints or continue to update the original complaint. This is one of the main reasons why Ripoff Report removal is so darn tricky.

If you respond directly on the platform to the complaint, then you are keeping that page active and actually helping it rank better. You could try and email the webmaster at Ripoff Report, though the likelihood of a response is slim to nil.

Another option is to try submitting a takedown request to Google and other search engines.

However, in all likelihood this particular complaint won’t fall into the categories that are approved for removal requests.

You could also hire legal counsel in your quest to remove these unflattering and unfounded comments. While there are a few examples of individuals successfully suing Ripoff Report, (most often when a complaint on the site crosses over from informative to defamatory) this is not the norm. If you can afford it, this is definitely something you can try. The downside here is that the results aren’t consistent, and the legal process is a pain that most people don’t want to go through. The expense and time investment for an option that doesn’t guarantee Ripoff Report removal often leaves people frustrated.

Additionally, ripoffreport.com offers a “corporate advocacy program” which is a pay service to have Ripoff Report investigate the legitimacy about the claims made against you or your business on the site.

These findings will then be posted above the original complaint. While this solution may be enough for some, others may find the fact that the original content is still available troubling – or feel that this process is too close to extortion. Ripoff Report also offers a “VIP Arbitration Program”, this requires a fee to question the validity of the accusation.

From here, Ripoff Report may agree with you then redact the falsehoods in a statement on the site.

Unfortunately, neither of these services from Ripoff Report are guaranteed to work, nor do they completely remove the offending comments from the internet. They also don’t protect you from possible reports later on down the line, so there’s a chance you end up right where you started.

Because of the uncertainty attached to these solutions, we highly suggest suppression as the most effective alternative. When figuring outhow to remove ripoff reports, this is something we have had the most success with.

What is Suppression?

Suppression is the act of building up online properties and websites to outrank something negative (in this case a Ripoff Report). It’s also a go-to tactic in almost all online reputation management campaigns. There are a few reasons why we tend to recommend this option for most people.

First off, you deal with the primary problem you’re having. Suppressing a Ripoff Report has the same effect as removing it from Google search results when done properly. By burying it significantly you eliminate the chance of anyone seeing it, which is what you’re after.

Also, with suppression you (or whoever is handling your campaign for you) have more control. Unlike passing things off to a lawyer or dealing with Ripoff Report’s programs, you know if things are done properly you will have success. The only question is how long it will take.

Lastly, you get the benefit of building up a positive online presence while you execute your Ripoff Report removal strategy. When everything is complete you will not only have taken care of the Ripoff Report, but will have a fantastic online reputation that can aid your professional life.

While the details of suppression can get a bit complex, the 3-step process of building, establishing and maintaining your online presence is the best way to enhance what you look like online. This is what we execute for our clients, and what any reputable firm should do as well.

In our experience…

At BrandYourself, we have had a number of clients suffering from unfounded attacks on ripoffreport.com. Through these experiences, we’ve learned a lot when figuring out how to push down ripoff reports, and what to expect.

While every situation is different, here are a few common trends we’ve noticed when dealing specifically with Ripoff Reports.

Are Ripoff Report search results difficult to bury?

It all depends. When it comes to predicting whether or not it will be easy to suppress a Ripoff Report, you have to consider a number of factors. First, ask yourself the following questions:

• How competitive are the search results for your name or business?
• What information is already online about you (or your business)?
• When was the complaint published?
• Is the page regularly updated?

If you have a common name (like “Sarah Smith”), or share a name with a celebrity (like Kim Kardashian), it’s going to be challenging to create a personal brand that outranks all of those other search results. However, this may work in your favor in the case of dealing with a Ripoff Report. Those other search results may suppress this negative result. However, if you have a unique name – and there isn’t much online about you, chances are also pretty good that the professional profiles and personal websites that you create and optimize for your name will rank.

When it comes to dealing with a Ripoff Report, the information that is already online about you (or your business) can either help or hurt you. If there’s already tons of positive press from reputable sites, or you already have a great Twitter and Medium account, chances are – your Ripoff Report won’t be all that damaging. People who search for you will see more aspects of who you are than the single opinion someone shared on Ripoff Report. However, if there’s little about you to begin with, that Ripoff Report doesn’t have anything to compete with and will probably rank well fairly quickly.

In terms of the timing of the complaint, Google and other search engines tend to favor both very old and very new search results. So if this RipoffReport is either from last week or from 5 years ago, it may have some authority in the eyes of the search engine.

In addition to those listed above, there are even more factors that can make ripoff reports challenging.

• The domain is authoritative: Ripoffreport.com tends to rank high. This means that any new pages on this domain are also likely to rank well.

• The name is catchy: Unfortunately, ripoff report appeals to our baser instincts. The thought of reading about “scams” and “fraud” entices users to click through the site. This sort of clickbaiting encourages traffic which also helps the site’s authority.

• Updates make the page rank higher: In addition to having a click-baity name and an authoritative domain, users often keep their complaints active and ranking well by adding to the content on the page. When the people launching the complaint are spiteful, this tends to encourage others to chime in as well. This makes search engines like Google view this page as relevant and content-rich, which makes the page rank higher.

While Ripoff Reports tend to be difficult to bury, it’s absolutely possible. By building, optimizing and regularly publishing high quality content online, you stand the best chance at overcoming the negativity associated with a Ripoff Report.

To take things to the next level and learn more about how our managed services can help, head over to our Concierge Services page.

The post Ripoff Report Removal: Your Complete List Of Options appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

You know the type, all of their profiles look amazing, they’re engaging with people, and there isn’t a hint of anything that could potentially sabotage their reputation.

They look pretty trustworthy, right? Here’s the kicker: Employers, business partners, and customers are all thinking the same thing. They just went from “interested” to “sold” in the blink of an eye.

It gets better. Having a great social media reputation isn’t only attainable by influencers or big brands. Learn more at https://www.seedmarketingagency.com/.

Anyone can do this. Normal folks are using social media all the time to look great online and leverage new opportunities for themselves.

What’s their secret? They understand the value of social media reputation management. It’s not rocket science, and it’s really not that time-consuming either. You just have to know where to start.

That’s why we’ve put together a resource to get you up and running when it comes to managing your reputation on social media. Read on to learn how to brand yourself on social media. 

Wait, what is social media reputation management exactly?

Reputation management and social media go hand-in-hand. Social media reputation management is the process of building and monitoring your social media presence to make your overall online brand better.

At BrandYourself, we see three major benefits from social media reputation management.

First of all, by managing your reputation on social media well, you enhance how your brand looks on those social networks.

This is valuable if you’re active in the right social communities and can make your social media accounts a great place for others to learn more about you.

Using these networks to interact directly with your customers, colleagues, or potential business partners can set you apart from other brands online.

Secondly, proper social media management typically leads to higher search result rankings for online properties you control when someone searches your name.

Social media properties usually get indexed and can start ranking competitively quickly, so you have an opportunity to make a dent in your search results fast.

Claiming this real estate with properties you control is a huge win and one of the big reasons we encourage social media reputation management.

Lastly, social media also provides a forum for instant feedback. No matter what it is that you are selling – a product, a service, a lifestyle – social media platforms let you talk directly with customers and clients.

No matter what kind of feedback you get on social media, you have the chance to respond directly and publicly. This shows others that you’re listening and that you care. Individuals and brands that do this well consistently earn respect in their industry, which is the ultimate currency on and offline.

I’m not that into social media – can it really work for me?

If you think social media isn’t for you, consider this, search queries usually yield 10 to 12 results on the first page alone.

If you completely opt out of social media, then you’re limiting the number of properties that you control. Whether you are suppressing a negative search result or trying to build out a competitive set of search results for your name, refusing to engage on social media severely reduces your chances of controlling that first page of results.

For those who don’t currently engage on any social media platforms, you may think that you’ve gotten along fine without these profiles this long – why bother now? Nowadays, regardless of industry, an online presence is an expectation. By not taking advantage of social media, you’re leaving all kinds of opportunities on the table and damaging your professional image.

What are the best professional profiles for you?

If sites like Facebook or Instagram don’t tickle your fancy, remember that there is a whole host of social media platforms that can work for you.

The beauty of social media is that you get to decide what kind of information you’re sharing about yourself and how you’re engaging with others.

Furthermore, a number of social media platforms exist that targets professionals – and even specific industries.

As for platforms that may not seem particularly professional at first glance, try not to dismiss them. If a social network that tends to rank well would aid in the overall objectives of your personal brand’s development, there is always a way to present yourself in a polished and career-minded fashion there.

The process of building your brand is personal and ongoing, so just be very clear about your own priorities when it comes to choosing or excluding social media properties from your strategy.

Foundation Formation

So what does a strong foundation look like when it comes to social media reputation management? With so many social networks to choose from, how do you know where to start?

At BrandYourself, we’ve analyzed thousands of search results and discovered which profiles tend to rank best in the search engines. These are all fairly broad, general in nature, and can be utilized no matter what industry you are in. We definitely recommend that you choose from the following 12 platforms when designing a stable social media foundation initially:

• Facebook
• Linkedin
• Twitter
• Quora
• Slideshare
• about.me
• Vimeo
• YouTube
• Tumblr
• Pinterest
• Crunchbase

What’s the purpose of each?

