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How To Remove Your Blog Content From Google

Articles about blogging tipsThis should probably be more correctly titled “How to Remove Your Blog Content From Google and Prevent It From Getting There in the First Place”, but that’s a bit long.

Google Webmaster Central offers a variety of techniques to remove your blog content from the Google database and index.

It covers how to use the webmaster tools to remove individual posts and pages, remove and block a directory from inclusion, block or remove an entire site from being indexed, deal with cached copies of content and replacing it with new content, and how to remove content that isn’t your own, among many other tips for including and removing your content from Google.

The Web Page Removal Request Tool is new and allows you to request removal of content from a site you don’t own. Google doesn’t necessarily remove the content, but will work with you to remove the content from their index, as well as with the site owner to get the information removed directly from the site. No promises on the latter.

Such removal requests could be for copyright violations, privacy violation, outdated or dead links, inappropriateness (not compliant with SafeSearch), or possibly legal action. This effort is not done lightly, but initiating is now a bit easier.

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27 Comments

  1. Laura Banks
    Posted January 21, 2008 at 11:10 am | Permalink

    I need help removing something I said on a site. Can you help?

  2. Posted January 21, 2008 at 11:31 am | Permalink

    @ Laura Banks:

    No, I can’t help. Sorry. You have to contact the site owner and request the removal. Since they “own” the content, it’s up to them to delete it and they might not want to. Think first before hitting submit, and read How NOT to Comment on Comments.

  3. Lindsay
    Posted March 20, 2008 at 12:12 pm | Permalink

    ok i signed up for this blog thing and i don’t want it anymore so . .. how do i delete it ?

  4. Posted March 20, 2008 at 2:54 pm | Permalink

    @ Lindsay:

    I don’t know what “blog thing” you are talking about, but most blog programs have a DELETE BLOG option. Unless I knew more about what you were asking, and the blogging program you are using, I can’t help you. Please contact the customer support services for your blog host.

  5. Dave
    Posted July 20, 2008 at 3:23 pm | Permalink

    Me too. I started to blog but now I’m bored with it. How do I delete it for good?

  6. Posted July 20, 2008 at 10:58 pm | Permalink

    @ Dave:

    Hit the DELETE BLOG button.

    But no blog is gone forever. There are copies of it cached all over the place. Still, you can delete it and you are done with it. It’s up to you.

    Loelle

  7. Posted July 22, 2008 at 9:45 pm | Permalink

    I have a problem.

    My post contents do not show up. Only the post title shows up now. This happened after I uploaded my advanced excerpt plugin by Bas Van Doren. Previously without uploading this plugin, after I posted my new post, I can see part of my post content but not later when I uploaded this advanced excerpt plugin

    What could be the problem/s? How do I overcome this. Please note I do not know html jargon well and editing the theme contents. Anyway to teach step by step.

    Thank you

  8. Posted July 23, 2008 at 7:45 am | Permalink

    @ forever4justice:

    Let me get this straight. You install a Plugin that changes how your post excerpts appear and you wonder what might be causing a problem with your posts not appearing? Deactivate the Plugin. 😀

    If you are having more problems, check with the WordPress Support Forum for more prompt help with your WordPress blog.

  9. Posted August 31, 2008 at 2:07 am | Permalink

    It is working, but it should be done for a good reason: 404 or 410 error message.

  10. Jennie
    Posted September 19, 2008 at 7:30 am | Permalink

    What are the laws/standards for blog content removal of a blog owner who has passed away? Is it the right of the family of the deceased to request removal from the hosting website?

  11. Posted September 19, 2008 at 10:10 am | Permalink

    @ Jennie:

    There are no laws that I know of specific to blogs. If the estate of the deceased defines ownership of the content, then the family must follow that directive. Otherwise, the blog content is copyright and intellectual property and handled under those laws in the case of death, just like any other property. The executor must handle this along with other property and consult a lawyer.

    If the content is on a web hosted site, not free, then when the payment is no longer made, the site will be closed. The content is still indexed and cached around the web, maybe, so that’s a different issue.

    Best to consult an intellectual property attorney to handle this if your estate attorney isn’t familiar with this. Good luck.

  12. Posted September 30, 2008 at 10:51 am | Permalink

    I have a query, I have made a feed link of my blog in my orkut profile. I deleted my past posts and updated my blog, now my problem is the feed is showing me my current post an well as deleted post. How can I delete the content of feed which is no longer existing.

    Regards.

