There are instances where a customer’s personal information (publicly available on our website or online store) may violate certain Google SEO guidelines and result in a loss of search engine rankings. This article discusses the guidelines for removing personal information. This article explores these Google policies in greater detail.
Policy Objective
This policy aims to protect users’ personal information and privacy and to prevent websites or online stores from misusing that information in ways that cause user distress.
Where Can This Policy Be Found?
This policy is located within the Google Search Console documentation and is part of Google Search’s spam policies—specifically, the section on personal information removal.
Requests for Information Removal
Google states that if it receives a significant volume of personal information removal requests about a website—particularly when “abusive content removal practices” are involved—it will remove the content from search results and lower the SEO ranking of other content on that same website.
Abusive Content Removal Practices
Abusive content removal practices refer to actions intended to create obstacles or generate financial gain when a user requests the removal of content containing their personal information from a specific website. For example, some websites demand “payment” to remove certain content, while others create hurdles or obstacles to such removal.
Exceptions
Exceptions apply, for instance, when the content requested for removal is a review, opinion, or critique of a business. Google has very specific guidelines regarding reviews and opinions. You can find more information on review policies at the following link.
Doxxing Content
Google states that websites containing doxxing content will be penalized. Doxxing occurs when someone shares another person’s private information with the intent to harm or harass them. For content to be considered doxxing, the URL of the offending website must contain one of the following elements:
-A significant amount of aggregated personal information without a legitimate purpose.
-The personal information appears alongside explicit or implicit threats against the individual (where others are encouraged to take action to harm or harass that person).
Non-consensual explicit content (created or shared) and AI-generated fake content
Google states that websites hosting explicit (sexual) content featuring a person without their consent will be penalized. This policy applies regardless of whether the content is real or fake (photos or videos created using AI). The policy also covers any webpage that incorrectly associates a person (or their name) with sexual content. Google specifies that for content to fall into this category, it must meet the following conditions:
The person is depicted in one of the following ways:
-Nude.
-Engaging in sexual acts.
-In an intimate manner.
This type of content is often referred to as “revenge porn.” It may be consensual or non-consensual, or occur in one of the following situations:
The images or acts depicted were created without the person’s consent.
They were created with the person’s consent, but the content is not being commercialized online or elsewhere.
AI-generated fake content
AI-generated fake content covered by this policy involves manipulated material in which the person appears to be engaging in sexual acts or is depicted in an intimate manner. Such content is sometimes referred to as:
-Deepfakes.
-Fake pornography.
-Fake nude photos.
This content is typically created using photo editing technology and AI. Affected individuals can request the removal of this type of content from Google if all the following conditions are met:
-The person can be identified in the images, audio, or video.
-The content is fake and depicts the person naked or in explicit sexual scenes.
-The content has been distributed without the person’s consent.
What should be done in these cases?
In addition to avoiding any explicit content, the recommended course of action—when you receive a request from an individual to remove their name from your website—is to remove it immediately, without creating obstacles or demanding an explanation. Such requests may come from the individual themselves or from the web hosting service.
Professional experience: Names in testimonials
Based on my personal and professional experience in this area, I can say that a major issue for many “serious” businesses arises when they use a client’s full name in testimonials. Remember that using a person’s full name (first and last name) is highly specific and can—unintentionally—boost SEO rankings for that name. While there may be no immediate issues, problems can arise in the long run, particularly if the individual’s name gains prominence in search results or if they are no longer happy to have their full name associated with the business. To avoid this, I recommend using only the person’s first name; this prevents the full name from being indexed for SEO purposes.
For example, if a person’s name is “Jon Stewart,” the testimonial could simply list them as “Jon” rather than using their full name. In my experience, I have seen businesses that created dozens or hundreds of testimonials using full names eventually face complaints and requests from users to remove their names from the website. This can become a serious problem if multiple requests arrive at once and are not handled quickly and efficiently. In addition to using only the person’s first name (omitting the surname) in a testimonial, I also recommend regularly checking the website’s contact email (or form) to ensure you don’t overlook content-removal requests.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Have you ever had issues with Google removing personal information?
If you would like to learn more about SEO, I recommend my book 101 SEO Mistakes Made by Companies and Businesses. You can visit the following link to learn more about the book.
Image by Sasun Bughdaryan via Unsplash.com under a Creative Commons license.