Observed Signal · Sep 30, 2026 · Research / Analysis · Source: https://martech.org/feed/ · Impact: 1/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
714 Suppression Campaigns: Negative Results Trends Analyzed
Erase.com analyzed 714 online reputation suppression campaigns (Aug 2024 - May 2026) to identify what impacts success in pushing down negative search results. Key findings reveal that the starting position of the worst negative result is the strongest predictor of clearing Page 1; campaigns starting at position 4 or lower were 3.5x more likely to succeed. The number of negatives also mattered. Publishing volume was not a differentiator; instead, the placement of new assets within the top 10 was key. Most successful campaigns cleared Page 1 within 3-4 months. Court records were easiest to suppress, while Reddit threads and review sites were hardest. The rise of AI Overviews, which often cite URLs beyond Page 1, suggests that pushing negatives only to Page 2 may be insufficient.
Provides data-driven insights into online reputation suppression tactics, which are relevant for SEO and reputation management practitioners, but the news is not a major industry shift.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Erase.com analyzed 714 suppression campaigns from August 2024 to May 2026.
- Campaigns with the worst negative starting at position 4 or lower cleared Page 1 3.5x more often than those starting at position 1.
- The typical suppression campaign published 29 positive assets, but successful campaigns had a median of 6 new assets in the top 10 vs. 4 for unsuccessful ones.
- Successful campaigns cleared Page 1 in 40% of cases by month two, 63% by month three, and 85% by month four.
- Court records were the easiest to suppress, while Reddit threads and review sites were the hardest.
- An Ahrefs study found only 37.9% of AI Overview citations ranked in the top 10, indicating Page 2 may not be sufficient for suppression.
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Five strategies to remove negative search results (2026)
This MarTech article outlines five ranked strategies for removing or suppressing negative search results in 2026: (1) remove content at the source, (2) use Google's deindexing tools, (3) pursue legal removal pathways, (4) suppress through SEO and digital PR, and (5) manage presence in AI-driven search results. The piece explains why negative content often ranks well (domain authority, relevance, engagement, thin competition), details workflows and expected timelines for each approach, describes Google tools and GDPR/Right-to-be-Forgotten delisting limits, and recommends ongoing monitoring of AI Overviews and assistants alongside the traditional SERP.
RemoveNews.ai Sees Surge as AI Search Resurfaces Old News
RemoveNews.ai, an AI-driven news-article removal platform developed by Reputation Resolutions, reported a sharp increase in inquiries as AI search engines (e.g., chat-based systems and AI overviews) surface damaging historical news content in summarized narratives. The article explains that AI search tools synthesize and present older articles directly in answers—bypassing traditional ranked links—creating new reputation-management challenges. Reputation Resolutions CEO Anthony Will says this represents a structural shift for online reputation management, noting AI search updates often outpace available correction or removal mechanisms. RemoveNews.ai’s workflow evaluates which AI systems reference damaging content and recommends multi-channel suppression and corrective strategies for affected individuals and organizations.
Publishers Shift from Clicks to Valuable Sessions
Digital publishers face a decline in search referral traffic due to AI-generated answers in search engines. A Chartbeat analysis of over 2,500 publisher sites shows a global drop in Google search traffic of about one-third by November 2025, with a 38% decline in the US. An Ahrefs study of 300,000 keywords found that the top result's click-through rate is 34.5% lower for queries with AI Overviews. This shift makes volume-based monetization models unsustainable. Publishers are advised to focus on Revenue Per Session (RPS) rather than pageviews or individual clicks. This involves integrating editorial recommendations, native ads, and display formats into dynamic content feeds that are optimized for relevance and user experience, thereby increasing the value of each session despite fluctuating traffic.
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