I was recently arrested, but the charges were dropped, and the case is closed. Unfortunately, the state I live in doesn’t allow sealing arrest records, and right now, the arrest is showing up on the front page of Google when you search my name. Any advice on how to mitigate this from an SEO perspective? I’m thinking about hiring someone on Fiverr or getting a quote from an online reputation management company, but I’d love to hear any ideas or recommendations. I really don’t want this to impact my job opportunities.
Reputation building through technical SEO takes time and patience. You’ll want to start your own portfolio blog or something similar and then cultivate genuine backlinks to it over time. This way, pages from your site (or your LinkedIn or GitHub) will rank higher than that government website when someone searches your name. Just a heads up: buying backlinks on Fiverr usually isn’t a good idea since they often have a short shelf-life.
@SHAWN
I have a portfolio page. Could you guide me on how to go about doing this on my own? I have some SEO experience but not a lot.
SHEE said:
@SHAWN
I have a portfolio page. Could you guide me on how to go about doing this on my own? I have some SEO experience but not a lot.
Sure! Start with the basics: make your site mobile-friendly, add meta tags for titles and descriptions, and use ‘og:’ tags for better display on social networks. If you’re comfortable with HTML/CSS, you can ask ChatGPT for help with code snippets. Otherwise, hiring someone on Fiverr or Upwork could work too!
Avoid Fiverr. It won’t work.
Here’s a plan: Register a domain with your name, create a landing page with your info and phone number, and buy press releases linking to this new site. This can help bury the negative info quickly, and some of these may stick around in the search results. Next, create a LinkedIn profile that includes your website. Also, consider starting a YouTube channel with your name plus your city. Signing up for advice/consultants directories can help too. The idea is to create as many profiles as possible with your name and city to push the arrest info down the search results.
I second that! Reputation management is all about burying unwanted results to the 3rd or 4th pages of Google. So, you’ll need to create social profiles like Medium, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and link them back to your portfolio. I had a similar case with a client who had unsealable records, and this strategy worked for them. Good luck!
Do you live in Liverpool? Is your sister Leah?
I was an expert witness in a similar case, and the lady ended up suing the police department (or the city, I can’t remember) and won a five-figure settlement. In her case, the police had no right to arrest her, and she got a lawyer. She has a unique name and suffered real consequences from her mugshot being all over the media. At first, she lost her job but was later rehired, yet she still struggles with parents of her kids’ friends Googling her before letting their kids come over. It’s something she’ll have to explain forever. Even though there are stories of her exoneration, they’re on Page 2 of the search results. You could sign up for Source of Sources (it’s free) and respond to media queries you qualify for. Over time, this could help get your name out there in other media outlets, ideally with some SEO benefits. But be warned, it may take a while.
Sorry to hear about your situation. Here’s what you can do (I work in online reputation management): First, think about a strategy and your tone—do you want to come off as conversational, professional, or light-hearted? What do you want to highlight—your profession, business, or hobby? Once you’ve decided, move on to the action steps.
- Buy a domain with your name.
- Create a WordPress site with an About, Contact, Services, and Blog section. Make sure to include your name in image file names.
- Optimize your LinkedIn profile, ensuring it’s fully complete.
- Create profiles on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit, and link back to your website.
- Start writing blogs. You can use AI to help generate ideas, but make them as human and helpful as possible. Post them on your website and Medium.
- Share your articles on social media and engage with others.
- Consider signing up for directories based on your strategy.
Keep this up for months—yes, it takes time. Aim for a new blog every few weeks, post on social media daily, and regularly check your progress. Research topics to write about by Googling helpful subjects and seeing what your competition is doing. Be mindful of where that negative link appears in Google; if it’s at the top, it might take 6+ months for a pro to help you, and even longer if you’re doing it solo.
DON’T: buy links or use Fiverr for this.
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Really sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, some employers will likely find the arrest regardless. However, you can work on your SEO to push it down in Google.
Start by setting up an optimized personal website targeting your name as a keyword. Improve your social profiles to make them search-friendly. Having active professional pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn will help you dominate the search results. You could also create content on YouTube and Medium. Finally, consider trying to get some positive media coverage to help balance the negative results.