FINRA Broker Reputation Recovery
Page 3 Negatives Demoted To
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Legal
Law Firm Negative Result Removal
A law firm was undermined by a single high-ranking negative blog post appearing prominently in branded searches.
<3%
Negative Post Visibility
90 Days
Initial Results
97%
Visibility Reduction
Results at a Glance
A law firm was undermined by a single high-ranking negative blog post appearing prominently in branded searches.
<3%
Negative Post Visibility
90 Days
Initial Results
97%
Visibility Reduction
Impact at a Glance
Negative Blog Visibility
Before
90%
→
After
<3%
First-Page Control
Before
Blog-Dominated
→
After
Positive Content
The Challenge
A leading regional law firm known for its aggressive marketing and exceptional service representing accident victims faced an unexpected online reputation threat. Despite significant advertising investment, a single highly-ranked negative blog post was surfacing at the top of brand-related searches — swaying prospective clients before they ever reached the firm's own website.
The damage was measurable: a noticeable decline in new client inquiries was directly attributable to this single piece of content. The firm's marketing spend was being undermined at the last mile — when a prospect was actively considering hiring them.
Our Solution
We pursued a dual-track approach: first attempting to identify and remove the content through digital forensics and outreach, then executing a comprehensive suppression campaign when removal proved impossible. Both tracks ran simultaneously to maximize efficiency.
1
Digital Forensics & Outreach
Deployed innovative tracking techniques, including a pixel embedded in an email, to attempt identification of the blog owner; narrowed down suspects with potential motives; made multiple outreach attempts to request removal — all met with silence.
2
Content Dominance Strategy
Developed a comprehensive content strategy highlighting the firm's achievements, client testimonials, awards, and industry recognition to surround and displace the negative result.
3
Industry Collaboration
Engaged with legal industry influencers and media outlets to amplify the reach of positive content and build the domain authority needed to outrank the negative post.
4
SEO Campaign Execution
Implemented targeted search engine marketing to boost the rankings of favorable content on branded search queries, directly competing with the negative post for first-page position.
The Results
The negative blog post's prominence in search results began to wane within the first 90 days. Over time, it was demoted to the bottom of the first page, then to the second page — and its influence was effectively neutralized. Visibility was reduced from 90% to under 3%, representing a 97% reduction in exposure to this content.
The firm's advertising investment was restored to full effectiveness, with prospective clients now encountering positive, client-controlled content throughout their research process.
Month 1
Digital forensics and outreach attempts; suppression strategy developed and content creation underway.
Day 90
Initial improvement in search rankings observed; positive content appearing above the negative post.
Month 4
Negative post demoted off the first page; new client inquiries recovering.
Month 6+
Negative post visibility reduced to under 3%; firm's marketing ROI fully restored.
Key Takeaways
- A single negative piece of content can undermine even the most aggressive and well-funded marketing campaigns
- Digital forensics — including tracking pixels — can surface blog owner identities, enabling direct removal outreach as a first-resort approach
- When removal is impossible, content dominance combined with targeted SEO is reliably effective for suppression
- Legal industry influencer collaboration accelerates suppression timelines by building authoritative positive content quickly
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