Whether you are an individual or a business, having some damaging content about you online can only do more harm than good. You might be looking to apply for a job and know that there are some false statements and rumors about you online, or if you have a business, there could be some statements out there that are simply not true, possibly put out there by a disgruntled customer or by a competitor. So with that in mind, here are some of the things that you can do, whether you can get the content removed or not, to help yourself and your business.
Make an editorial request
It can be easy to want to go straight in with a cease and desist letter if there is a website that is showcasing content about your business that isn’t right. However, in the legal world, there are some reasons why you should not go in all guns blazing. By submitting an editorial request, you are asking for content to be removed, but keeping it polite between you and the website owner (and quite possibly, an attorney). There are no threats, unlike a cease and desist letter, so it can be more well received.
You could also look to use a company who could take care of this on your behalf, such as content removal companies that you can find on Crunchbase. If you’re new to this and feel like you could benefit from the guidance, then it could make a big difference to have some help.
Write a rebuttal
If you have your own website with a blog, then it can come in handy to write some of your own content. If you don’t have the means to take any content down, then you can at least use your platform to write content that is contrary to the other article. You could show evidence or proof that the claims that are made are incorrect, or set the record straight with the truth, rather than hearsay. When you have a blog on your own site and can share articles of your own, then it can help to optimize your website online too, so it can be a good thing for a number of reasons.
Remove the content at its source
If it is possible, and you’re looking to get content removed right from the original website, then it can be worth a try. Even if the content gets deleted, it can still come up in searches online or be saved onto different articles and websites. If you want to do this, then you need to reach out directly to the website owner and ask them to remove the content. You’d also want to check that they don’t re-publish it again after deleting or do something similar down the line.
Although getting content removed isn’t going to always work, these are the things that you can try that could work to help your defense. At the end of the day, focusing on your business and doing what you can to make sure that you have a good reputation of your own, will allow consumers to work out for themselves what they think about the business.
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