Tag orm

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.

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.

Anyone whose web site appears in response to an online search might need ORM. Consumer generated media offers the public an opportunity to express their views. This information can be found in search engine results. The more a product, brand or company is exposed to public attention and scrutiny, the greater the likelihood that someone will want to challenge their reputation. This can include dissatisfied clients, customers and competitors, who may have legitimate complaints, but can also include rumor mongers, and irresponsible, vindictive web site wizards, whose sole purpose is to challenge another website’s integrity.

Consider the search results for the following “name brand” web sites:

* Walmart – 2 of the first 10 Google listings is negative:

* McDonalds – 1 of the first 10 Google listings is negative;

* Coca Cola – 1 of the first 10 listings is negative;

The problem is universal. Thousands of companies like these can have the effect of their web sites neutralized by stories appearing on the search engines. And its not limited to companies. People of high profile are convenient targets; celebrities, high-power business people, government as well as individuals from all walks of life, regardless of gender, national background and social status are being victimized and insulted. If you have a company, a brand name or product, which someone could or did find fault with; or if you have ever been written about in the media in a less than flattering vein, or if you monitor your Google listing and a negative listing appears, you must realize that the negative story will not disappear on its own.

Negative reviews are there to stay and may even multiply until you retain the services of a professional online reputation management professional. Reputation management is vitally important for all organizations. Both on a personal and corporate level, everyone should be concerned about their online image. On a personal level, having a damaged reputation can result in not being eligible for employment. For businesses a bad reputation can mean tremendous financial loss. As a result of a tarnished reputation, businesses have lost millions, have replaced trusted CEO’s, and have even ceased operating within months of negative publicity.