Category Blog

In today’s digital age, when someone is searching online for any type of business, the first website they seek out is Google. Regardless of the size of the company, the location or the industry, consumers will go to Google to learn more information about a particular company. In fact, some of the first things people may learn about a particular business will originate from what appears in a Google search. 

What does this mean for business owners? It means that having a positive online presence can go a long way. Business owners who are trying to gain customers through online searches should do everything in their power to promote positive brand awareness. One of the easiest ways to do this is by creating a Google My Business (GMB) profile for your company.

Businesses that have a complete GMB profile will show up through Google Search console, as well as appear on Maps when someone searches a given business name. Another feature that business owners can utilize through GMB is their automatic positive review sharing. This allows businesses to share suggested 4 and 5-star reviews as customer testimonials via Google Posts.  

When creating a Google Post, business owners can include a clever call to action with the link to a particular service page, which can strategically be used when sharing reviews. Also, posts can feature up to 10 images and videos, which can help add more context to a specific review when applicable. 

Is Google using a new Algorithm? Perhaps. Google watchers and online reputation management teams are reporting that Ripoff Report and a few complaint sites seems to have lost some visibility in Google’s search results at the start of November.

Our CEO Pierre Zarokian first noticed the change around November 6^th, after he checked different keywords related to his clients. He found only one that was still ranking high on Google search.

On Twitter, as well as on several private forum’s, there was barely any mention of the event at the time. In recent days, others have acknowledged that they have also noticed that something is amiss.

The RipoffReport website is a site where consumers can go to complain about business owners, products, and services. Because the website is listed so high in Google rankings, being listed there can destroy or seriously damage people’s online reputations and businesses. The site has a strict no removal policy, and has even defied court orders which demand the removal of information.

Other complaint sites which have also lost ratings include ScamBook, PissedConsumer, ComplaintsBoard, DirtyScam, and Consumer Affairs.

This has led some industry analysts to conclude that Google has indeed made changes to its algorithm in order to downgrade the ranking of these types of sites.

While it has been available on Facebook for quite some time now, a verification badge is something that is quite new to Instagram. It is pretty easy to verify yourself and start the process.

You must request verification

When you go into your setting, you will see an area that will help you upload your ID. This will be the first step in possibly getting your verification badge. You will need to follow the right steps and go from there.

Make sure to use the right ID

It is important that you use a government-issued ID when trying to get your verification badge. Don’t try to use a school ID or library card when getting your verification badge. This will look amateur and admins will most likely just dismiss your request.

You now just have to wait

Unless you are a minor celebrity, an established business, or someone who is searched for on a regular basis, you might not get your badge. It really is just a waiting game to see if the admins feels as though you are legitimate enough to have your own badge.

While getting an ID badge may be easier to apply for now, it really just depends if you are in the public eye enough for admins to feel like you even need this badge. Using the right ID is a great way to get started. You will be able to make sure you have all of the right items in place to help you have a better chance of getting your badge.

Google first launched its Instant Search feature several years ago. At the time, this function would display the results of a search as the user was typing. This kind of real-time search aligned well with Google’s mission to emphasize speed. The company dubbed the feature: “Google Instant”, but it is effectively dead as of this moment. Why did Google pull the plug? Read on to learn more.

Google Instant was first launched in 2010, and it was under the leadership of Marissa Mayer. She intended to create a functional that would be responsive to the user’s query and deliver results faster. It used predictive technology to learn what users wanted, and served results for better or worse.

Today, more than half of all searches are carried out on a mobile device. Instant Search no longer offers the same value to users that it once did, and so Google has discontinued the service entirely. You might recall the considerable media attention it garnered when it first launched.

Google’s new search feature, rather than suggestion websites to visit, will now show users some suggested search queries. User will be able to drill down further with a few extra clicks, but the shift is subtle that most will barely notice it.

For Google, this move will help bring the mobile and desktop experiences closer together. It will also do away with an uncomfortable feature many desktop users had already found ways to disable.

This won’t completely alter the landscape of search, but it will bring back some emphasis on competition for the search page.

Depending on the search term, these changes may help or hurt keywords related to your reputation management project.

MyEx.com has been prosecuted by the FTC and Nevada. The revenge porn siteurged users to “Add an Ex” and “Submit Pics and Stories of Your Ex” for ratings from other registered users. The results of this prosecution have ensured the removal of MyEx.com and that its owner, Neil Infante, is never allowed to operate again.

This vile web page charged victims amounts that ranged from $500 to $2800 in order to take down images and intimate content from MyEx.com. This media was open for public comment and scrutiny from anyone who joined the website. The site also frequently listed the victim’s full names, dates of birth, email addresses and other contact information which was used to harass.

