Reputation Management
Sterling Advisory
Reputation Recovery After Negative Press — Financial Services
11 harmful results removed from page 1 · 4.8★ rebuilt · page 1 owned in 5 months
- ORM
- Technical SEO
- Content Strategy
- Digital PR
- Review Management
The Project
Overview
Sterling Advisory, an established wealth management firm, found themselves at the centre of a competitor-driven negative press campaign. Three articles — none of which contained factual claims about the firm's regulated activities — had secured page-one rankings for their brand name and were directly costing them new business. Prospective clients Googled them, saw the headlines, and chose competitors. We were brought in to build a page-one presence so dominant that no third-party narrative could hold position.
The Challenge
The Problem: Someone Else Was Writing Their Story
When a prospective client searched Sterling Advisory's name, the first three organic results were negative articles published by a competitor-funded industry blog, a low-quality review aggregator with manipulated ratings, and an outdated forum thread from a disgruntled former contractor. The firm's own website ranked fourth. Every sales conversation started with a reputational deficit the sales team couldn't overcome.
Pain Points Before Engagement
- 3 negative results in positions 1–3 for the firm's own brand name
- Firm's website ranking 4th for its own name — outranked by criticism
- Review aggregator showing 2.1★ from 4 reviews — all suspected to be fabricated
- Zero authoritative owned content — no case studies, no press releases, no thought leadership
- New client conversion rate dropped 34% in the 8 months since the articles appeared
The Solution
Dominate Page One. Own the Narrative.
Online reputation management is a content and SEO problem at its core. We can't delete what we don't own — but we can outrank it. We built a content infrastructure so comprehensive that page one for Sterling Advisory's brand name became entirely owned and positive within 5 months. Simultaneously, we pursued legitimate removal requests for factually incorrect claims and built a review generation programme to rebuild their public rating.
Content Infrastructure Build
Launched a thought leadership blog (12 articles in 90 days), a press release programme (monthly), individual partner profile pages with biographical content, and a results-led case study section. Each piece optimised for the firm's brand name and built on a subdomain structure to occupy multiple SERP positions.
Strategic Profile Claiming
Claimed and fully optimised profiles on LinkedIn (company + all partners), Google Business Profile, Crunchbase, Companies House information pages, and three financial industry directories. Each profile ranked independently within 6–8 weeks.
Removal Outreach
Sent formal correction requests to two publications for factually incorrect claims. One article was corrected and de-indexed within 3 weeks. The second was amended to remove the firm's name. Pursued Google's legal removal process for one defamatory result — successful after 6 weeks.
Review Rebuilding Programme
Implemented a post-engagement review request sequence via email for all active clients. Provided guidance on the review process. Generated 34 new Google reviews (average 4.9★) in 90 days — overwhelming the manipulated negative reviews algorithmically.
Digital PR for Authority
Pitched and placed the managing partner in three industry publications as an expert commentator on wealth management topics. Each placement linked back to the firm's site and ranked independently for brand-adjacent queries.
Under the Hood
ORM Toolchain
Technology Stack
- MonitoringGoogle Alerts, Brand24, manual SERP tracking (weekly)
- SEOAhrefs for content gap analysis, Search Console for indexing confirmation
- ProfilesLinkedIn, GBP, Crunchbase, industry directories (30+)
- ReviewsAutomated post-engagement email sequence → Google/Trustpilot
- ContentBlog (Next.js CMS), press releases, partner profile pages
- LegalGoogle legal removal request, formal correction letters
Engineering Highlights
- 11 page-one positions now owned by the firm — website, blog, profiles, case studies, press
- All 3 original negative articles pushed off page one by month 5
- 34 Google reviews generated in 90 days — average 4.9★
- One defamatory article removed via Google legal process in 6 weeks
Measurable Outcomes
The Results
Negative Results Removed
11
from page one for brand name searches
Google Rating
4.8★
rebuilt from 2.1★ — 34 new reviews in 90 days
Page 1 Owned
5 months
firm controls all 10 page-one results
New Client Enquiries
+41%
vs. 8-month negative press period
Defamatory Content
1 removed
via Google legal removal process
"We lost clients we never even spoke to because of those articles. Now when anyone searches our name, they see who we actually are."
Managing Partner
Sterling Advisory
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