Direct answers to what people ask before sending us a link, including the questions this category usually avoids.
What does it cost to remove a link from Google?
Most removals run $1,000 to $2,000 per link, quoted before any work begins. It is priced per URL against an outcome, not as a monthly retainer. The one thing that surprises people is volume: a single court case often produces six or more indexed pages across different aggregators, so the audit counts them before quoting.
Can you guarantee the link comes down?
No, and nobody honest can. Removal depends on a decision by an operator, a publisher, or Google. What we commit to is telling you the realistic odds for your specific link before you spend anything, and declining the work when the answer is no.
My record was expunged. Why is it still on Google?
Expungement binds the court, not the private companies that copied the record while it was public, and not Google’s index. Nobody notifies them. This is the most common situation we are hired for and also the most winnable, because your order is exactly the documentation most operators require. See criminal record removal.
Can federal court filings be removed?
The aggregator pages usually can. The record at the court cannot. UniCourt, Trellis, PacerMonitor, CourtListener and Justia each publish their own page for the same docket, and each is handled separately. See court record removal.
What can never be removed?
Accurate reporting by a legitimate news outlet. A valid conviction that was not expunged. A genuine review. Sex offender registry listings. Where those are the problem, suppression is the only honest route and we price it separately.
How long does it take?
Two to eight weeks per link where a valid basis exists. Operators are worked in parallel, so a six-link case is not six times the wait. Urgent situations get a response in under 24 hours. Suppression is slower: 60 to 90 days for movement, three to six months for durable positions.
Will this stop a background check from finding it?
No, and be careful of anyone who says otherwise. Screening companies that pull from court records and state repositories rather than Google can still surface a valid record. Where a report is inaccurate, the Fair Credit Reporting Act dispute process is a separate route with its own rights. Any disclosure obligation you have still applies. What this changes is what an ordinary person sees when they search your name.
Should I just pay the mugshot site directly?
No. It funds the business model, the image frequently resurfaces on a sister site, and several states have made charging for mugshot removal unlawful for exactly that reason. The routes that work are the operator’s own policy, the state statute where one applies, and Google’s policy.
Do you use fake reviews, spam or purchased links?
No. Search engines discount them, readers notice them, and they create a larger problem within a year.
Who do you work with?
Anyone with a link they want gone. In practice: people with court filings, arrest records and mugshots, expunged cases that never left Google, business owners with a lawsuit on page one, and executives, board members and licensed professionals whose credibility is the product and who are losing deals to a single result.
Is it confidential?
Yes. An NDA is available before you describe specifics, we take only the URL and context needed, and no client is referenced publicly. One caveat worth knowing: court-order submissions to Google are often published in public transparency databases, which is why that route is weighed rather than filed automatically. See security and confidentiality.
What happens after I send the link?
You get a response, usually within 24 hours for urgent matters, and a Search Risk Audit that counts every related result and tells you what is removable, by what route, at what price. Then you decide. Nothing is billed before that.