Jewel Beat
Running an online store is risky. A single bad review or old news article can kill a sale. One negative headline showing up in Google can drag your brand through the mud for years. If you’re selling products online, your reputation is your lifeline.
So how do you stay ahead of it? What tools actually help you manage your online presence, remove damaging content, and boost positive results?
This guide breaks down the top 8 online reputation tools every online retailer should be using. We’ll also explain how to remove news articles from Google and keep bad press from haunting your brand.
Why Online Reputation Matters for Retailers
Over 93% of customers read reviews before making a purchase. And 3 out of 4 trust a company more if it has a strong online presence.
But the problem goes deeper. News articles—even if outdated or misleading—tend to rank high in search results. That means one old story can hurt your brand every time someone Googles you.
Retailers don’t just need reviews. They need control over search results.
Tool #1: Erase.com – For Removing News Articles and Search Suppression
Erase is one of the few services that specializes in removing or burying news articles from Google. They work directly with publishers and also use advanced suppression tactics to push negative content off page one.
Erase helped a jewelry retailer in Miami get rid of two outdated fraud allegations that kept popping up in local news archives. After 60 days, the links were either removed or pushed down to page three. Sales bounced back within weeks.
Best for: News article removal, court record cleanup, suppression
Website: https://www.erase.com
Tool #2: Guaranteed Removals – For Legal Takedowns and Long-Term Monitoring
Guaranteed Removals offers a strong legal strategy for content takedown. If you’re dealing with defamation, blackmail, or private info leaks, they’ll help build a removal case. They also offer full reputation monitoring to track mentions across the web.
One cosmetics brand used Guaranteed Removals to wipe out a false accusation from a lifestyle blog. The content was removed from Google within 30 days using a privacy complaint and negotiated removal.
Best for: Legal content takedown, mugshots, and monitoring
Website: https://www.guaranteedremovals.com
Tool #3: CloutRep – For Executive Reputation and Business Listing Cleanup
CloutRep specializes in personal reputation management for founders, executives, and public-facing professionals. They also help clean up inaccurate business listings across search engines and directories.
If you run your store under your own name or appear as the face of your brand, CloutRep helps protect your personal image. One retail founder had multiple outdated business listings showing the wrong phone number and location. CloutRep cleaned up over 40 listings and helped suppress a local news article tying him to a failed startup.
They also work on removing false profiles, fixing knowledge panels, and controlling brand association across networks like Crunchbase and Bloomberg.
Best for: Executive reputation, business listing cleanup, network suppression
Website: https://www.cloutrep.com
Tool #4: Mention – For Real-Time Alerts and Social Listening
Mention monitors social platforms, blogs, forums, and news sites in real time. You’ll know immediately when your brand gets mentioned.
This is huge for damage control. One online pet supply store got early warning of a Reddit thread claiming their product caused skin irritation. They jumped into the thread with test results and an apology, which stopped the thread from going viral.
Best for: Social listening, early alerts, PR damage control
Website: https://www.mention.com
Tool #5: Trustpilot – For Public Review Collection
If you’re not already on Trustpilot, you should be. It’s a high-authority review site that often ranks high in Google. You can request reviews, respond to complaints, and show ratings directly on your store.
A clothing brand in Los Angeles doubled its traffic after getting to 500 Trustpilot reviews. They even added the rating to their email signature and product pages.
Best for: Public trust, SEO visibility, and conversion rates
Website: https://www.trustpilot.com
Tool #6: Google’s “Results About You” – For Fast Personal Info Removal
Google now lets you request removal of personal info like your name, address, phone number, or doxxing content. It’s free and fast.
A small business owner used this tool to get her home address removed from an old press release. The article stayed online, but her address was gone from Google’s index.
Best for: Removing personal info from Google search
Website: https://myactivity.google.com/results-about-you
Tool #7: Reputation Riot – For DIY Reputation Cleanup
If you’re a hands-on kind of retailer, Reputation Riot is a solid tool. It lets you scan your search results, build a positive content plan, and track performance over time.
You don’t need to hire an agency. Just follow the steps and start creating positive blog posts, profiles, and press releases to push the bad stuff down.
Best for: Do-it-yourself suppression and profile building
Website: https://www.reputationriot.com
Tool #8: Surfer SEO – For Content That Ranks Higher Than the Bad Stuff
Surfer helps you write content that ranks. If there’s a negative article about your brand, you can outrank it by creating content that answers what people are searching for.
One supplements brand used Surfer to publish a “how it works” guide that outranked a negative review in three weeks.
Best for: SEO-driven content creation, reputation recovery
Website: https://www.surferseo.com
How to Remove News Articles from Google
Here’s the truth. You can’t always delete the article itself. But you can make it disappear from search results.
Step 1: Reach Out to the Publisher
Contact the news site directly. Be polite. Explain why the article is harmful or no longer relevant. Ask for it to be taken down or updated.
Some publishers will help if the article is outdated, misleading, or legally questionable.
Step 2: Use the Google Removal Tools
If the article contains your personal info, use Google’s Results About You tool. If the page is outdated and no longer exists, use the Outdated Content Tool.
Links:
- Results About You
- Outdated Content Tool
Step 3: Suppress It with Positive Content
If you can’t remove it, push it down. Use SEO tools like Surfer and Brand Yourself. Publish new blog posts, product pages, customer stories, and press releases.
The goal is to bury the article on page 2 or lower. Most people never look past page 1.
Step 4: Hire a Reputation Service
If you’re stuck, use a service like Erase or Guaranteed Removals. They’ll handle the negotiations, removals, and suppression campaigns for you.
Final Thoughts
Online retailers can’t afford to ignore their reputation. Whether it’s an old news article, a bad review, or false claims, every negative result costs you trust, traffic, and money.
These 8 tools give you the power to fix it. Use them. Monitor your name. Create content. And don’t let Google decide how your brand looks.
If you’re wondering how to remove news articles from Google, now you know where to start.
