Sometimes a negative result will stick to the front page of Google’s index, and it will won’t move easily – no matter how much new content or links you create to outperform it. In these situations, removing the links that point to a negative page can make it appear less relevant, and therefore less visible in the search results. By following the same general procedures as link building, you can persuade Webmasters to remove links to negative pages.
Undoing Negative Links – image:mesho
There are currently three main strategies for reducing the relevance of negative search engine results:
- Build up positive and neutral content to outrank the negative page.
- Negotiate or pull strings to get the negative page removed.
- Ask other Webmasters to remove their links to the negative page.
I call the third technique “reverse” link building. It works best in smaller cases where there are less than a hundred links to the negative page. Reverse link building is challenging because the Webmaster has already written content and decided to link to a negative result – and you have to convince them to re-think their decision and change what is there. People can get really analytical and philosophical about why they are getting edited or censored – and look “too far” into your request.
Here are some best practices for removing links to a negative article:
Find All the Links to Negative Page
Go to Yahoo Site Explorer. Paste the full URL of the negative article into the search box and click the “Explore URL” button, then click the blue link that says “Inlinks.” This will show all of the pages linking to the negative article. An easier way to do this is through install SearchStatus, an excellent SEO extension for Firefox.
You can also look at the trackbacks of a negative blog post to see which other blogs are “endorsing” it – or you can look in Technorati for “reactions” to a blog or blog post. Make an exhaustive list of all the negative links in a spreadsheet. Then go examine the sites closely to see where they link to the negative content.
Finding the Person With the Power to Remove the Negative Link
The first challenge is finding up-to-date contact information for the Webmaster of each site that links to the negative article. If you’re really lucky, you’ll find a working e-mail or phone number listed on the site. Otherwise: do a WhoIs and write down all the phone numbers, use the contact form and look at the source code, Google search for any nicknames, look closely into any affiliate links for clues, check the backlink profile to find related sites linking to it. Look into the internet archives cache or prior registrations to see if you can find the old owners. If you still can’t find any clues or solid contact information, then leave a blog comment or guestbook post – or even place an order (!) – and leave a note with your e-mail address, asking them to contact you about an urgent matter pertaining to their website.
Using Tact and Persuasion to Negotiate Removal
For the initial contact, I’ve found it’s best not to get too detailed and heavy right off the bat. Start by making a connection and showing that your e-mail is not spam.
Hi! My name is Brett, and I appreciate the detailed information you have up at ExplicitVitaminReviews.com. For years I have taken Vitamin C to maintain my health during the cold winter season, but I had no idea the brand they sell at my local K-mart is biologically inactive. I’ll definitely look into the California Sunshine line of supplements you recommend.”
Next, you’re going to have to ask VERY nicely, and make a good case for why the link should be removed. You might want to save it for the next e-mail or a phone call, and just establish connection with the first contact. If you come across as a threat, hassle or annoyance at any point in the process – you will lose. Be friendly. And be pleasantly persistent.
Reasons Why They Should Take It Down
Often times, Webmasters “innocently” link to negative articles because they are trying to be fair and balanced – to tell both sides of the story. Explain that the article is having a negative impact on your website, and give some of the following reasons why it should be removed, if appropriate:
- The information is out of date.
- The information is false / inaccurate.
- The website is a bad neighborhood you don’t want to link to.
- The article is a ‘revenge piece’ written by a competitor.
- The link doesn’t really add any value to their readers.
- There is a much better contrary view at http://example.com
- The link means little to them, but has significant impact on your site
If e-mail doesn’t get a response after a couple of tries, move to telephone and lastly send a non-threatening personal letter. Ask for the removal with kindness and humility. If that doesn’t work, then offer to help the webmaster by giving them links, sending a thank you gift, or doing whatever you can to help their business and website. As a very last resort, you can offer payment.
If they are adamant about keeping a link to a negative article, suggest another better-quality article they could link to or ask them to rel=”nofollow” it.
If you’re really patient, intuitive and cool… you can get many of those negative links undone by using this strategy. A few weeks later, when all the pages get re-crawled, the negative result will appear somewhat less “relevant” to the search engines.
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