While there are certainly similarities among social media profiles, the platforms themselves can vary in content type, audience, and functionality. With that in mind, below is an overview of each of the recommended social media profiles:

– Facebook:

Facebook is a great place to connect with friends, family, and colleagues alike. It encourages users to join groups, like and follow pages, publish original content like photos, share articles, and much more. Facebook profiles tend to rank well, and although the platform originally focused on connecting with friends, today, you can make a very professional profile but still reap the benefits of the site.

– Linkedin:

LinkedIn is the go-to for professional networking. Here, you have the opportunity to create an extended resume that lets you showcase all of the hard work that you’ve put into your academic and professional lives. In addition to highlighting your professional achievements, you have the opportunity to publish articles using LinkedIn pulse and connect with others in your industry. A must-have profile for all professionals.

– Twitter:

This is a very popular platform that allows its users to share brief bits of content (known as tweets) and follow other users. As a business owner, Twitter is an excellent forum to share information immediately with consumers and to respond to direct queries and complaints.

– Quora:

This is a platform that lets users crowdsource answers from experts and upvote the best answers to other questions. By answering questions relevant to your field, you have the opportunity to share knowledge that you’ve gained throughout your career.

– Tumblr:

This content-sharing platform focuses primarily on photos and videos – and shorter bits of written content. It’s a great place to curate images that are relevant to your work.

– Slideshare:

Slideshare is an excellent place to build, share and discover presentations. As a user, you have the opportunity to share presentations, pdfs, and even videos with other users in your field.

– About.me:

This platform essentially acts as a free-standing biography and resume. Users have the chance to showcase their accomplishments and qualifications and lightly interact with other users.

– Vimeo:

This platform is a home for video content. It differs from YouTube because it features work from emerging and professional filmmakers. But don’t let this intimidate you; you can share your videos here, comment on the work of other users and follow other filmmakers.

– YouTube:

YouTube is a classic platform that allows users to upload, share and comment on videos, and create their own channels and playlists.

– Pinterest:

While Pinterest is often thought of as a platform merely for sharing recipes and wedding designs, it’s much more than that. After creating a profile here, you can create various boards – each containing pins that you create from scratch or copy from other sources. These boards can easily relate to your profession; whether it’s a board that contains infographics with relevant data or pictures from your company’s latest event, Pinterest not only lets you showcase your professional interests but find others who share them.

– Crunchbase:

Crunchbase allows users to create profiles for people and businesses – typically in the tech industry (though not necessarily). Users can follow influential individuals and enterprises and update profiles with current news articles, videos, and information.

The Two-Step Formula

Once you’ve chosen the social media profiles you want to build up, it’s time to get to work. Here’s a simple two-step formula for making the most out of your profiles and practicing smart social media reputation management:

Step 1: Optimize

Properly optimizing your social media profiles will give them the best chance to rank highly in the search engines. This is something many people overlook, and unfortunately, it ends up hurting their brand. If you have a few existing profiles already, you should take another look at those again as well.

Solid optimization when practicing social media reputation management will help search engines better understand who or what the profile is about. The eight main areas to pay attention to when optimizing social profiles include the following:

1. Full Name:

When creating a username, customizing the profile’s URL, or just listing your name, make sure you use your full name (or your name with any relevant qualifiers) – and be consistent about the name that you go by professionally.

2. Photo:

Include a recent professional picture of yourself. Don’t forget to label the picture with your name and follow all size recommendations listed on the site.

3. Biography:

Write an original biography about yourself that uses the maximum number of characters allowed. Whenever you can, try to speak about yourself in the third person so that your name is included in the biography section early on. This will make it easier for search engines to understand who the content is about and makes managing your reputation on social media a lot easier.

4. Location:

Include your public location as this can help enhance rankings for you locally and differentiate between others with your name that lives in another location.

5. Link to your website:

Most profiles let you include a link to your website. Always take advantage of this and link to your site so users can learn more about you.

6. Fill out all descriptions: 

In addition to writing out your biography, make sure that you fill out as much relevant information as possible. Whether it’s talking about your skills, where you volunteer, or hobbies outside of work – the more complete your profile is, the better.

7. Privacy:

Remember, the more public, the better for SEO purposes. However, take some time to think about what you are and are not comfortable with sharing publicly (remember that you can usually make certain information or posts private, even if the account is public – just read through your options in the settings). While privacy is always an option on any social media account, we don’t recommend that you post or share anything that you would regret becoming public later (even if you select “private”).

8. Update regularly: 

While you don’t have to spend all day every day on your profiles, make sure that you update them regularly. Whether you change biographical information to reflect who you are now, update your status, comment on content from other users or publish longer-form posts – make sure that you are regularly contributing original content to your profile in some way.

Step 2: Engage

This is a major part of social media reputation management. Once you have your properties optimized, you should start to focus on how you can build up and represent your brand by engaging on whatever networks you are a part of. Here are some quick tips on how to get started with this.

Identify influencers in your field: 

Do your homework and find the people who maintain a strong presence on social media platforms and who also happen to be standouts in your field. You can learn a lot from these leaders when it comes to connecting with the right audience through social media.

Connect with people you know IRL and online: 

Even if you are regularly updating your profiles, your posts don’t mean anything if nobody reads them. When thinking about how to build your social media presence, start with people you know in real life who are in your field and go from there.

Find your community: 

By investing time upfront in finding people and communities who share your professional and personal interests, you’ll eventually be able to contribute to these communities by sharing original content that you know will interest them. That means more traffic, more shares, more re-posts, and other social media engagement. Don’t just share randomly; put effort into finding and creating an audience that will be receptive to the kind of work that you share.

What’s Next?

After building well-optimized social media profiles and regularly engaging with others on them, you are still not finished.

Connecting with others while updating your profiles regularly is an ongoing process.

If you let your profiles go stagnant, they will be seen as irrelevant and not particularly valuable by people and search engines alike.

In addition to staying active on your social media profiles, regularly scan them for any comments that you might be making that could possibly damage your online brand.

Once you have scanned and deleted all questionable posts, regularly revisit your strategies and goals for developing your online presence.

Scan: 

Remember, always exercise caution with the comments that you make online and even the people that you follow! You wouldn’t want anything that you post to be misconstrued or somehow undermine all of your efforts. So always pause before you post and regularly scan your profiles.

BrandYourself’s DIY tool offers an incredible feature that alerts you about posts from your social media profiles that are polarizing or potentially damaging. Currently, you can enable this feature for your Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Our proprietary software flags keywords that include swears, drugs, alcohol, and more. You can even customize these words to find specific words (like any mentions of a boss or an ex) and then delete posts that you don’t want people to find.

Revisit your strategies and goals: 

Once you’ve found and deleted any posts that aren’t in line with your personal brand, regularly tweak the overall strategy for your brand.

Taking control of your online presence won’t happen overnight. So don’t give up if you don’t see changes in search results immediately.

Instead, evaluate how things look on a monthly basis. After a few months, do a thorough intake and consider that a change in strategy may make sense for you.

That could mean focusing all of your energy on fewer profiles, changing what properties you link to in your profiles, or something comparable.

Wrap Up

Social media reputation management demands regular attention and strategy. It’s part of a long-term process that starts with building profiles for the first time or optimizing existing profiles.

The post Social Media Reputation Management: What You Need To Know appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

If you’ve been involved in a court case, you may be surprised to find that when you Google your name, a listing on the site Docketbird.com shows up. Unfortunately, this is a common reality with court documents and public records. Docketbird is one of many legal aggregator websites that post these types of records. 

Fortunately for you, it is possible to get these listings removed. Compared to other websites and types of information online, sites like Docketbird have a process for removal. 

Remove Information From Docketbird

1. Go to the listing that contains your information on Docketbird 

2. Scroll to the bottom of the listing and click “Request Removal.”

3. Enter a Valid Email. 

4. Select your removal option.

Docketbird will remove your information from its website for free. When a webpage is removed, it can take some time for Google to recognize these changes and remove the information from its search results. This is what we call “caching”. If you clicked on the search result, it would bring you to a broken link on Docketbird. In time, Google recognizes the page has been removed and subsequently removes the info from search results. Docketbird offers a paid option to expedite this process. If you have access to a Google Search Conole account, you can also speed up this process yourself by using the outdated content removal tool.

What is DocketBird?

Docketbird is a website that allows you to access federal court documents. It’s used primarily by lawyers and legal professionals. They offer a paid subscription for about $25 per month that provides access to the full database of cases and information. This includes the ability to search and download documents on nearly every federal case, find new clients, get alerts on pending cases, and even conduct remote depositions.

Although a majority of the Docketbird platform is behind a paywall, there is information that’s publicly accessible. These are the listings that are likely showing in Google search results for your name. They offer free access to nearly 1 million cases. You can search by case name and/or number as well as browse based on case type. This includes civil cases, criminal cases, bankruptcy cases, and appellate cases.

How does Docketbird get your information?

Just like many sites of this nature, Docketbird sources its information from publicly accessible court records and documents. It’s common for these types of sites to scrape federal and state databases as well as other sites that contain legal documents. Since the information is a matter of public record, what they are doing is completely legal.

How to remove your name and info from Docketbird

Having information on Docketbird related to a case you were involved with can be nerve-wracking. But, it doesn’t have to be permanent. It is possible to get information removed from Docketbird.

