Need Help With Bad Google Listings

I've run into a situation with one of my sites that I'm hoping someone can help me with. The site is for an energy company and when searched on Google comes up listed one and 2. But, listings 3 and 4 are from some complaint websites. The listings are fraudulent, 2 years old and supposedly from an ex-employee, and appeared in the rankings about the same time as we received an email from a company saying how they can help you get top rankings and push bad rankings to a lower page, emphasis being on getting good links to come up before any bad ones. All our efforts to move these rankings down have been in vain. Has anyone run into this or have a suggestion on what to try? I use all the normal techniques like metatags, external links, submitting links to Google, etc. and usually get top rankings, but they really want to get these 2 bad listings to move. Any help is appreciated.

Jim

This is the glory of free speech.
Free speech is a double edged sword, and should be respected, because if it isn't, then your client site owners could fall victim to the same ideas of censorship.

Perhaps more individual listing might knock off the 2 other links, but I would doubt that would work.

Google seems to be pliable through bribes though, they do have the ability to censor certain political sites. So if your client is not above utilizing guile and malevolence...
But I believe what you are asking, would take underhanded actions to succeed.

You might have to find the site owners of the "bad" links and convince them to write nicer stuff about your client... ?

Has anyone ever heard of ripoffreport.com or reputationguy.com?

If the pages in the search results that you are worried about truly are spam, fraud and illegal - report it to Google online, and send them a registered letter.

They do look at things that are serious. If you go that route, make sure you yourself are following Google guidelines down to the last point...

As you didn't provide any examples, it will be difficult to provide other suggestion. Having both urls - the search terms in question - and seeing how the pages appear in the SERPS for you - might help.

Risto

My site is fostermychoice.com, the bad listings came from ripoffreport.com, and the letter came from reputationguy.com. ripoffreport.com won't remove any listings, they just allow you to comment on them. reputationguy.com has a section of his website dedicated to his ability in removing ripoffreport.com listings from google. His letter to the client and the listings on google showed up about the same time and I think they are somehow related. The search term was "my choice energy".

Jim

That definitely smells like a blackmail.
I think the legal processing can be considered under such circumstances.

Well, they are obviously scammers and the complaint is clearly bogus (it's doesn't even make sense). They create the "problem" and offer to fix it (for a free of course).

Login to your Google Webmaster tools and report them. I'm sure Google has seen this kind of stuff before. If they will remove it or now, I have no idea (probably not = too much time to investigate).

How many people actually come to the website for the search term you listed? Does it matter? If it's significant and THAT important - ask your client to hire a lawyer.

The dirty: You could easily knock them off the main page of Google with a couple of freebie blogs targeting the keywords. Unfortunately, you might knock yourself off too.

Sorry, I couldn't be of more help.

Good luck!

Risto

I'll pass your suggestions on to the client. If I get any major breakthroughs I'll post it here.
Thanks everyone.

Jim

Im not convinved this is actually a scam, it looks like this site has hurt a LOT of online businesses and the owner a MR Ed Magdeson seems to get somekind of futile kick from it.

I have done a bit of quick reserch and cannot find anything to link the 2 sites at all but did find this:

http://www.fairness.com/forums/messa...ssage_id=25753

So far as reputationguy from the looks of it the only thing he is going to do is what has already bee suggested create a couple more blogs or sites targeting the same kewords and try and move their search results down away from page 1.

Terrible situation to be in and from the looks of it not a lot seems to get the problem resolved apart from the above, there seems to have been a few businesses that have tried to get him into court but with no joy at all.

As with most things online there is a right way and a wrong way the right way involves you creating more keyword rich content the wrong way well hey know any decent hackers??????

lol

Best of luck and sympathies to your client people like this really are scum

Chris

PS

He also has his own site that seems to be a bit useless but hey here it is:

http://www.edmagedson.com/

ChrisBro,
That's quite interesting. I've passed it on to the client. I'll post any updates.
Thanks a bunch!

Jim

No problem :)

Just found this on the site, its quite a long read ther teminology and expression is quite intersting, its almost as though they are saying "ha ha ha theres nothing you can do people have tried and people have lost"

Dont know how this guy get away with this it is about time internet law was properly established and clarified once and for all, he wouldn't get away with this in the real world so why should he online.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/Consumer...offReport.aspx

CHris

Thanks for posting that. I did read all of it, and you're right; They never lose, they are always right, don't bother us with trying to correct any mis-use of the site as we don't care. I think I will post something about them in their own report, see what happens!

Jim

Jim, I'd be very cautious about what you say on the other site. If you've developed the site for the energy company I can understand your involvement, but as a website developer you aren't really responsible for policing what other people say about your clients. It's really the energy companies fight.

Paul

pauland,
Thanks, yes you are correct. What I really meant was that I would recommend to the client to post a rebuttal. I can't see how it can hurt anything.

Jim