MyEx.com’ horrible tactics caused real harm to the individuals who suffered as a result of being posted on it. Some of these victims lost jobs, relationships and ended up with a ruined life. Many paid the fees and still suffered fallout. That fallout is often what drove them to pay the fees. These intimate images were never meant to be shared, and have made victims the subject of threats and harassment.

The FTC $205,000 settlement prevents the site’s owner, Nei Infante, from ever posting intimate pics or personally identifiable information to the web again. Infante is also permanently banned from serving as an operating officer.

If you were affected by MyEx.com, take preventative action and get negative content removed immediately. Get a full audit of your web presence today.

Google released its “autocomplete” feature in 2004, and it was designed to streamline search. One only needed to enter the first few letters of a query, and Google would seem to magically find exactly the term you wanted. Today, the feature can seem somewhat invasive and creepy, but it’s a handy feature many users can’t seem to live without.

Google’s feature works based on the popularity of particular terms. It knows that a Google searching for “wea” probably wants weather, and more than likely wants the forecasts for today. It will return those queries logically, but it also tries to do some anticipating and that’s where things get borderline offensive.

Suggestions are based on real queries that people make, so Google is only basing it off of data it has seen in the wild. This has led to some very interesting, and troubling searches for research purposes. The most famous of those was documented in a Guardian article, where Google’s predictive search led the writer to a query regarding holocaust denial.

Google’s solution to this problem is to utilize a system of feedback, where users can report potentially offensive searches. Those queries won’t immediately vanish, but the user will be able to contribute to better policing of the system. It’s not really clear how this will help long term, but it will most likely impact Google’s algorithm by giving them more data about what users find offensive.

It’s also not clear whether it’s possible to game this system, and report terms that aren’t actually offensive but that users want to block. What if a politician spoke out against a particular group, for instance, and that group banded together to label searches for this person’s name offensive? Perhaps there is still a long way to go, but Google’s off to an interesting start in helping users police themselves.

We often get asked if it is possible to delete complaints on Ripoff Report completely.  The answer is yes, but is not easy and often it is not cheap. In this post we will explain a few ways you can get rid of Ripoff Report, some of these methods would not remove the report but may help you in making your reputation better.

• Court Ordered Removals:
  This is the only way a report may be completely removed. Basically you need to file a lawsuit against the poster and win. If the poster is not known, then you file a John Doe lawsuit and may get a default judgment. You then request a court ordered removal from the judge and present it to Ripoff Report. Ripoff Report may or may not remove it. They are more likely to remove it if you actually fought someone and won. If they fail to remove, then you present the judgment to Google, Bing and Yahoo and they are more likely to honor it and remove, so at minimum you may get the report deleted from the search engines, but not RipoffReport itself.  It can be expensive because most often attorneys need to do it. This is a service that we offer, but we do not charge as much as attorneys do, because we do not use attorneys. We even would guarantee at least removal from Google or you would not pay.  If interested, please contact us for details.

• SEO Push Down
  Using SEO techniques you can push down the report to second or 3rd page of Google search results so it is less visible in searches for your name or brand. This may also involve creation of mini sites, many social profiles, videos and writing many articles. This method is used by majority of reputation management companies.  This method could also be expensive because Ripoff Report is a pretty powerful site and you have to do lot’s of SEO efforts to succeed in pushing it down. One benefit of this method is that if you get posted again in the future, most likely the post would not show up high. However, if you use the court ordered removal and another post shows up, then you have to do the removal again, which would cost you more money.

• Cyber bullying or Harassment Removals
  Ripoff Report claims that they would redact information in cases of Cyber Bullying or online Harassment.  In fact, we have been successful in using this method for a client. You still need to make a good argument, so we recommend using us to do it, rather than trying it yourself.  This method would work for a very few people, maybe less than 1%. However, if you try to do it yourself, then it would cost you nothing. To try yourself send an email to the owner Ed Magdeson at editor@ripoffreport.com.

• Copyright Removals (aka DMCA Removals)
  DMCA stands for Digital Millennium Copyright Act. It was a law created in the 90’s to fight online copyright issues. If the post contains any copyright of yourself, such as if the poster has used your photo or content from your website, you may be able to file a DMCA request to have it removed. The DMCA may also be used to remove content if your personal info is posted such as your social security number, bank info, or other personal info.   If you send a DMCA to Ripoff Report, most likely they will just redact the content in question, but would not remove the whole post. Therefore, it is our recommendation to send it direct to Google. However, in 99% of the cases Google will tell you to send it to the site direct. You may have a small chance that Google may accept your request. This could be because Google may have tens of staff members viewing these requests and something may fall through cracks or the reviewer at Google may be having a good day and side with you.In the past few years, many people and/or reputation management companies have also tried to game the system and filed what is called Fake DMCA orders.  The way it works is that first you post a copyrighted content in the comments or rebuttal section of Ripoff Report and then you file a DMCA take down notice with Google claiming someone has copied your content.  Some people would use fake contact info and claim ownership of the content, even tough they were not the rightful owners. This is why it’s called a Fake DMCA order.This method worked for a while, but then Google caught on to it and started declining them. It is against the law to file fake DMCA’s so we do not recommend it. Although, it is highly unlikely that anyone would get in trouble for it, so that is why many got away doing it. You can see evidence of this happening if you search past DMCA removal requests at lumendatabase.org.In summary, this method does not work anymore, so do not even try it. The only time you may want to try it is if you really have your copyrighted content stolen and posted on RipoffReport.

