by Net Reputation
In today’s increasingly well-connected online world, searches for “remove criminal record from Google” and similar terms are at a record high.
Becoming the subject of any type of negative content online can be highly distressing — and it can also be extremely damaging to an individual’s reputation. Rarely is this more apparent than in cases of online arrest details, mugshot images, and public court records.
If you or someone you care about is dealing with the fallout of having their private information online, you’re probably looking for help.
At NetReputation, our team of analysts, removal specialists, and legal professionals can help you remove public records from search results fast. Call us today at 844-461-3632 to get started.
Why Should You Remove Criminal History Information From Google and Other Search Engines?
Whether you are aware of it or not, people are looking for you online. Typically, people use Google and other search engines to find information about others. If you’ve applied for school or a job, tried to secure a bank loan, or met someone on a dating site, chances are that someone has conducted an informal background check on you.
Do you know what information is available about you in a Google search? It might surprise you to see what’s out there. And while positive information can open new doors of opportunity, negative information, such as mugshots and court records, can derail your plans.
In order to protect your online reputation, the removal of offending negative information is crucial. With a solid content removal plan in place, you can restore a reputation that’s been damaged by negative information — including the criminal or court records that continue to haunt you.
What Are Your Options for Successful Removal of Sensitive Content?
Removing public records from the internet starts with two important considerations:
- Are you looking to remove a search result from Google?
- Are you looking to remove the content from the web altogether?
If it’s the former, are you looking to have the search result removed completely (known as de-indexing), or do you simply want to suppress it from view? Alternatively, you may be looking to wipe the content off the web completely. That means getting rid of it at the source, as well as all other instances of where it appears online.
Either way, you need to present the search engine or website owner with a compelling reason to remove mughots, public records and similar information. Oftentimes, this information is public for a reason — transparency regarding court records and similar data can protect the public, for example.
If you’re not able to prove that the information shouldn’t be public, it’s unlikely that you’ll get a search engine or site owner to comply with your request. Don’t worry, though — in that case, you can still use content suppression strategies to your benefit.
NetReputation provides information and services to help you protect your digital presence. Call us at 844-461-3632 to learn more about our content suppression services.
What Not To Do When Attempting To Remove Content
When trying to remove criminal and court records from the internet, it can seem like there are easy, no-fuss solutions, such as paying websites to remove content or leaving it all in the hands of your lawyer.
In this section, we’ll discuss why those may not be the best options for you.
Paying the Website To Remove Mugshots, Contact Details and Other Content
Paying sites like Mugshots.com to remove an arrest report or public record is usually a bad idea. Seeking payment for this type of removal can be a form of extortion. You may end up paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars to remove your information from these sites.
What’s more, there’s no guarantee that your mugshot and other sensitive information won’t simply reappear on another platform.
The owners of these types of websites are known for their unscrupulous behavior. They also often operate multiple domains. Once you’ve paid to remove your info from one domain, your details could simply reappear on another that’s owned by the same team of people.
Turning to Your Lawyer for Help When There’s Not a Legal Case
Turning to a lawyer for help is the sensible choice in many situations. However, it’s not usually the best decision when it comes to having your personal information removed from various websites. Commonly, public records are legally protected and can’t be removed from the internet. Because of this, lawyers are limited in what they’re able to do for you.
This type of content removal isn’t exactly a legal matter. Therefore, you could end up paying thousands of dollars for services that don’t have the desired results. Instead, reputation management tactics, like content suppression and search engine optimization, are typically the better strategies to use.
How To Remove a Public Record From Google So It’s No Longer Visible
In an ideal world, you’d be able to remove all of your sensitive information from the web permanently. Unfortunately, that’s not a realistic goal. In this section, we’ll go over the top strategies for cleaning up your online image by limiting the court documents others can find about you.
Contact the Owners of the Websites
Not all websites involved in sharing mugshots and arrest reports have owners who are questionable characters. In fact, some websites will honor requests to remove your sensitive information. While some almost certainly won’t, other sites — those not in the business of extorting the public, specifically — can be more open to discussion.
This is especially true if your case has been dismissed, sealed or expunged. By presenting evidence of the court’s decision, you may have more sway over the person in charge when submitting removal requests.
Learn the Law Regarding Paid Record Removal
In a growing number of states, new laws are popping up to protect the public from extortion-focused websites. That means when an appeal to the site owner isn’t successful, the law may be on your side.
To start, learn where the law stands on paid removal in your state. Today, many states ban website owners from charging the public to remove arrest information, mugshots, court records and similar information from their sites.
Instead, site owners must comply with removal requests within a certain period of time or else face legal action.
De-Indexing From Google Search Results
Have you been unsuccessful in removing your public record from the source? It may be time to contact Google about de-indexing the link.
Information doesn’t appear in Google search results unless it’s hosted somewhere on the internet. If you can’t remove the content at the source, you may be able to remove that link from Google results pages so it’s less visible to the public.
This approach has varying degrees of success. For example, Google will often remove links to pages with personal information. Yet, this may happen only when there’s an inherent risk posed to the individual.
Still, you’re always entitled to report any content you believe violates the law or your rights, so it’s generally worth a shot. When successful, Google will look to block, limit access to or remove offending results.
Suppress Google Results
Finally, let’s look at how to use search engine suppression. Suppression is the best option when removing a listing or de-indexing a link on Google doesn’t work.
Suppression works by replacing negative results for your name with positive ones. Chances are, when you search your name, things like arrest details, mugshots and other sensitive information will appear somewhere in the top three results.
That’s because these results are deemed the most relevant. But when you add more relevant content, these results can be replaced. The ultimate aim is to push down results concerning your criminal record until they’re not visible on the first page.
An easy start is to update your existing social media accounts and create new social media profiles on leading sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Social platforms tend to rank highly in search results. By regularly posting fresh, positive content that includes your name, you can push negative search results down so they’re found much less often than before.
Take the First Step: Work With Online Reputation Management Professionals
Whether you want to reach out to every mugshot site and request that they remove your information or you believe that a content suppression plan is the best course of action, you could end up spending hours upon hours of time cleaning up your online image.
Instead, consider working with a reputable ORM company. At NetReputation, we have over a decade of firsthand experience removing and suppressing harmful online content.
As the internet’s leading reputation management company, we’ve helped numerous clients around the world remove sensitive information from Google. Contact NetReputation now at 844-461-3632 or fill out the form below for a free, no-obligation consultation.