Our experts can help. Schedule a free, no-pressure consultation. They’ll look at your entire online presence, including the Docketbird listing, and provide a holistic game plan for improvement. At the very least, you’ll walk away with some actionable next steps for how you can start improving your personal online footprint. 

Sites like Docketbird that have your information

If your information is on Docketbird, then it is probably on other places across the web. You’re not alone. With the prevalence of data brokers, local news sites, public records sites, and more, nearly everyone has information about them on the web.

Conduct a Google search of your name to get a sense of what’s out there. We recommend using the name that people will most likely use to Google you (like the name in your email signature). Also use a few different qualifiers, like your location and the company you work for. For example, Google “Your name + The Town You Live in” and “Your Name + Company Name”. Different results will populate for each, so it’s important to cast a wide net to fully understand what could be out there. Take inventory of where your information is as well as any other unwanted search results. Not all websites are equal so the type of website the info is on will determine your next steps for dealing with it. 

Other Legal Aggregators

If your info is on Docketbird, then it is also probably on other data brokers. They all collect data from the same sources (and have even been known to scrape other legal aggregators). The most common ones in addition to Docketbird are Justia.com, Law360, Pacermonitor.com, Casetext.com, Courtlistener.com, Unicourt.com, and Trellis.law. 

As with Docketbird, information on these sites can also be removed. Give us a call (646) 863-8282 and speak to one of our experts. They’ll be able to provide guidance on removing your info from every aggregator that you’re showing up on.

Data Brokers and People Search Sites

Data brokers and people search sites have exploded in popularity and prevalence. Some of the more popular ones include Whitepages, Mylife, Spokeo, Intelius, Truthfinder, BeenVerified, PeopleSearchNow, InstantPeopleFinder, and Nuwber. They are websites that house personal information on individuals (that’s searchable) including name, age, addresses, relatives, work history, education, income, criminal/court records, property records, purchasing behavior, and more. The type of information varies by site and many of the sites charge a fee for more in-depth reports. Regardless, it’s possible to find A LOT of information on an individual through these sites. Data brokers collect information through publicly available sources, one of which is court records. If there is case information about you on Docketbird, then it’s almost certain this info is on data broker sites as well. Unfortunately, based on the nature of data brokers, if your info is on one, then it is on a majority of them.

Don’t stress though — it is possible to remove your information from data brokers and people search sites. Each site has its own opt out processes that you will need to follow. This process can be time consuming so we created a tool that opts you out of 25 of the most common data brokers. You can learn more about that data broker opt out tool here.

Press, Government Websites, Complaint/review sites, and more 

If you have unwanted search results that don’t fit into the above two categories, then removal isn’t usually an option. Your best option here is to actually suppress the unwanted search results farther down where it is less visible to people looking you up online (most people don’t go past the first page of Google search results). 

The suppression process is pretty straightforward. You create and maintain positive web properties (personal website, social media, blogs, etc.) that will outrank the unwanted search results and essentially bury them. This process does take time but it is the best option for handling negative and unwanted search results.

Protecting Your Online Presence

Even once you remove the Docketbird listing, it’s important to maintain a positive online presence going forward. This process is actually the same as a negative suppression process in that you should be actively maintaining positive websites and professional profiles. 

We recommend having at least one personal website and about 10-12 profiles that you control (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.). If you’re able to populate the first page of search results for your name with these positive properties, it accomplishes a few things. First, it impresses and provides credibility for anyone looking you up. Second, it minimizes the effects of any negative or unwanted search results by providing a more complete picture of who you are online. Finally, it safeguards your reputation from something damaging cropping up in the future. 

Having Docketbird court records show up for your name in search results can be surprising, but you have options for removing them. Take action as soon as possible so as to not allow the listing to have damaging repercussions. 

The post How to Remove Docketbird Court Records Fast appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

There are plenty of people out there who have issues with public record sites like Radaris.com. The problem is that unlike a lot of other sites, the Radaris opt out process isn’t that straightforward.

As a matter of fact, thousands of people look up how to opt out of Radaris each month.

We get many questions about this site as well, so we thought it would be helpful to lay out all of your options regarding how to remove yourself from Radaris.com.

The Radaris Opt Out Process: Step-by-Step

Getting your records removed from sites like Radaris.com isn’t always straightforward. That said, you can certainly opt out from Radaris if you follow the right procedures.

Follow all directives to connect to Radaris and modify the information that is (or is not) shared on their site.

Currently, you can do this by following these steps:

1. Go to Radaris.com

2. Scroll to the bottom of the home page and select “Control Your Info.”

3. Read through the info about government and state laws about public records and click “Continue.”

The next few steps contain information about how Radaris sources information for its database.

4. Note the list of data providers. Then click “Continue.”

5. Go through the list of other data brokers & websites that have your info and click “Continue.”

6.  Enter your first and last name. Then click “Search.”

7. Scroll through the listings until you find the result with your information. Click “Control info.”

8. Either create a Radaris account or log in to your existing one.

Radaris requires that you create an account with them in order to modify a listing.

9.  Confirm your real name then enter a cell phone number to receive a verification code.

10. Enter the verification code in the required field and click “Submit.”

11. Click “View profile.”

12. To the right of the “Background check & contract info”, click “Control info” in the dropdown menu.

13. In the ‘Take Control of Information’ dialogue, click “Manage info.”

14. Click “Delete specific records.”

15. Select each record you wish to remove. You can select up to 6 individual records.

Once you’ve selected the records, scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Remove records”.

16. Your removal request is accepted and processed.

It can take up to 72 hours for the records to be completely removed.

Once you have followed all of these steps and removed yourself from Radaris you should look into playing a little defense. See where else your info is exposed on the web with our privacy tool. We provided more info on Radaris below.

What is Radaris?

In their own words, “Radaris is a comprehensive public records search engine for information about people, properties, businesses, and professionals”. So what exactly does that mean? Radaris is an information broker or people-search site. Radaris.com finds, collects and centralizes data about people and then creates an in-depth profile of the subject.

This profile is then fully available to anyone who requests and purchases it. Hence, the growing interest in how to remove yourself from Radaris.

Radaris claims, “we are the industry’s provider of the most comprehensive profiles sourcing data from the nation’s largest providers and dynamically integrating these profiles with social mentions, factual references and billions of public records in real-time. Your profiles are continuously changing and expanding as public digital data is captured.”

Radaris uses a number of resources for gathering this information, but before you can opt out of Radaris, you need to understand how the service works. There are three main approaches used by people-finder companies:

1. Purchasing information from commercial or marketing indexes, collecting it into a database, and packaging it into a product that can be sold.
2. Crawling the Internet for free content indexed by search engines and creating a searchable database based on this information.
3. Combining Internet searches with “Deo Web” searches of commercial and government databases, then selling access instead of creating a database.

In addition to selling these in-depth profiles of people and businesses, Radaris also offers paid monitoring services so that you receive alerts as new information is added to your profile over time. However, this is a reactive strategy that will not truly remove yourself from Radaris. In order to practice smart reputation management you have to be proactive.

Is Radaris attacking your privacy?
For people who are concerned about online privacy, Radaris, (and sites like it) poses serious threats to maintaining just that. Radaris finds virtually any records accessible online, or through various databases to provide as much personal information about a person, business or property as possible.

Unfortunately, because these are all technically accessible by law, Radaris won’t face any negative consequences for sharing this kind of information. Public access to this  information in small quantities may not seem like a threat, but when these pieces are bundled together as profiles, this can feel invasive. This is why researching the Radaris opt out process is so important.

Understanding Public Records When Learning How To Remove Yourself From Radaris

According to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other Federal open records laws, access to government documents and public records is a must. This obviously has clear benefits but also leads to the need for understanding the Radaris opt out process (and for other sites like it).

State “sunshine” laws let the public gain access to government documents and scrutinize the behavior of public officials.

When it comes to identifying where the information in on a profile comes from and how to remove yourself from Radaris, consider the following sources:

Data Sources

• District courts
• Local government
• County registries
• Police reports
• Criminal records web sites
• Licenses registries
• Deeds registries
• Local and state phone directories
• USPTO
• White Pages

Information you’ll find from records in Radaris:

According to the site, Radaris.com lets you find the following information all in one place:

• Phone numbers
• Address history
• Patent filings
• Property records
• Professional histories
• Social media account profiles
• Profiles photos and related images

While the site emphasizes the ease of finding all of this information in one place, it begs the question – why does this information need to be accessible to anyone? There’s likely a reason why so many people want to learn how to remove themselves from Radaris. While professional background checks seem like a natural fit for this sort of site, Radaris claims that these profiles and reports are ideal for the following:

• Conduct basic background checks on people you see every day, but need to know better
• Find an old classmate or long lost friend
• Learn your online date’s personal history
• Monitor your own web presence
• And much more…

The amount of control you have over your own privacy depends on the approach used by information brokers like Radaris. Radaris uses a combination of methods for their data collection which results in very thorough profiles. The company may even goes so far as to send representatives to courthouses and other government offices to gather information not yet available online.

The post Radaris Opt Out: How to Remove Your Info appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

This post discusses potential tactics for people who have negative or unflattering content on the first page of their Google search results. We also recommend that you read our Ultimate Guide to Online Reputation Management for more in-depth tips and tricks when you’re done. Arming yourself with as many options as possible is crucial when building a successful personal brand online.