• Ripoff Report’s VIP Arbitration Program
  Ripoff Report is offering an arbitration program to try and redact false info.  We have heard different numbers as far as what it costs. It could be as low as $2000 and as high as $10,000 per post. Basically, they will use an independent arbitrator to look at evidence provided by you and also by the poster and then make a decision if the report is false. If they decide in your favor, they will remove or redact certain parts of the report, but they will not remove your name or brand name from the post.  Hence, the post would still show up in Google search results, which is not a good thing.There are two huge cons with this method. A) It would only work if the post is untrue or fake and the poster does not respond or provide any evidence. B) The post remains on the site, so it still shows up in Google search results, hence anyone searching in Google for your company name will see it and that in itself is bad, because most people may associate a listing at RipoffReport to be negative and would move on without even reading the report.

If you have a negative review on Ripoff Report and need help with deletion or push down, contact us today to see what we can do for you.

Our CEO Pierre Zarokian and attorney Aaron Minc from Dinn, Hochman & Potter, LLC will be doing a free online webinar on July 19, 2016 at 2:30pm EST.

Pierre Zarokian will discuss Yelp and general reputation management, including:

– Why Yelp is so important!
– Yelp Filter : How it works and how to beat it
– Methods to get negative reviews removed on Yelp
– Ways to increase positive reviews on Yelp
– Discussion of other review sites and how they work, including: Google+, Ripoff Report, BBB and others.
– How to do proactive reputation management
– What to do if you get negative reviews on complaint sites such as Ripoff Report, including SEO push down, Copyright removals and other methods

Aaron Minc will discuss legal issues surrounding reputation management, including:

– Why Your Online Reputation Matters
– The New Age of the Internet & The Online Defamation Problem
– The Communications Decency Act
– How to Remove Online Content
– Court Ordered Search Engine Removals
– Online Reputation Management Myths
– What Can I Do To Proactively Protect Your Online Brand

We have just announced a new service which would legally remove negative Yelp reviews. Our team of experts will review each negative review and contact Yelp’s legal department to challenge their validity.  Our CEO Pierre Zarokian stated: “The Yelp algorithm tries to remove fake negative reviews, but it is not always successful at that. Our clients want to fight back against slanderous reviews from anonymous people that threaten their livelihood.”

Our team of experts are good at finding and removing negative and fake Yelp reviews. We will dig deep, analyzing a user’s profile, or their related accounts, to challenge the validity of those reviews. We will also look for content that may be against the Yelp Terms of Service. In addition, if our clients can provide any hard evidence on why a review is not accurate, we can then use the evidence and send a legal letter to Yelp to request their removals.

We have just realezed a press release with more info here: http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/16/07/p8176859/reputation-stars-launches-negative-yelp-review-removal-service#ixzz4EYUWzF00

BadBoyReport bills itself as the Web’s destination for helping people avoid bad dates, but the website isn’t doing a great job keeping users honest. Users are encouraged to be honest, but there is no verification process for reviews. Plus, Bad Boy Report removes itself from blame by allowing these posts from anonymous third parties. As a result of a recent move to Korea, the website is nearly untouchable on any legal basis.

This haven for cheater shaming ranks well in Google and can follow someone around for life. These websites don’t just vanish, and they are seen by every employer and potential date from now until you decide to take action. BadBoyReport does not remove any posts directly, but they recommend hiring a reputation management company for help and they only work with reputation management companies to try and remove a post that may be incorrect.

Bad Boy Report was once caught stealing content from another site and sued, which resulted in the shutdown of the .com site, but the site is back with a new domain at badboyreport.kr. It does not interfere in posts on anyone’s behalf, and claims that it may take up to one year to remove posts even with a legitimate request.

How Reputation Stars Can Help

Everyone makes mistakes, it’s not Bad Boy Report’s job to chronicle those. Here at Reputation Stars, we believe that your choices are your business. We have helped many people remove negative listings from Bad Boy Report legally, and quickly. In fact, most of our customers see their negative posts vanish entirely within one week. We also create long term strategies aimed at keeping your search engine page free of negative press.

Don’t take chances on your reputation, contact Reputation Stars Today!