What a damaging search result really costs you
Before anyone contacts you, they search you. A negative result on page one is read by every potential customer, partner, employer and journalist — and it colours their decision before you ever get to speak. Unlike a review, it never gets pushed down by fresh positives; it sits there for years unless something is done about it.
The ways a search result can come down
Every successful removal follows one of three paths — and knowing which one applies to your link is where most people go wrong:
- Removal at the source. Google is an index, not the publisher. If the content disappears from the website hosting it, the search result dies with it. This is the most permanent fix, and the one every other route is measured against.
- Policy removal by Google. Google will remove results that expose personal information — ID numbers, home addresses, login credentials, explicit imagery shared without consent — and content that breaks its rules in other defined ways.
- Legal removal requests. Defamatory content and copyright breaches can be reported through Google's legal channels. For Australian businesses, false statements of fact presented as truth are the strongest ground. This route is slower but carries real weight.
Why it's harder than it sounds
Each pathway has its own criteria and evidence requirements, and a request filed under the wrong one is rejected — often making the next attempt harder. Accurate news coverage, for example, is not removable by anyone. Knowing the difference before you act is the difference between a removal and a dead end.
We handle it end to end
We assess which route your result falls under, handle the request at the source, through Google policy or through legal channels, and manage the follow-up until the result is gone. Where removal isn't possible, we'll tell you honestly — and talk you through the suppression options instead.
Get your free assessment
Unsure which route applies to a link damaging your business? Send it to us for a free assessment — you'll have a straight answer within one business day. See our search result removal service for details.