I had a client call me the other day and wanted to know how to remove information about herself from Google.com. She told me she went on a date and her date knew everything about her from doing a Google search including family member names. She wanted the information removed.
Wow, most people want more information on Google not less. Here is my answer in a nutshell, once Google has it in their archive, there is no removing it. If the information resides on other websites you simply cannot remove the information. This is the same for both good and bad news about you. Once something is in the public domain it is available forever and to anyone who looks online this includes dates and employers.
Fortunately for this client all the information was good. She is a celebrity in her own right and just now getting high media exposure and is shocked at how much about her life is available on the Internet to those who know how to search. She even mentioned that information that was in a family obituary popped up identifying her place with family members which was a personal concern to her.
If you are an expert in your field, a celebrity, or high profile person, you will never be able to control the message and reviews or comments that other people post or say about you online. Welcome to the world that Brittany Spears lives in! Even if the information is awful you cannot remove it once it is on the search engines. If the information is bad, you may be able to push it down the search results page with reputation remediation, but remove it entirely – not a chance.
It is important that you be careful of where you allow your name to be used. Who would have thought that an obituary posted online by a newspaper would end up in Google’s index. All of this is an excellent lesson for young people. In this time, where kids post pictures and comments online, not once do they think that this information will be searchable and may pop up under their name in 10 years when they go to apply for a job and the HR staff does a Google search and finds them in a compromising situation.
For this particular client I told her – welcome to the world of celebrity and now’s the time to get a pair of dark sunglasses and Google your own date before you first meet next time.
When my name is googled, it should be for professional purposes. Placing me better, on the job market, salaried and free-lance.
My brother’s obilituary consistently shows up amidst my professional information. We do not need his obit published. It is done under the last name, galluzzo, is poorly written and is an embarassement to me. Can you please delete this obit from google near MY name, or relist his news under HIS Full Name: Steve Galluzzo. ??