  13. Posted September 30, 2008 at 10:04 pm | Permalink

    @ Kushal Sejwal:

    You are on blogspot. You’ll have to ask Google for help.

  14. calderobelix
    Posted February 9, 2009 at 2:17 pm | Permalink

    I just deleted a blog XXX.wordpress.com, but the files inside are still available and downloadable:
    http://XXX.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/doc2.doc

    It is VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT to delete all completly. Do you know how?.
    THANK YOU

  15. kim
    Posted February 28, 2009 at 8:09 am | Permalink

    someone has created a blog which contains some sensetive photos of me, that were on my stolen PC, and to make it worse they have offered all my info, full name, location etc. i am desperate to have this removed and have gone through all of Google’s help forms etc, but not one person has replied back to me. is there anyone else i can contact with regards to having this blog removed before all my friends and family see it?

    • Posted March 1, 2009 at 12:23 am | Permalink

      Since this incident involves criminal activity, a criminal lawyer and your local law authorities are the best ones to deal with it. As for Google and other search engines, they are required to work with law enforcement depending upon the laws of the country. The legal authorities can also help with that.

      I recommend you tell your family, if you are concerned, as this can take a very long time and a lot of legal battles. It could get expensive, too. Trust me, no matter what the pictures are, there are members of your family who have done worse. It’s human nature to screw up and do things you regret later, but you wanted to do them at the moment you did them, so it must have been the right decision at the time, knowing you would have to live with the consequences of your actions. The more you laugh it off, the less problem it is.

      Still, this is illegal action and violation of privacy, so get the law to help you. And good luck.

  16. Posted July 18, 2009 at 1:50 pm | Permalink

    listen you have got to help me, evrey night i feel guilty ills atrt from the beginning, im 11 i created a youtbe account, i will admit i said some bad stuff in my coments i was not ment to join youtube so i deleated my account, but when i type in mya ccount name in google its still there !!!! and all my coments please you go to ehlp me ive posted so many quetsions searched so many things please im not jsuta skign you im saying it as im praying to god for mercy please help me

    • Posted July 19, 2009 at 12:16 am | Permalink

      Please contact Google and YouTube directly. I do not work for them and cannot help you. Asking random forums or blogs is a waste of time. Please ask the correct people for help.

  17. Posted July 19, 2009 at 11:07 am | Permalink

    how do i contact them

  18. Posted July 19, 2009 at 11:15 am | Permalink

    never mind my alst coment im sprry if im wasting your time i do respect what ypour doing and i think its great

    • Posted July 21, 2009 at 7:13 am | Permalink

      Go to the service and look for their contact information. Again, I do not work for them, and I recommend that you talk to them directly in order to get the help you need in a timely manner. Good luck.

  19. Anonymous
    Posted January 27, 2010 at 5:07 am | Permalink

    someone created a blog about me its been 2 years still i dont know how nor who can i ask to delete it. i reported it to bloggers already still the web page is still there ruining my career and my family. is there any possibility to delete it or just remove it in google search please help me

    • Posted January 29, 2010 at 11:08 am | Permalink

      Ruining your family…wow, that must be some post. Unfortunately, there is no way, except for legal action, to do so. All you can do is drown it out and bury it. If it is indeed ruining your family and career, then legal action is your only recourse.

  20. Curious
    Posted March 21, 2011 at 3:57 am | Permalink

    If I posted a blog but gave a anoymous name/email/weblink and I am asking them to remove it. Are they able to find it with the anoymous name/ I submitted time of post/ info of blog/ that I have to give them from the blog that is posted. Are they able to remove it. I cant remember the email or name I orignally posted it with. It still went through.

  21. Posted September 24, 2011 at 6:34 am | Permalink

    Hi! I want to delete some old post on my blog. How can I do it? I have so many trash comments that I deleted every now and then but it is still accumulating. I am tired doing it over and over again. Please help.

    • Posted September 24, 2011 at 8:10 pm | Permalink

      You can remove a blog post on your blog at any time. Just click DELETE on the post. See Give Back To Blog Experts for more specifics. It’s your blog, do with it what you want.

      Comments should be handled by Akismet, with a few marked spam that slip through from time to time. Do you have it enabled?


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  1. […] How To Remove Your Blog Content From Google « Lorelle on WordPress “How to Remove Your Blog Content From Google and Prevent It From Getting There in the First Place”. Google Webmaster Central offers a variety of techniques to remove your blog content from the Google database and index. (tags: privacy Lorelle google googlewebmastercentral webmaster removal indexing content) […]

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