Like most of the people that exist today, chances are most of your personal information is online where anyone can access and use it. If you are building a personal brand or just want to ensure your privacy, you should remove that content ASAP. Besides going over Google’s removal policies, there are a number of things you can do to remove that information and regain your privacy.

Google’s aim is to organise data and make it universally accessible, but that does not mean that it cannot be prompted to remove certain content. This includes search results that contain images of child sexual abuse and copyright notifications that meet the requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

You can have sensitive personal information removed from Google’s search results as well. This includes:

However, the search engine giant usually doesn’t remove a user’s date of birth, phone numbers or addresses. If you think any of that personal information poses any security risks such as financial fraud or identity theft, ask yourself these questions first before notifying Google:

However, keep in mind that even if you have valid answers to these questions, Google may still deny your request. The search engine giant applies its policies on a case by case basis after thoroughly vetting each case.

If the people at Google believe that the request for removal is being used to remove non-personal data from search results, that request will be denied. This includes information that can be found on government based documents since it is supposed to be accessible to the public.

The good news is that you are not the only one who is facing this issue. According to a  study , 86% of internet users have taken measures to hide their online presence from clearing cookies to masking their IP addresses. Many also encrypt their emails to preserve their privacy.

However, the process can take on epic proportions for individuals who are either branding themselves or launching a brand. In such cases, online reputation management is far from simple, but it is doable. This is important because the information people find out about you online can be used to compromise your identity and make life difficult for you in general.

While you cannot control all the information they have access to, you can take certain measures to make sure that the data they do find makes you look good.

The first thing you need to do is take small preventative steps that will ensure you don’t have to do a clean sweep later on. This way the information won’t show up online at all. Even if you are facing a crisis right now, by taking small measures now you can prevent bigger catastrophes down the line.

While removing that private information should be your priority at the moment, you have to consider all of the confidential data you have that can damage your reputation if it went online. Besides the above mentioned list, this includes:

The good news is that most of these can be de-indexed (more on this later) or removed completely with a simple request. Google and federal policies protect internet users, but some information can only be removed at the discretion of the webmaster or owner of the website.

So what does removal actually mean? When Google receives such requests, it doesn’t delete the data so much as it ‘de-indexes’ it. This means that when anyone tries to look up that information online, the offending site or sites will not crop up on search results. However, they can find it if they type in the link directly into the search bar.

In other words, Google doesn’t delete the information from the site completely. It just prevents that information from coming up on search results so you can breathe easy. Think of it as removing the location of a house from maps. It may exist, but you cannot find it using any map.

This is how de-indexing works. The web page that had your information will still exist, but it won’t be searchable online.  However, it is still accessible, which means that it is still a potential threat.

The extent to which the information is removed depends on the webmaster or the owner of the site as mentioned before. If they cooperate, they can get rid of that page and the data on it completely. Once that page disappears from their website, the search engines will eventually realize that it doesn’t exist and remove it from search results.

Even though these measures are great when it comes to removing data for the long haul, there are some downsides you should be aware of. For one thing, the information is still accessible from cached versions of the site.

It could also appear on another website if someone took a screenshot of it or copied it. Needless to say, removing data online is not as simple and straightforward as we might think.

This is where ‘suppression’ comes into the picture. As the term implies, this process stamps down search results for your name or information by controlling the environment around it.

The aim is to overtake private search results with data that you control so that searchers are less likely to see the information that you want hidden.

So how do you get enough positive data that can overshadow the negative information that you cannot remove? By building a strong personal brand that places you on a pedestal via information that people can relate to or find appealing about you.

Think of it as both a defensive and offensive strategy that can nip negative search results in the bud. An effective brand can also increase the number of job opportunities you get so you have to make sure that employers cannot find anything that can make you seem undesirable.

Your goal should be to create and host a number of properties that search engines deem more relevant than undesirable results that you are trying to suppress. If done right ultimately those results will replace damaging content in the rankings.

The effort should be persistent and ongoing with a special focus on the maintenance and development of authoritative websites and social media profiles. This should also include an analysis of Google’s ever-changing algorithms and the application of SEO principles that can suppress negative search results.

This step should construct a foundation for your online persona. The first thing you need to do is remove all negative and useless content (such as embarrassing pictures) that works against your brand. Make your job easier by using software such as BrandYourself which can scan your online presence and allow you to remove or change anything that you don’t want others to use. This way you will increase your chances of ensuring that your name ranks well on search results.  

Remember, the longer that information remains online, the more damage it will do. Take this first step as soon as possible to prevent that from happening and to get the best return on the time you put into your efforts.

Naysayers and the one odd critic can be drowned out if you have a large enough audience that favors you. Once you have a basic brand to work with, use it to connect with leaders and influencers who have authority in your field.

That way you will be able to harness their own followers and get to know the audience you need to work with and attract. Plus, publish as much relevant content that you can on trusted online platforms so that the audience you attract has something to share and comment on.

Even when you have enough followers to make a positive difference in your online rankings, your work doesn’t stop there. The next step should be to establish credibility that can help you make a solid online reputation. This includes consistent online engagement on profiles, websites and other platforms your followers frequent.

If your information ends up on a site that you don’t own, removing it might not be possible even if you put in a request at Google. As mentioned before, it indexes content as it appears online. If you really want to make sure that the content you share on a website doesn’t appear in search results you can do one of 2 things:

However, if despite your efforts your personal information ends up online you can always approach the site owner and ask them to remove it. You can also request Google to have the page removed or blocked from search results. If your request is accepted, Google will re-crawl the offending page and hide the content from search results.

Since that information is just hidden, you can ask Google to make it disappear completely online via its public removal tool.

The answer depends on the sensitivity of the information and if it is worth the expense associated with removing it. Yes, if Google denies your request and the website owner refuses to cooperate as well, you can seek legal aid to have the offending information removed.

However, keep in mind that this may not work all the time. If you do end up winning the case, the content may not be inaccessible completely. That’s because once it appears online, information is archived which means that copies can appear on other websites afterward.

So, if data removal is not worth the hassle, time and money, the best alternative would be suppression via active personal branding as mentioned before. If you need help  removing content online  then visit  contentremoval.com