Bad Search Results Can Happen to Good People

While the internet and social media have created an accessible platform for anyone with an internet connection, there is a downside. All it takes is one bad blog post or a status update from an angry ex, disgruntled former client, employee – OR EVEN YOU to ruin your career. Even a questionable photo can wreck an otherwise pristine reputation. Bad results happen to good people all the time. So what can you do to fix your reputation if this happens to you?

Option 1. Get the negative search result taken down.

If you need to bury unwanted Google search results, in some cases, you can get the negative search result taken down directly. Remember, this won’t work in every case, but in some, it is the first step to building an effective personal brand online. There can be serious downsides to removal requests, so ask yourself these questions first:

• Did you post the content? Does this negative search result stem from a blog post, tweet, status update, etc., that you posted? Or does it come from an account that you control or can access? If so, DELETE IT! You don’t need to bury Google results if you control them. Remove everything associated with this content that you possibly can. While there is still a chance that content could appear elsewhere (screenshots/cached searches, uploaded on other sites or profiles, etc.), start by removing anything you can.

• Did your friend post this content? Did your friend post something about you that could hurt your professional, academic, or personal opportunities? If so, just ask them to take it down. As mentioned above, this could still resurface elsewhere, but this is a great first step. And try to push for full removal. For example, if your friend just de-tags you from something, your image is still associated with whatever is potentially damaging.  

• Did an acquaintance or someone you’re on good terms with post this? Feel free to reach out to this person as you would a friend. Just be polite and explain the situation logically. If someone isn’t focused on their own personal brand (or has different boundaries than you do), they may be oblivious to how this content can negatively affect your personal reputation.

• Would The “Right to be Forgotten” apply to this scenario? If you live in the E.U.or Argentina, check if this content falls within the standards of removal based on Google’s Right to be Forgotten.

• Does this content fit Google’s standards for Takedown Requests? If you’re based in the US, look up Google’s legal causes for removal, and follow the steps necessary for submission.

While a “YES” to the questions above bodes well if you want to remove or bury negative Google results, keep in mind that you’re not necessarily in the clear. The search result is still archived. If you are lucky enough to have your content removed through emailing the webmaster directly, filling out a request form, or through legal channels, it’s still likely that the negative search result will be archived somewhere and continue to show up when your name is searched.

There are a few more questions you still should ask yourself in your takedown request. Unfortunately, if you answer “YES” to any of the questions below – you should focus your energy elsewhere while attempting to improve your personal brand.

• Is the owner of this content anonymous or spiteful? It would be great if you could just email someone, and they would immediately remove this negative content, no questions asked. That’s obviously the ideal situation, and while it is possible to get content removed, there are some known risks and issues associated with taking this route. If you’re dealing with an anonymous or spiteful troll, proceed with caution. Asking this kind of person to remove the offending content may not go as planned. There is always the chance that the owner not only refuses to take the content down… but could make the situation worse for you. Depending on the particular circumstances regarding your negative results, if you are dealing with somebody who has it out for you, there is always the chance that this person will choose to make it worse for you by becoming even more active and retaliating against you online. We have seen this happen many times, so it’s a smart idea to take a moment and analyze the situation. Sometimes, it’s better left alone when it comes to contacting the site owner and spending your time on other strategies to bury negative Google results.

• Is the owner of this content a government website or news outlet? If you’re dealing with a government site, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to get documents that are of public record removed. However, you should feel free to do a bit of digging on the government website (or by calling them) to see if there are any processes in place to maintain your privacy. And when it comes to dealing with a news outlet – if something is factually inaccurate, you can, of course, email them to write a retraction or correction. However, that may just give even more authority to a link or story that already looks damaging based on the title or URL. To altogether remove negative news articles, however, are slim. 

• Does this negative content fall outside the realm of the Right to Be Forgotten (EU) or Google’s takedown policy (US)? If so, it’s unlikely you can have the search engine de-index this result for your name. This means you will have to push down the negative Google result if you want it to stop being an issue.

What needs to be pointed out is that many people jump to this option but don’t think about the possible downsides of requesting content removal.

Option 2.  Pay for a service that claims to “instantly fix your negative search results.”

If the owner of the offending content refuses to take it down, you may be tempted to turn to paid removal services. Unfortunately, this may be a very expensive and arduous process for removing search results. The negotiations associated with this process can often take as long as working to bury negative Google results directly. There are a number of reasons for this, but the two biggest ones are time and negotiation.

Site owners tend to be protective of their content and have spent their own time or money when creating it. This is why they tend not to be very receptive to the idea of removing it. Also, the contact details you can find on a site are often not checked frequently, which means the time you have to spend simply waiting to hear back from the owner can be very long.

There are a number of businesses and “consultants” popping up all over the place who claim that they can both bury and remove negative Google search results and fix your online presence practically overnight. However, if this person or company focuses on building your brand with long-term results in mind, they wouldn’t be making a promise that they can’t necessarily keep. The fact of the matter is that nobody can completely control Google results. 

If someone says that they can fix your online reputation overnight, RUN!

In all likelihood, they are using black-hat SEO practices that try to trick search engines into quick, short-term results. While this may work for a week or two (at best), it is not a long-term solution. Your attempt to push down the negative search results will fail, and they will resurface after a short period of time. This means you will be right back where you started – but with less money. Search engines have been battling deceptive firms that use black hat tactics for years and are now so good at flagging the activity that it often backfires, bringing the negative Google result back into prominence.

Option 3. Run a paid social media campaign.

This approach should be handled with care and used only in very specific cases. If you have already invested time into building out your online presence and continue to be consistently active on these sites, you will see positive changes over time – changes that can actually last. This is always the foundation we recommend initially when people want to learn how to clean up Google search results.

However, if you need a little boost with a particular objective in mind – like getting more customers, increasing brand awareness, or getting specific kinds of social media engagement, then perhaps you should consider a paid social media campaign.

This does not bury negative Google results directly, but if you do it the right way, it can positively affect your campaign indirectly. This method is an opportunity to create some traction for a specific goal that you can build on and send additional signals to search engines that will never hurt your efforts. 

The idea behind a paid social media campaign should be to focus on the positive content you are creating, your business, or services, so that there will be more activity geared toward the properties that you control instead of the negative result. Think of it this way; if more people see your content, then there’s a greater chance that you’ll get additional links (which directly help rankings) and organic social media traction (which correlates with ranking increases).

Option 4. Build and optimize the positive content you want people to find, burying your negative Google results much deeper on the page.

The best way to combat negative results is to suppress them with positive content. Instead of spending time and money on tactics that won’t lead to any long-term solutions, we recommend that you consistently create high-quality content that is search-engine friendly. Additionally, regularly engage on various social media sites where you build and connect with relevant communities. This creates a network of relevant, accurate content and web properties that will start rising higher in Google when people search your name. Not only will this help bury negative Google results, but it will protect you from any future negative search results appearing in the future.

Understanding how to remove negative content from Google search results is actually fairly straightforward. The real trick is being patient and consistent. This is where most people flounder and get desperate for a quick fix. However, if you regularly follow the steps we listed above, it’s just a matter of time until you push those negative Google results down.

Option 5: Talk to one of our experts at (646) 863-8282.

At BrandYourself, we’ve helped over a million people improve their Google results. Over the years, we’ve learned what works and what doesn’t when it comes to figuring out how to push Google search results down.

Since every person’s situation is different, and specialized tactics can often go a long way, we recommend talking to a Reputation Advisor who can help you figure out your best course of action. At the very least, we’ll leave you with an action plan you can follow yourself to fix your unwanted results. We can also manage this process for you with our Reputation Management Services.

Call us at (646) 863-8282, schedule a call, or check out how our suppression services work.

Option 6: Learn about our Google suppression services.

Rather not set up a call with a Reputation Advisor? No worries. If you think you might still want help or advice on how to bury negative Google results, you can email or chat on our website to find out more information. Our team will be happy to work with you and find what services will be the most effective for your situation.

There’s a live chat option at the bottom of this page to message with one of our Reputation Advisors.

Now what?

This concludes our 5-part series. We hope that this post gives you a better idea of how to bury something on Google that is hurting your online reputation. There’s always more to learn and put into practice, so we highly recommend continuing to educate yourself on this topic. This isn’t rocket science; it’s just about knowing your options and spending the time on the right things.

Remember that working to bury or push down Google search results is an ongoing process, so even when you begin to see positive results, it’s important that you remain active on social media and that you update your site regularly. There are many ways to improve your online presence, and we’ve covered a lot of ground throughout this series.

If you want some extra help with the process, consider signing up for our free DIY reputation management software, which walks you step-by-step through the process. And if you don’t have the time to work on it yourself, feel free to learn about our managed services, where you can let our world-class reputation specialists do it for you. We’re always here to help.

The post How To Bury Or Push Down Negative Google Search Results appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

Myex.com was an “adult entertainment website”(according to their own description) that relied on user-generated content that included nude and sexually explicit photos.

**the myex.com site is not suitable for work and is intended for mature audiences. It may contain content that you find objectionable. We do not endorse or encourage visiting this site.  

Why the site was shut down.

After a number of complaints were filed to the FTC and the state of Nevada the site was shut down. Although they were under fire for the awful nature of the site for a long time, their advertising tactics and business model were what helped get the site removed.

