How to clean up your Google search results
Recruiters, dates and clients Google your name — and the first thing they usually see is a wall of people-search listings with your age, address and relatives. Here’s how to clean that up, in priority order.
To clean up your Google results: search your own name first to see what’s there, opt out of the people-search and background-check sites that dominate the first page (that removes the source, so the result drops), request removal of any court records or mugshots from the source site, tighten or delete old social accounts, and push the rest down with strong profiles you control (LinkedIn, a personal site). Brokers re-list you, so keeping your results clean is ongoing.
1. See what recruiters and dates actually see
Open an incognito window and search your name — then your name plus your city, and your name plus “address” or “phone.” Note every result on the first two pages: social profiles, news, and especially the people-search and background-check listings that almost always rank. That list is your to-do list, in priority order.
2. Remove the people-search & background-check listings
These are the results that expose your age, address, phone and relatives — and they’re what a background check or a curious stranger pulls up first. Opt out of each one (it’s free): our data-broker opt-out guide links the biggest sites and the exact steps. Removing the source listing is what actually takes the result off Google — far more effective than any paid “reputation repair.”
3. Court records, mugshots & old news
If a court record, mugshot or old news story is showing, ask the source site to remove it first (most mugshot sites have an opt-out — never pay a third party to “remove” a record they don’t control). For sealed or expunged records, request removal on that basis. Then use Google’s removal tools for the specific URL. This is slower than broker opt-outs, so start these requests early.
4. Clean up old accounts & social profiles
Forgotten accounts and over-shared profiles are easy wins. Delete or deactivate accounts you no longer use, set old social profiles to private (or scrub the public parts), and remove your phone, address and birthday from profile fields. Review tagged photos and old posts that a recruiter or date might judge — what’s public is what counts.
5. Push the rest down with results you control
Once the worst results are gone, fill the first page with strong, owned profiles: a complete LinkedIn, a personal site or portfolio, a professional About/Crunchbase/GitHub profile, a Medium or Substack. Google ranks these well for your name, so they outrank the leftovers and you control the story people see.
See what’s ranking for your name
Most of what shows up is broker listings. PersProtect finds where you’re listed across 499 broker and people-search sites, removes it, and keeps it down. Start with a free scan.
Clean up my results — free scan →Cleaning up your Google results, answered
What shows up when someone Googles my name?
Usually a mix of your social profiles, any news or public records, and — almost always near the top — people-search/background-check listings (Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified) showing your age, address, phone and relatives. Recruiters, dates and clients see exactly this, which is why cleaning it up matters.
Can I remove myself from Google search?
You can’t delete pages you don’t own, but you can (1) remove the source listing — opting out of the data broker takes its page down, (2) use Google’s “Results about you” tool to pull pages that expose your contact info out of Search, and (3) push remaining results down with strong profiles you control. Together that changes what people actually see.
Do recruiters and dates really Google you?
Yes — surveys consistently show most recruiters screen candidates online, and looking someone up before a date is now normal. A first-page full of background-check listings (or worse) shapes their impression before you say a word.
How do I get a mugshot or court record off Google?
Ask the source site to remove it (many mugshot sites have an opt-out; never pay a “reputation” site to remove a record on another), then use Google’s removal tools for the URL. For sealed or expunged records, you can request removal on that basis. It’s slower than broker opt-outs, so start the requests early.
How long does it take to clean up your Google results?
Broker listings usually drop within a few days to a few weeks after you opt out; search-result removals take days; suppressing results with new content takes longer (weeks to months). And because brokers re-list you, keeping your results clean is ongoing, not a one-time fix.
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