Your first option is to reach out to the person who posted the complaint. While this isn’t always possible, if you can identify them, a polite and professional approach might help. You can:

• Acknowledge their frustration and ask how you can make things right.
• Offer a resolution, whether it’s a refund, customer service fix, or an apology.
• If they’re open to it, ask them to update their post with a positive follow-up.

But be careful because this method comes with risks. If the author is still angry, they might add more negative details and make the situation worse. So, only try this if you believe the person is reasonable and willing to communicate.

If the Ripoff Report contains false information, you may be able to take legal action. If a court declares the content defamatory, Google will de-index it, which means that it won’t show up in search results.

Here are the steps to file a defamation lawsuit:

1. Identify the author: If you don’t know who wrote the post, you can subpoena the Ripoff Report for their details.
2. File a John Doe lawsuit: If the author remains anonymous, you can sue “John Doe” and force disclosure.
3. Prove defamation: The burden is on you to prove the claims are false and harmful.
4. Obtain a court order: Once a judge declares the report defamatory, submit the order to Google for removal.

But the lawsuit may come up with some challenges and here are some of them:

• Expensive: Legal fees can exceed $10,000 before you see results.
• Time-consuming: Cases can drag on for months or even years.
• Public exposure: Filing a lawsuit could attract even more unwanted attention.

If the report is clearly false and you have the resources, this might be a worthwhile option, but for many, it’s not practical.

Ripoff Report offers two expensive programs that claim to help businesses, but neither actually removes complaints. The VIP Arbitration Program costs $2,000+ per report and allows businesses to dispute false claims. A private arbitrator reviews the evidence and may redact parts of the complaint, but the report itself remains online and it will still rank on Google.

The Corporate Advocacy Program (CAP) is even more costly since it ranges from $5,000 to $25,000+. This is a PR-style service where Ripoff Report adds a “resolution” update to make a complaint appear less damaging. However, the original post stays visible, and the negative link remains in search results.

These programs are not true solutions because they are expensive band-aids that let Ripoff Report keep profiting from complaints. Instead of wasting money on edits that don’t remove harmful content, you’re better off investing in SEO suppression to push the report down in search rankings, where fewer people will see it.

If you can’t remove the Ripoff Report, bury it. SEO suppression pushes negative content off the first page of Google by ranking your positive content higher.

Here are the steps on how to suppress a Ripoff Report:

Create High-ranking Content

The first step is to create high-ranking content. You can publishing press releases, blog posts, and interviews about you or your business can help establish authority.
Writing for high-authority websites such as Forbes or Business Insider will boost credibility and visibility. Using keyword-rich titles that target what people search for can also push the Ripoff Report further down in rankings.

Build Strong Backlinks

Next, you need to build strong backlinks. Google prioritizes content that is linked by reputable sources, so getting mentions from news sites, social media platforms, and business directories can increase the ranking of your positive content. The more authoritative links pointing to your website and articles, the stronger they become in search results.

Optimize Your Social Media Presence

Your social media presence plays a big role in SEO suppression. Google ranks LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok profiles highly, so if you keep them active and optimized will help you outrank negative links. Make sure your profiles are complete and updated regularly and also make sure to use your name or business name consistently across all platforms.

Encourage Positive Third-Party Reviews

Encouraging positive third-party reviews is another important step. Asking satisfied customers to leave reviews on platforms such as Google My Business, Trustpilot, and BBB will not only improve your online reputation but also help push Ripoff Report further down in search results. These trusted review sites rank well, and if you have strong ratings, they will appear before any negative content.

How Long Does It Take?

SEO suppression isn’t instant. Depending on competition and your SEO strategy, it can take 3 to 12 months to push a Ripoff Report off Google’s first page. But once it works, it’s the most sustainable solution.

Maximatic Media Can Help You Bury Negative Search Results from Google

Removing a Ripoff Report from Google isn’t easy, but you don’t have to handle it alone. At Maximatic Media, we specialize in SEO suppression, using press releases, PR placements, strong backlinks, and social media optimization to push negative content off the first page.

If a Ripoff Report is damaging your reputation, we can help you take control of your search results. Our negative search results removal service works wonders for clients in almost all industries.

Negative SEO is when people spam a website with low-quality backlinks to make it lose rankings. The problem with this strategy is that Google is smart enough to recognize manipulative tactics. If you get caught, your own site could end up being penalized instead of the Ripoff Report shutdown you were hoping for

It should go without saying, but hacking a website to remove a negative report is a serious crime. This can lead to criminal charges, and website security teams will likely restore the content anyway. Even if you take something down temporarily, it will likely come back (along with legal trouble).

Some businesses try to file fake lawsuits against themselves to obtain court orders for content removal. This involves submitting false claims in an attempt to trick Google into taking down a link. The problem with this is that it’s considered fraud. If exposed, you could face criminal charges, hefty fines, and even jail time.

Click fraud is when bots or hired clickers repeatedly visit a webpage to trick Google into thinking it’s low-quality and hoping Google will de-rank it. However, Google is constantly improving its detection methods, especially after pledging stricter actions against fraudulent behavior. If you get caught, your own site could suffer ranking penalties.

Some try to flood the internet with duplicate copies of the negative content, hoping Google will de-rank all versions, together with the original. However, Google often penalizes the source of the duplicate content instead. If you do this, your own website could be the one that disappears from search results.

If you’re wondering how to remove Google results of yourself, black hat tactics aren’t the answer. Instead of risking your reputation and legal standing, you should focus on SEO suppression and ethical reputation management. It may take longer, but it’s the only safe and lasting solution.