Even though the site is down, this doesn’t mean that the pictures posted there might live on another site. This is why we are keeping this post up as a resource to help if you find similar pictures on other sites like Myex.com. As time goes on we will add more resources and posts to directly go over the tactics for each, but a lot of the same tactics will still apply.

[Original post below]

While the terms of service would have you think otherwise, myex.com is, in fact, a hub for revenge porn. The site relies on people uploading explicit photos of their former lovers along with identifying information and links to the social media accounts of the person or people in the photos.

In case you’re unfamiliar with this concept, this is a subset of pornography that features sexually explicit portrayals of one or more people that is distributed on any platform. These photos and videos were typically intended solely for the parties involved and are posted without the consent of the person (or people) featured.

Revenge porn is a tool most commonly used to harass, humiliate, shame, hurt and/or blackmail the victim. You can see why so many people want help on the myex.com removal process, and wish they could just remove myex.com entirely.

Protection policies in place and the myex.com legal terms of service

According to the website’s terms of agreement, myex.com does not permit users to post any content featuring an underage subject or child pornography.

Additionally, the site maintains a section for removal requests for:

• Law Enforcement
• Minor (Underage) Removal Requests
• DMCA Complaints
• General Removal

According to the site, responses to removal requests are prioritized by the order listed above.

While all of this seems reasonable in theory, the complaints stem from how the site operates in practice. And if you read the entire terms of agreement you’ll notice that while the owners of the site openly condemn certain behaviors, they also absolve themselves of any responsibility when it comes to taking action against it, or being held accountable.

Section 3 of the terms of agreement is very explicit about a zero tolerance child-pornography policy. The owners of the site also claim that they will, “fully cooperate with any law-enforcement agency investigating child pornography”. And they also encourage users to report any “unlawful activities involving minors” on third party websites to www.asacp.org.

However, when it comes to the rules for adults featured in this user-generated content, the website owners are much less proactive in ensuring that users follow the terms of agreement.

According to Section 7 User Generated Content:

Users are allowed to “submit pictures, videos, and other amateur pornographic content to the Website…any content submitted to this Website [is] nonconfidential and nonproprietary.” Section 7.1 then continues saying the site can use the content as they see fit for free,  are not liable for the content, and do not guarantee confidentiality.

It’s the following points of the terms of service that stick out as contradictory.

In sections 7.4 and 7.5, the agreement claims that by uploading content, users agree that they have signed written consent or release from each person featured, are not publishing anything that would misrepresent or harm another person, aren’t invading anyone’s privacy, etc, etc.

There’s even a section that states explicitly that users cannot upload anything that amounts to revenge porn.

Basically, these terms of agreement suggest that the person or people featured in the content are totally cool with this being shared with the world. Section 7 also states that users are posting at their own risk and will deal with any consequences resulting from this upload.

However, this section also reinforces the fact that the website owners, “are not responsible for, do not endorse, and are not liable for any content submitted to the Website”. This means that you are unlikely to get much help and your myex.com removal strategy needs a different tactic.

Throughout the terms of agreement, myex.com repeatedly states that they are not liable for the content, or any harm that could result from the content on their website or the website and its servers.  Section 19 Limit on Liability; Release details the many ways in which the site cannot be held accountable for different kinds of damages.

In Section 2, the agreement states that, “by logging on, you will have released and discharged the providers, owners, and creators of this Website from all liability that might arise.” Later on in Section 6 User Conduct, the website also states that by accessing and continuing to access the site, you won’t, “use the Website in any way that exposes us to civil or criminal liability”.

And once again in Section 9, the owners of the site claim that while they will fully cooperate with law enforcement and court orders, they cannot and do not review material on the site before it’s posted. And again, can’t be held responsible for anything.

Complaints against myex.com

The arguments lodged against myex.com are numerous. One of the most common being that this website is distributing destructive material that the subjects did not agree to publishing.

Additionally, the site has been known to make money from fees associated with removal requests in the past.

Another common complaint is that the owners of the site take no responsibility in vetting the validity of the claims submitted by the users.

Along those same lines, users submitting photos to the site don’t undergo any identification verification.

This means that users can anonymously submit photos, information and statements that may or may not be true, and face zero consequences.

Furthermore, while the site claims to take a hard stance against child pornography, myex.com also acknowledges that they do not keep records of people who post. That is to say, they don’t record email addresses, IP addresses, or other identifying information. So even if a user violates this singular restriction, myex.com has no way to fully investigate or punish this act.

Consequences of posts on myex.com

• Job loss
• Decrease in earning potential
• Deleterious psychological effects
• Strain on personal relationships
• Barrier to professional developments
• Barrier to any process that involves a screening

For the person featured in the explicit content on sites like myex.com, the consequences of this form of defamation can be far reaching and long-lasting. There’s a good chance that these kinds of damaging search results can take a serious toll on one’s career and livelihood.

Even if an employer or client is sympathetic to the situation, the fact remains that the victim of revenge porn is being humiliated professionally for something incredibly personal. This is why myex.com removal strategies are so sought after by victims of the site.

Outside of the professional implications for victims of revenge porn, there are serious psychological consequences to this form of cyber-harassment. While the long-term psychological effects are still being studied, a number of high profile incidents from the past decade show that the distress caused by this kind of content can be fatal.

A recent survey from the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative discovered that 61% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 30 had taken nude photos or videos of themselves and shared them with someone. 23% of those surveyed were victims of revenge porn.

Of those victimized by revenge porn:

• 93% reported significant emotional distress
• 82% reported suffering significant social, occupational, and other types of functional impairment
• Over 50% indicated they considered committing suicide

Myex.com removal options

1. Pay the fee

Legal action has put an end to explicit fee-based removal services from sites like myex.com. However, there is still a chance that you will be referred to a “third-party” when you request content removal from a revenge porn site. We suggest that you proceed with caution. Here’s why:

• Not necessarily effective – While the website claims that all you have to do is pay a small fee to get rid of this image, the truth is that the damage has already been done. Even if you pay a fee, that photo has been exposed to the world online. Visitors to the site could have taken screenshots and posted or shared that image elsewhere. Other websites could have captured and re-posted or shared that image as well. Additionally, if the image is cached for some users they can still access it. While this may be a reasonable short-term solution to your problem, the truth is that the image could just pop up on this site or another one in the future.
• The cost is prohibitive and unsustainable – Unless you have a bottomless supply of cash just hanging around, the cost can be prohibitive. If there is more than one photo, or if your harassor keeps posting the picture of you, the financial burden of myex.com removal quickly becomes unsustainable. That’s why we suggest that you use a combination of other techniques for a long-term solution.
• May identify you as an easy target – Once you open up your purse strings, it’s possible that you’re marked as an easy target that’s willing to pay up. You don’t want this company or others like it to take advantage of you based on the fact that you were willing to pay for removal once.
• No guarantee – Again, just because you pay this fee, that doesn’t mean that this image won’t come back to haunt you on another site.

2. File removal Request with Google and other search engines

Search engines like Google have added provisions to their policy that allow users to request that they remove or de-index revenge porn. The user-generated content on myex.com is the textbook example of revenge porn, so we highly recommend starting the process by filling out removal requests.

There are many search engines out there with slightly varying policies when it comes to the topic of myex.com removal. The best way to go is start with all of the big search engines, Google, Bing, Yahoo and work your way down.

To learn more about Google’s removal request policy and process, make sure you visit their support forum here.

3. Take legal action

In addition to filing requests from Google and other search engines, you may also be able to take legal action against the perpetrator. Chances are you have a case here.

Currently,  38 states and D.C. have legislation in place to protect the victims of revenge porn, but the actual penalties vary, and most cases result in misdemeanors and a small fine. To learn more about each state, visit this article from criminal.findlaw.com here.

Myex.com removal is something that you can definitely accomplish with legal action if you live in one of the states listed in the link above. If you have a serious issue then it’s definitely worth asking some questions.

4. Suppression

While the process of suppression does not remove the myex.com content from search results or the website, this approach might be one of the more reliable and future-proof methods available to you. It involves building a strong personal brand with a narrative that you control. This is part of a larger strategy called online reputation management.

Not only does a strong personal brand present a positive counterpoint to a myex.com search result, but it can also keep people from seeing that negative search result.

The goal with suppression is to build and optimize profiles and websites that you control and try to get them to rank higher in search results. The farther down in search results you go, the less likely people are to click on it.

How to use BrandYourself’s 3 pillars for myex.com removal:

When it comes to dealing with an unpleasant search result, like an explicit photo from myex.com, you should focus your attention on things that you can control. This includes building up a personal brand online that you control. To learn more, visit  “How to Take Control of Your Online Reputation”. By following BrandYourself’s 3 pillars, you have the best chance at developing a personal brand that not only showcases everything that you have to offer, but has the potential to make harmful search results from myex.com less visible.

• Pillar 1: Building a basic brand
• Pillar 2: Building credibility & an audience
• Pillar 3: Targeting Opportunities

Pillar 1: Build your brand

Build an online presence that reinforces your qualifications, talent, skill, experience and successes. This is also the first step to making sure it isn’t the end of the world if you have to remove a myex.com post, since very few people will see it. When someone looks you up online, they need to see a strong presence with fresh content in your area of expertise that is relevant to who you are and what you can do. Search results from sites like myex.com completely undermine this. That’s why you need to approach your personal brand systematically, and maintain it regularly.

