You may have heard of the notion of Guaranteed Removal when researching online reputation management. It’s enticing, a guaranteed way to have unfavorable information about you deleted. At least, that’s how the name sounds. What is a guaranteed removal, and are they real?
What Is a Guaranteed Removal?
A guaranteed removal does precisely what it says. It offers to eliminate harmful content from websites, such as reviews. A review aggregator such as Yelp or Trustpilot may also be used.
Guaranteed removals are classified as follows.
- True. Assured deletions are retained. Negative fraudulent or false reviews can be easily erased, keeping the promise of a guaranteed eradication.
- Plausible. These are usually large-scale campaigns or initiatives to get unfavorable content deleted from sites. A guarantee of removal is not always attainable because specific review sites refuse to remove reviews.
- Unlikely. The removal of bad reviews can be exceedingly tricky or expensive, depending on their prevalence and hosting. Some reputation management firms may be able to erase the reviews, but many cannot.
- False. Guaranteed removals are a false promise made by reputation management services. This could be due to the content, the sites hosting it, or the sheer volume of sites hosting it. In reality, these sites either ghost clients or issue a partial return for their assurance.
A guaranteed removal has a two-part guarantee. A successful removal of unfavorable reviews or content results in a refund.
Often, a firm offering guaranteed removal would prorate their fees. The more extensive, harsh, or pervasive the negative reviews, the more expensive the service can be. If they can’t remove all of it, they’ll charge you for the removed reviews and content but refund you for the rest.
Guaranteed deletions are often used to “shame” the customer or to remove fake content. Like Cheaterland.com and TheDirty.com, these sites target women and are used for harassment, slander, and general misogyny. Legal action is typically required to remove content from such sites, and while it can be effective, it can be challenging to navigate for those unfamiliar with it.
How Guaranteed Removals Work
It varies with every company but often follows a similar foundation.
The company must first determine what content must be eliminated. Some content can be removed, like:
- Shaming content, like the sites mentioned above.
- Falsified records and made-up stories.
- Unauthorized revenge porn and other stuff.
- Faux negative reviews
However, some content cannot be erased, such as:
- Genuinely bad reviews
- Unsealed or expunged criminal records.
- Participation in public affairs, such as legal concerns or public events.
The content is vital here. Slander or libel lawsuits can remove false or fabricated content. Content posted without authorization (such as revenge porn) can be removed due to a growing body of law against it.
Legitimate content, such as honest unfavorable reviews, is usually irreversible. Some review sites allow the removal of such content, but not all.
Pricing for removal will be provided once the content has been assessed. Costs vary based on the content, the company removing it, and whether the reputation management company has a preexisting relationship with the site hosting it. Several factors affect the pricing, including:
- The amount of content to be deleted. A single post on a single website may be removed much more simply than dozens or hundreds of bad reviews on dozens of review aggregators. Remember that many sites that publish destructive content online scrape it from other sites and are not first-party sources. Mass removals may be more expensive but may result in a discount.
- The content hosting sites. Some sites will gladly remove fake content if notified. Others will battle until the content is proven fake. Others charge exorbitant removal fees. Others merely ignore removal requests until a legal danger is imminent. Excessive amounts of content take time and money.
- The content’s host. Many unlawful or defamatory websites are hosted and operated by countries that do not regulate or care about web servers. It’s common in Eastern Europe. Contacting these sites can be difficult, and removing content without international legal proceedings is impossible, making removal considerably more costly.
- Involvement of an attorney. Filling out forms or emailing a site provider to remove content is much less expensive than drafting a threat letter or, in extreme circumstances, pursuing legal action.
- If the content’s original poster must be identified. Taking legal action against an anonymous poster and obtaining a court order to identify that person.
- The guarantee’s scope. How long will the reputation management firm work before giving up and honoring its warranty? Do they repay in full or in part? This varies by company.
Each of these has its weight and value, and the price they charge relies on them all.
Once the fee is received, the reputation management agency will start working on phases of a guaranteed eradication.
Before removing harmful content from a website, a corporation will first contact the site’s owner. The site’s established reporting and removal process will be used.
If the content is not deleted, a threat letter is usually sent. In these letters, a lawyer specializing in removing negative information warns the site of the potential legal consequences if the content is not removed. This might range from DMCA takedowns to slander lawsuits.
If the content is not deleted, legal action will be taken. Depending on the case, the reputation management agency may or may not do this. To what extent do they have lawyers on staff or working with them? Legal disputes can be time-consuming, costly, and potentially disseminate harmful content via the Streisand Effect.
Suppressing information becomes obsolete once legal action is taken. A lawsuit is usually filed to establish that the information is untrue, not to hide it, because the legal proceedings itself disseminate the information. This is a different issue that may require more customized solutions.
The Difficulties with Guaranteed Removals
Guaranteed removals have several issues. Many reputation management organizations don’t offer them.
For starters, it’s difficult to guarantee the removal of internet content. Negative reviews must be defamatory and false to be removed from websites. To show this, you frequently require a court case, which is time-consuming, costly, and challenging.
Second, takedowns affect the site and not the content. Anyone can post identical information on another site, so you have to go through the entire process again to remove it. It’s easier if you’ve established legal precedent, but it’s still costly and time-consuming. Individuals may be forbidden from posting the material, but others are not.
To remove a single post, for example, can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, and then the post is quickly replicated on dozens of other sites.
Again, unfavorable reviews and other content can only be taken from the site if it is illegal, defamatory, or otherwise incorrect. There are no legal reasons for removing unfavorable reviews about your firm that are based on fact.
Alternative Methods
Because guaranteed removals are rarely insured, you must consider alternatives. If you can’t eradicate bad stuff, flood it with positive content.
Modern reputation management involves suppressing harmful content as much as removing it. Make it tougher to find and less reliable to reduce its impact on your brand. Use a mix of information campaigns, social media campaigns, review solicitation, and other reputation management tactics. These approaches are also frequently less expensive than data eradication; however, they may be recurring expenditures.
Of course, if negative reviews are founded on fact, it’s worth investigating and addressing the problem. If a product doesn’t work as described, either the description or the product should be revised. Change shipping methods if you have trouble. If you have problems with customer service, ethical business methods, or any other area of your brand, modify it to please the audience.
The most effective approach to suppress destructive online content is to remove its source. So you may respond to unfavorable reviews, explain how you fixed the issue, and encourage dissatisfied former customers to seek compensation.
Should You Engage in Guaranteed Removals?
In virtually all circumstances, a guaranteed removal service is unnecessary. While getting content removed or your money refunded may sound perfect, you’ll often wind up paying more for fewer results than a standard reputation management effort. You can expect an honest appraisal of your issue and the techniques available to you from an online reputation management organization like ours. Guaranteed deletions are rarely effective, and other reputation management strategies perform better. The choice is yours.