UnGoogle Yourself
How to UnGoogle Yourself
So is this possible? Can you actually learn how to unGoogle yourself? Absolutely, and it may be easier than you might expect.
Whether you are aware or not, your personal data and private information are on the internet.
Most of the time, anyone with $10 and an internet connection can obtain very private information about you, such as your home address, email address, phone numbers, and much more.
Sites like Facebook make it effortless for your personal data to leak onto the world wide web.
What can you do today to revamp your online reputation and clear the internet of any negative or unwanted content about yourself?
In this article, we will dive into how to inform Google of unwanted information, how to update them once the content is removed, as well as what controllable platforms you can handle yourself without the assistance of a third-party (i.e. Google Alerts/Support or a particular webmaster).
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Removing Personal Information From Search Engines
When it comes to removing personal information online, and essentially “unGoogling” yourself where do you start?
Here at NetReputation, we begin every call with a detailed and comprehensive analysis of your personal data online. We look through thousands of websites to ensure our team locates everything.
Our goal is to complete any and all solutions on the first attempt, for this reason, we take roughly 1-2 hours before sending you your completed proposal with your options.
We aim to find everything that has leaked online from your name to your social security number, criminal history, bankruptcies and much more.
One of the most important things to note is that Google does not pick and choose what shows within their search results ranking pages. Rankings are based on a plethora of factors that include, site popularity, traffic flow, trust flow, creative/original content, and many other variables.
Your task when starting out should be to locate any websites you deem unwanted. You can do this by scanning the first several pages of Google (we recommend the first 5 pages to be safe).
Keep a Record of Everything
Keep a log (in Excel or Google Sheets) so you have a quick reference point as you begin working to remove yourself online.
Once you have created this list you can begin to reach out to each webmaster and seek removal options if this is content you do not control (something you didn’t post personally). Contact information will either be listed on the website or you need to use a WHOIS tool (see here).
This includes the administrator, city directors, managerial producers, and most crucial: the legal adviser for the statement or image you would like to remove.
Perform a swift Google search to find out who controls the website or newspaper. Most people will reach out to the author when a morose piece of content is distributed. However, that’s like criticizing a salesperson when the clerk provides you with incorrect change.
You need to protest to those individuals that control the transactions. Your letter to these data merchants needs to explain why this piece of content is fallacious and most significantly, how the article has financially crippled your business or personal reputation.
If you can’t provide any proof that the content causes you emotional or reputational, you won’t win in a court of law or with the publicist.
How to UnGoogle Social Media Accounts
Seeing as social media is deemed a self-controlling platform these steps are fairly straightforward.
How to UnGoogle Yourself
In order to unGoogle or remove your social media accounts within the search results, you must first delete your profiles indefinitely. That means no more Facebook, no more Instagram, essentially no more social media in general.
Begin by logging in to the desired social media account you wish to delete. Afterward, head over to your account/profile setting where most of the time there will be a “Deactivate Account” near where you have the option to logout.
Updating Google Search Results Post-Removal
Once your desired web page is removed from the source directly (the website) your job is not entirely finished yet.
After the page is removed, you must reach out to various support teams to ensure that the page is no longer ranking with the search results. (You can do this here)
Related Questions
What dictates whether or not content can be removed?
If a consumer provides a personal belief you don’t prefer, legal business is plausibly not an alternative.
Nevertheless, if the consumer publishes a fallacious post that blames you of wrongdoing and cripples your business, you can. In addition, you don’t need an attorney for this process.
Most of the time, a strongly worded message is sufficient when seeking to get the webmaster’s attention.
How long do you have to unGoogle the information once it is published online?
Go after the webmaster(s) right away. The more prolonged the negative piece of content is online. The more time sites such as Google will have to index the web page within their results.
Google will prevent indexing of a web page if you can show it presents private and/or personal information such as social security numbers. However, you need to make a case to them if it involves other matters.
If you cannot remove the content, what should you do?
There is an added reputation management plan that you can take to suppress the article off of the first several pages from Google.
You can accomplish this by writing your own blog or material and making sure it is indexed with the proper search engine optimization.