First you will need to:

• Audit your search results
• Clean up any content that doesn’t fit your desired image
• Define yourself and your personal brand
• Build an online presence that reflects your brand and expertise
• Follow a personal branding strategy and stick to timelines

To learn more about auditing and building your personal brand online so you can protect yourself from myex.com and similar sites, visit our guides on BrandYourself University. This handy resource takes you through the fundamental steps of building a strong personal brand online.

Pillar 2: Build credibility

After you’ve diagnosed, cleaned up and built out your personal brand, it’s time to get others involved. A great way to do this is by gaining placements in relevant third party publications and to get your content syndicated to emphasize your credibility. A well defined, solid brand will help protect you from sites like myex.com so you don’t need to play catch up.

As you continue to create and publish content on profiles that you control, you can also get content published elsewhere to show others (and search engines) that you are relevant and knowledgeable. Focus on getting placement on well-respected, and high quality platforms.

• Write strategic content in the right places
• Build your brand through third party placement
• Stay organized as you attempt placement
• Use data to your advantage when it comes to the type of content and outlets for publication

Create your own brand through strategically building an audience

When attempting to build credibility, you need help from others:

• Determine the gatekeepers of your opportunities
• Start with who you know
• Connect with gatekeepers and influencers via social media & strategic publications

Pillar 3: Nurture your audience for opportunities

This is a great way to make high-leverage moves that will allow you to protect yourself from sites like myex.com and build up a bulletproof brand.

Building a brand that reflects who you are while cultivating connections with others is a huge part of maintaining a successful brand online. But the third most important pillar of brand development, is mining your audience for opportunities. Below we’ve listed great ways to take advantage of your audience as a resource for development:

• Build your own brand and find the right audience with advanced SEO
• Focus on outreach
• Network
• Regularly engage
• Nurture existing audience
• Expand your audience
• Look for link building opportunities from reputable sites
• Use advanced keyword strategy

Other Sites Like Myex.com

Here is a running list that we will be updating periodically when we find similar sites like Myex that you should be aware of.

Additional Guide For Dealing With Myex.com Removal

While suppressing myex.com and similar sites with positive content is a great option, there are a few alternatives for specific cases that can be used in conjunction with suppression. As mentioned earlier, read, “The Advanced Guide to Fixing Negative Search Results” to learn more about your options when it comes to dealing with damaging search results. It speaks to all forms of negative search results, but all of it can be applied to myex.com specifically.

Other Great Resources

When it comes to dealing with explicit search results from sites like myex.com, the initial reaction is often fear, disgust, hurt, panic and shame. While revenge porn and cyber-harassment are unfortunate by-products of our connected world, you aren’t powerless if this happens to you. In addition to the steps listed above, make sure you check out the resources below for more information about fighting this sort of attack.

• Current punishments for revenge porn by state

• UnDox.Me

• Undox.me has a guide for  major social media sites and removing copyrighted images.

• Domain Tools

• Without My Consent

• Something Can Be Done! Guide

• Conversations to Have With Your Lawyer

• Take Down

• Steps to register a copyright on your images.

• Cyberbullying.org

• Cyber Civil Rights Initiative

You don’t have control over whether or not an ex chooses to victimize you by posting revenge porn on myex.com. However, you do have tools at your disposal to deal with the fallout of their spiteful actions. Revenge porn doesn’t have to ruin your professional life or your reputation.

So follow the steps listed above, and read through the resources we’ve provided. Don’t have time? Let us do the work for you. Reach out to a Reputation Advisor by calling (646)-863-8226 or schedule a consultation to discuss the best option for you from our managed services packages. Our suggestions are tailored to your specific situation and the discussion is confidential.

The post Myex.com Removal And Legal Options [Site Shut Down] appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

So what are the issues we face today, and how do we maintain social media privacy in a world of shared information?

From problems with security and data breaches, to serious consequences from users oversharing on social platforms, the relationship between privacy and social media can be strained – at best.

With people putting more and more of their lives online, privacy on social media is going to be a main concern for many going forward.

At BrandYourself, we’ve been paying attention to this for a while. While there are a ton of privacy issues, you can usually divide them into two camps:

1. Data/privacy breaches related to the infrastructure of the social network itself
2. Issues originating with the users themselves

These two camps are not completely unrelated as well. A combination of poor judgement from the user and a breach can lead to major issues with privacy on social media that are not easily remedied.

Understanding the difference between both of these is important if you want to know how to protect yourself. Something we see quite often is that a lot of people only have an understanding about one of the two camps listed above.

If you’re aware of how to maintain your privacy on social media by not sharing or exposing your information, that’s a great start. However, as a user of any social network you need to be aware of the information they likely have about you and the business model they use. You can avoid shooting yourself in the foot and still get burnt due to a data breach of a social media site.

The opposite can be true as well. Let’s say that you read every terms of service and understand what is being done with your information on every social media site you use. That’s a great start, congrats!

However, let’s say you share too much information or post a picture that has your address on it. Consequences that come from this are not the fault of the social media site you were using, it’s on you.

The reality of the fact is that your privacy on social media can vanish in the blink of an eye over something that might have seemed very innocent. When you are dealing with the kind of reach and scale that these sites have, the time it can take for these mistakes to come back to bite you is extremely short.

So, let’s get into the two camps and what you need to understand about each.

The social network and its leaders

In this case we’re talking about issues that come from the company that runs the network, as and vulnerabilities within the actual architecture of the site. These social media privacy issues are often part of the core fundamentals of a site, and the user cannot change them directly.

However, understanding what’s happening behind the scenes and how to mitigate risk on certain platforms will go a long way.

The number of people who have no idea how social networks operate when it comes to privacy is far too high. By becoming more aware of this aspect of the sites they use so frequently, many people would be able to adequately protect themselves from some common mistakes that come back to bite them.

Here’s what you should do in order to maintain your privacy on social media.

Understanding the fine print

This is one of the most overlooked aspects when it comes to social media privacy. Most folks don’t want to take the time to read the user agreements because it’s boring or takes too long.

While we totally agree that reading legal-ease isn’t the most fun thing to do, it is a smart thing to do. Once you make it a habit it really only take a few minutes to get a high-level understanding of what’s going on, and if there’s something you don’t like. This is a very small time investment considering the amount of time you will likely spend on the site once you sign up.

In the case of larger social networking sites, a free account often comes at a price to the user. Depending on the rules outlined in the terms of service, users often sign away their privacy rights as soon as they click “agree”.

While user data is typically used in aggregate to improve services, there’s always a strong chance that the terms of service allow that company to sell or share your information to third parties for profit. Whenever you join a large social media site in the future, it would be wise to assume this is happening or is going to happen at some point later on down the line.

Other companies are willing to shell out a lot of money for this data for behavioral research and advertising benefits. The owners of the site determine what kinds of information to collect from users, and how to share it.

Additionally, the terms and conditions will often change, so it’s up to you to read these agreements and understand what exactly it is that you’re agreeing to. Quite often notification emails and pop ups about updates to terms of service get ignored by the user, yet those same users get upset when they find out that their information was being sold to advertisers.

Change what you expect from these sites when it comes to your privacy on social media, read the terms of service, and you will be far better off. Doing this will help you find sites with social media privacy terms that you feel comfortable with.

Technical vulnerabilities

When accepting a social network’s terms of service, you’re not only giving license to the company to track you and share insights about this as they please, but you’re also accepting any vulnerabilities within their system.

While this is by no means the intention of the network, third parties can expose different vulnerabilities within the software they use. This can mean anything from phishing scams, to contact hacks, or worse.

Additionally, when social networks allow third parties to design applications to work in tandem with these networks, there’s always a chance that the application is also vulnerable. This is a very common social media privacy issue especially on smaller networks that don’t have as many resources to stop this from happening.

This means whenever you download an app or choose to login using a social media account, make sure that you are downloading from a reliable source, and that you update it as new versions become available. Privacy concerns with social media should increase drastically when you deal with smaller, unknown sites.

Protect yourself from…yourself

While data breaches are problematic, many social media privacy issues and missteps happen due to the volume and nature of what we’re posting on these networks. Making smart decisions about your privacy on social media (and what you’re posting) whenever possible will limit the chances of serious repercussions.

Smart online reputation management often includes staying out of your own way. Building a strong presence on social media platforms is a professional necessity in virtually all industries today, but try to avoid the following:

Sharenting

A number of questions have been raised over the past few years when it comes to negotiating your excitement as a parent and the volume/nature of images and videos that you share of your children online.

This is without a doubt one of the most frequent social media privacy issues that we face today.

While parents posting images and videos of their children is pretty common, it’s still important for parents to at least consider their children’s right to privacy (or even safety), when it comes to posting.

We are just starting to scratch the surface of the psychological effects that sharenting (parents who post and share all kinds of content about their children online) may have on children. However, there’s no doubt that this is a tricky area that requires some thought, particularly before children are able to voice their own opinions about their rights to privacy and what their parents share about them online.

Take a look at what content you’re sharing about your child and ask yourself the question, “Would I want a stranger to know this?” If the answer is no, take down what you don’t want available and refrain from sharing similar content in the future.

No matter how trusted you think your circle is online, it’s not difficult at all for a stranger to find a way into your group and begin accessing the content you share. Remember this!

Compromising your safety with overshares

When it comes to privacy issues with social media, never lose sight of your own personal safety. Even if you consistently err on the side of “private” when it comes to account settings, if we’ve learned anything from recent scandals, it’s that you shouldn’t publish or share anything that you want to remain private online.

Social media privacy can affect your real world safety as well, and that’s a problem no one wants.

When it comes to your safety in the real world, remember that what you share online can come into play. Constantly sharing where you are and what you’re doing can give criminals who want to do you harm too much information.

Are your own photos on instagram about your vacation alerting burglars that now would be a great time to break into your home? Did you just increase your chances of identity theft by tweeting out your ridiculous driver’s license picture and not blurring out your personal info?

Think critically about what you’re sharing and whether or not it’s really something that you’re ok with anyone seeing.

Sabotage your own job security

When it comes to privacy on social media and your job, it’s important to remember that what you say on social media can come back to bite you at work.

Whether you post about how much you hate your job, make a comment about your boss, or post something that does not follow the core mission of your company, you can get fired for what you say online. So always remember to exercise caution when it comes to what you post and share.

If you get fired for something you post online, make sure that it’s something that you actually stand by… not a mistake, not poor judgement, but a true reflection of who you are. Even if you think that what you are doing on social media is private, imagine your boss reading every post and comment.

It’s easy to have a disconnect between what we’re posting and who is reading it. So just keep the above in mind when it comes to what you’re sharing online.

How to maintain your privacy on big social networks

When it comes to maintaining your privacy on social networks, it’s important that you first take some time to reflect on what you are and are not comfortable with sharing, as well as your audience.

It doesn’t have to be a one-size-fits-all stance, but a general idea will be very helpful when it comes to avoiding self-inflicted social media privacy issues we see today. This will also make it far less likely that you will have much to clean up later on.

There’s a good chance that your feelings towards privacy on social networks won’t always be consistent and may change depending on what it is that you’re posting. Even so, it’s a good idea to see where you fall on the spectrum.

Are you a “living in a cabin in the woods with a tinfoil hat” type of person when it comes to privacy? Or do you regularly out-selfie a Kardashian? In all likelihood, you fall somewhere in-between. Even so, go through your various social media accounts and do the following:

• Familiarize yourself with the privacy settings. There’s a lot that can be done here to help protect your privacy on social media that most users don’t even consider. For example, on Facebook you can customize your settings to share or exclude content from certain people or lists. Most people only know about the “public” or “friends only” options.
• Really consider what you’re posting – even if it’s “private”, there’s always the chance that others could see it. Is it still worth sharing? Quite often we see regrettable posts on social media become newsworthy because of a screenshot someone else took. Even if you take down whatever you posted, it could be too late. Not posting it in the first place is far more effective.
• Stay focused on specific topics – work and a hobby are great topics because they are professional, but also show a bit of your personality without giving away too much information. The more you share about your personal life and sensitive information, the more you put yourself at risk.
• Stay true to your comfort levels. That means, don’t get too personal if that’s not your style. Don’t share information if you think you’ll regret it later. If you’re on the fence about something, it’s probably smart to keep it to yourself, just to be safe.
• Treat others as you’d like to be treated. Yes, you have the right to troll anyone you want to… but how is that helping you or anyone else? Not only is it pointless, but it can come back to bite you in a big way.
• Use best practices when it comes to account information. Always use secure passwords that are different for each account, and use a secondary email address for these accounts. In the event of a security breach this will go a long way in ensuring your most important accounts (like your primary email) are protected.
• Don’t share your login credentials with anyone. This should be obvious, but people ignore this tip more often than you would think.

Using free software to make things easier

As you can see, social media platforms provide a great place to engage with others while developing your personal brand. They also come loaded with a number of potential danger zones when trying to maintain your privacy on social media and in real life.

These privacy issues with social media are not going to disappear anytime soon, which is one of the reasons why we built our reputation management software. Many people are too overwhelmed (or don’t have the time) to monitor this sort of thing on a consistent basis.

Luckily, our free tool can monitor your social media privacy and see if there’s anything out there that you might not be comfortable with. This will take save you some time and give you additional peace of mind knowing you have something looking out for your privacy at all times.

In addition to protecting you from some of the social media privacy issues we discussed earlier, our DIY tool can help you stay on track when it comes to developing a positive and effective personal brand that avoids getting too personal.

It takes you through the process of building out your online reputation by following our 3-Step Process. Build a strong foundation for your personal brand, establish authority, and maintain relevance over time.

Sign up for a free account here.

The post Privacy On Social Media & Issues To Navigate appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

If you’ve made a mistake or simply were in the wrong place at the wrong time and end up with a mugshot, it’s now on display for everyone.

Mugshot websites collect these photos and post them for everyone to see. Whether you’re guilty of a crime or not, mugshots tend to rank high in search results, and can truly wreak havoc on your personal life and professional accomplishments.

At BrandYourself, we’ve had clients whose charges were dropped or were found not guilty of minor infractions, yet their mugshots continue to hurt them in all aspects of their lives.

Unfortunately, it’s not clear how to make this problem go away or remove mugshots, and many people end up wasting time and money trying to combat the problem.

Since we constantly get asked about mugshot removal, we wanted to talk about some of the options you have, and what we recommend. There’s no one size fits all approach, but this should help you find what will work best for your situation.

The Pros & Cons of Mugshot Removal Sites

Mugshot removal can be one of the more murky waters to navigate online. This is because it is still very wide open in terms of what sites can get away with and be held accountable for.

Because of this, shady or illegitimate mugshot removal services have spread like wildfire over the last few years. Unfortunately, many just see this as an opportunity to extort or manipulate desperate people who just want to clean up a silly mistake or feel that their mugshot being online blows things out of proportion.

Something To Watch Out For

A tactic that started to become more popular over the last few years is mugshot removal sites partnering up with the sites that aggregate/share mugshots online. This is easy business for them and allows them to easily remove your mugshot when they are actually just middlemen.

The issue with this (other than being unethical) is that they don’t truly have your best interest at heart. They are simply trying to collect a toll from desperate people.

What’s worse is that these mugshot removal sites will sometimes use this connection to try and gouge their customers as much as possible. The first thing they will do is try to establish what your budget is and they say they will reach out to see how much will be required in order to take it down.

After this they will quote a price at the high end of your budget or even slightly higher. The reason for this is they want to get as much money out of you as possible. If you say your budget was $1,000 they might come back and say it will take $1,250 but they absolutely guarantee they can get the mugshot removed or your money back.

They can use their guarantee (since they work with the actual mugshot site) in order to make you feel better about stretching your budget a little bit. What’s an extra $250 as long as it brings guaranteed results right?

Now you might be thinking to yourself, “Who cares if they work with the website as long as they do the mugshot removal effectively?” This is totally understandable, and if it were this easy we would be in your camp as well.

However, it’s much more complex than this. We will get into the details on this further into the post, but the short story is just because your mugshot is removed from one site that doesn’t mean it can’t be found elsewhere.

Your time and money should be used on a strategy that works.

The Mugshot Removal Landscape

As you can see, when it comes to mugshot removal there is a lot to keep an eye out for.

When it comes to sites that claim they can remove mugshots from Google, you should proceed with caution. As we have alluded to, there are a number of websites out there that claim that they will remove a mugshot from another website for a fee. This can range from $100 to $500 or more depending on the site (or your stated budget).

That means to effectively get rid of your mugshot, you would have to seek out a solution for each individual posting – which would not only add up quickly but would never fully guarantee that the image wouldn’t pop up on another site down the road. It only takes a fraction of a second for a new or existing mugshot aggregator to scrape and add your mugshot to their database, but much longer for you to identify and deal with them one by one.

To make matters worse, many of these sites will just migrate to a new domain name if they get too much pushback on their practices. This makes it very hard to pursue them legally without spending a lot of time and money. The cost for them to move everything to a new site, however, is negligible.

Many of these mugshot removal websites have come under fire for these types of practices, and some payment providers like American Express, MasterCard and PayPal are distancing themselves from these sites by not processing their transactions. This is a step in the right direction to be sure, but it’s not perfect. The major issue it that it’s still very hard for these payment processors to identify the small-medium operators in the industry.

Additionally, over the past few years, a number of states have passed legislation that prevents these sites from charging a fee for removal and forbids sheriffs from releasing these images to these pay for mugshot removal websites. While this type of protection against mugshot removal fees is important, remember that there is currently no national standard in place and that the process is completely dependent on the state. To learn more about those states that currently uphold this kind of legislation and those whose cases are pending, visit the National Conference of State Legislatures.

For those states not yet addressing these sorts of concerns through state law, mugshot removal companies will continue to partner with the sites posting these mugshots and share portions of your fee with the offending site.

In short, it’s on you to take control of what shows up about you online. You, unfortunately, can’t rely on these sites or the law to do it for you.

How to Get Mugshots Removed

Should You Use These Mugshot Removal Websites Or Not?

If you live in a state that does not allow booking photos and mugshot removal for a fee, you are lucky in that you simply have to file a request to the site and they must then remove the image. If your charges were dropped, dismissed, expunged or your case was sealed, you are in the best possible position to get this image removed.

One thing to be aware of with this is that this is no guarantee that your mugshot will not pop up on another site, or get indexed elsewhere online. While this is the ideal situation to be in, don’t let that prevent you from doing your due diligence and making sure that your mugshot isn’t showing up somewhere else online as well.

If you do not live in a state with these sorts of legal protections and are trying to remove a mugshot from the internet, you can still appeal to these websites directly and include the documentation mentioned above to strengthen your right to removal. It is likely that a fee will be required, though it may not be – depending on the particular site.

If they come back to you with a fee you have a few things to think about. First of all, how much is it? If the cost for mugshot removal is outside of your price range then that ends the discussion quickly (thankfully you still have other options).

You should also be aware of your overall image situation online. If you scour the web and cannot find your mugshot anywhere, then you might consider paying the fee to see if that wraps things up. Again, keep in mind that it’s no guarantee it can’t show up again in the future.

However, if you search for your image online and find that it’s also listed on dozens of other aggregator sites you probably don’t want to pay the fee. It won’t make a dent in solving your overall problem and you will need a wide-reaching solution.

Google Takedown Requests

We hear from many people who want to reach out to search engines directly and try to get them to de-index the mugshot. Unfortunately, while Google and other search engines honor certain types of requests, mugshot removal does not often fall under their jurisdiction.

Search engines like Google follow a set of guidelines when it comes to accepting or rejecting removal requests. In the United States, Google will typically de-index web pages that share:

• Sensitive info like social security numbers and other info that could cause identity theft or financial harm
• Revenge Porn
• Child Porn
• Copyrighted Content/Works

Outside of the US, search engines follow the guidelines determined by the country when it comes to honoring removal requests. The European Union’s “Right to be Forgotten” compels search engines to de-index outdated and irrelevant information about people online at the behest of those users. If you live in Argentina or a member state of the EU, you can file this type of removal request.

However, this doesn’t mean that they are not in your corner. It’s worth noting that Google released an algorithm update in 2013 that aimed to de-prioritize mugshot results in the rankings because of these controversial “pay for removal” practices. While this might not seem like much, it is a huge help when you take into account our recommended method for mugshot removal.

The Best Solution? Suppression

At BrandYourself, we highly recommend suppression as the most sustainable and proactive method for dealing with mugshot removal, and any other negative content about you online. We have helped thousands of people deal with mugshot issues and can confidently say that this is the most reliable and long-term solution. As a matter of fact, suppression is at the core of all successful online reputation management strategies.

By focusing on developing a strong brand narrative and promoting positive web properties, one of the best side effects is that this strategy will push down or “suppresses” negative search results in the rankings. When it comes to dealing with mugshots in your image search results, the good news is that your biggest problem isn’t the website hosting the image, but a lack of images that you control ranking for your name.

Before you jump into the images directly, you want to make sure that your foundation of online properties are set up and optimized. This means you should have a personal website with a domain that matches your name and the core social media profiles created as well (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google +).

When you have all of those created you should optimize them by including relevant information about yourself on the “About me” page of your website and the bios of your social media properties. This will help them rank in the search engines for your name, and will help give any images associated with those accounts a big boost.

If you want to see the step-by-step process you can use our free reputation management software that will walk you through the process.

Now, it’s time to talk images.

If there aren’t very many (publicly accessible) pictures of you online, then pretty much any new image associated with your name will show up in your search results pretty quickly. Whether it’s a mugshot or a flattering picture of you at a friend’s wedding, this new image isn’t competing against much. This means that it stands a good chance of eventually ranking pretty high – especially if it is well-optimized for your name.

Instead of worrying about mugshot removal from Google outright, focus on achieving the same results by upping the number of positive pictures people find of you online.

Here’s What The Image Population Process Looks Like:

Gather Positive Photos Of Yourself:

In order to remove mugshots, you will need some ammo to make it happen. In this case, that means as many positive images of yourself that you can find.

Look online, on your computer, on your phone, old photo albums, anywhere you can. You want to pull together a solid collection of images that you would feel comfortable promoting online. If you’re someone who doesn’t like getting their picture taken very much, it’s time to bite the bullet and take a few.

This is actually a very common concern that a lot of people have when trying to remove mugshots, but here’s how you need to think about it. You already have a negative image floating around on the internet that is likely harming your reputation, so the worst-case scenario has already happened. Adding some positive pictures into the mix will only help things.

Remember, when it comes to this part of the process the more images you have the better. Each new image file you upload is another picture that could potentially suppress, outrank, or remove your mugshot from prominent search result positions. When it comes to mugshot removal via suppression it’s a numbers game, and the more positive images you can get out there the better.

Another thing to keep in mind here is that there is value in using different images. This is actually a common mistake that can drastically reduce the effectiveness of a campaign.

Google is good at recognizing when images are the same, even if they have different file names or are different sizes. You will have a much larger impact if you source completely different images, not slightly different versions of the same photo.

This might add a little time to your efforts but it’s absolutely necessary. This is a corner you don’t want to cut.

Identify Image Networks And Your Sites You Can Use:

Now that you have your images you need to find places to publish them. The sites you are looking for here are image-focused websites that have some solid domain authority/site strength to them and will give you the best chance to successfully remove mugshots from the first page of the search engines.

This will help the pictures that you publish rank better in image results, suppress your negative image, and give you the best chance of finding success with your mugshot removal campaign.

Luckily, you don’t need to start from scratch when it comes to finding these sites. Here is a shortlist of places you should get started on:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Google+
• Tumblr
• Behance
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• WordPress
• Photobucket
• Flickr
• 500px

Make sure to create a well-optimized profile that targets your name as well. This will send valuable relevancy signals to search engines about the images you are trying to suppress your mugshot with.

This means you should use the variation of your name that you are trying to control in your profile and bio as well. This goes a long way to making sure that the profiles perform well, and the images associated with them give you the best chance to remove mugshots from the first page.

It also makes sense to publish these on your own personal website. If you don’t have one, now is the time to set it up. Just go to a domain registrar like godaddy.com, register your domain name, and set up your site with WordPress.

Even though your own blog won’t have the same domain authority as the websites above, it still makes a lot of sense from a relevancy standpoint and you can control the alt text of the images you post there (more on that later). A well-optimized personal website will include a lot of information about you, which helps search engines understand your image content a bit better.

Publish Your Optimized Images:

Now that you have your images and the sites you want to publish them, it’s time to get them out there and get your mugshot removal campaign started!

Here’s the trick though, it’s not as simple as uploading a bunch and calling it a day. There are a few things that you need to do in order to optimize your images and make sure they stand the best chance to remove mugshots from the first page:

• Include your name in the filename of every image that you upload. Try and have some variety in there as well. What we mean by this is don’t title all images “janesmith.jpg”. Go with something like “jane-smith-in-new-york.jpg” instead. Adding some additional descriptors about your location or industry you work in will help search engines understand more about the image content. This will help to establish a wider web of relevancy around the images you publish, which will help your mugshot removal efforts significantly.
• If you are publishing on a platform that gives you the option to add alt text to your image, don’t miss that opportunity to include your name. Your personal website would be an example of a site that has this option. This is a very powerful signal that you can send to search engines about your image content, so do it! Alt-text is used primarily to help the visually impaired understand the content of an image, but for your situation, we are more interested in the suppression benefits.
• If the platform you’re publishing on allows image descriptions, make sure to fill those out as well. This part is fairly straightforward since you simply describe the image and include your full name somewhere in the description. While they won’t have nearly as much impact as alt text does, it’s quick and easy so you might as well.
• Include caption if possible. This is another small but easy win that will provide a little more information to any search engine that finds the image. Ideally, try to structure the caption in a way that allows you to naturally include your full name. If it’s really tricky, however, put some other information that would be helpful.
• Utilize the tag feature of any social network you’re using to populate the web with images for your mugshot removal campaign. Tagging yourself in a picture on Facebook, for example, is a great way of tying your profile to the new image you’ve uploaded.

If you want even more details about this process (with all the nitty-gritty details) check out this post as well.

Take Advantage Of The Three-Step Process:

In addition to the mugshot removal tactics above, using our three-step process will also help with your mission to remove mugshots and clean up your overall online presence when other people are searching your name. When it comes to fighting back against mugshots, we suggest that you build, optimize, and monitor your online presence. This process involves:

• Building a foundational presence with social media accounts and a professional website
• Optimizing these properties and the content that you publish here for search engines
• Monitoring changes in search results over time.

While this process remains standard for most of our clients, the difference when dealing with a negative image (such as a mugshot), is the type of content you should publish. When coping with a mugshot, be ready to publish a lot of images, and devote your time to building and maintaining profiles on authoritative social media platforms that thrive on rich media.

Wrapping Up

Trying to remove mugshots may seem like a horrific battle at first, remember the tactics that we’ve shared here. It doesn’t have to cost you a penny to adequately suppress these negative images if you don’t live in a state with the legislation in your favor.

It’s not very complicated, in fact, anyone can do this. It’s just about putting in the time and following the instructions we’ve laid out in this post. Do what we recommended and give it a little time, and your campaign will be a success.

Additionally, BrandYourself offers a number of tools and services to help you repair your online reputation. If you want to take matters into your own hands, sign up for our free reputation management software to start making a dent fast.

If you’ve tried to deal with it on your own before and think your situation might need some expert attention, head over to the reputation management services page and have us take a look for you!

The post Essential Mugshot Removal Tips And Tricks appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.