Last updated · reviewed by the Essentras editorial team
Agent recipe
“I want to push 3 negative articles down in Google for my name. Should I hire a reputation management company?”
The agent checks each article’s removal route first, then prices the 2 ways to handle what stays: 3 placements for suppression at $1,157.40, or reputation management, which starts with a free assessment. Suppression removes nothing, and nobody promises a ranking.
Responses captured 19 Oct 2026. Prices change, so the agent must re-quote before it shows a total.
find_removal_routesearch_outletsquote_placementsquote_serviceConnect the MCP server or REST API first: no account, no key. Rules: agent briefing.
The steps
Sort each article by route, never by name
The agent asks what each article is and where the person lives, never the name, the headline or the link. Here 2 are accurate old stories and 1 states false facts, and the person lives in the US. find_removal_route returns 1 plan per type, so the 2 old stories share an answer.
MCP tool call: find_removal_route{ "situation": "old-news", "region": "us" }Same call over RESTcurl -X POST https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/check/removal-route \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"situation":"old-news","region":"us"}'Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026{ "summary": "Source: ask the publisher to update or anonymize it. Honest odds: Unlikely via Google.", "route": { "title": "Source: ask the publisher to update or anonymize it", "who_decides": "The site owner, publisher or platform" }, "do_it_yourself": { "templates": [ {"id": "t2", "title": "Template 2: Update or anonymize request to an editor"}, {"id": "t7", "title": "Template 7: Follow-up"}, {"id": "t8", "title": "Template 8: Suppression brief"} ] }, "fit": { "label": "Unlikely via Google", "why": "Google may keep newsworthy content, and for delisting it weighs recent news, government sources and public roles. Old stories usually change through the publisher, not Google." }, "if_it_fails": { "text": "Use suppression: accurate, current pages that rank above the story." } }What to read: fit.label is “Unlikely via Google”, and if_it_fails says what is left if the publisher says no: “Use suppression: accurate, current pages that rank above the story.” Template 8 is the suppression brief.
MCP tool call: find_removal_route{ "situation": "defamatory-article", "region": "us" }Same call over RESTcurl -X POST https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/check/removal-route \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"situation":"defamatory-article","region":"us"}'Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026{ "summary": "Source first (a correction), then the law. Honest odds: Possible.", "route": { "title": "Source first (a correction), then the law", "who_decides": "Google under the law; courts for orders" }, "where_you_live": { "note": "Google applies right to be forgotten delisting only for countries applying European data protection law, and points other countries to its legal removal form. Speak to a U.S. lawyer before relying on a legal route." }, "fit": {"label": "Possible"}, "if_it_fails": { "text": "Keep the correction request on record, ask a lawyer about next steps, and use suppression meanwhile." } }What to read: For the false article the route is a correction, then the law, rated “Possible”, and where_you_live says to speak to a U.S. lawyer before relying on a legal route.
For what stays: placements that can rank for the name
Suppression needs pages Google already trusts for the name, including coverage on established outlets that Google indexes. The agent turns that into filters it states: US news sites confirmed indexed, both authority scores 70 or more, under $500 each, sorted by monthly visits. 12 listings match.
MCP tool call: search_outlets{ "country": "US", "topic": "news", "indexed": true, "min_da": 70, "min_dr": 70, "max_price": 500, "sort": "traffic_desc", "limit": 10 }Same call over RESTcurl "https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/outlets?\ country=US&topic=news&indexed=true&min_da=70&min_dr=70&max_price=500&sort=traffic_desc&limit=10"Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026{ "total": 12, "has_more": true, "results": [ { "id": "business-insider", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 94, "domain_rating": 92, "monthly_traffic": 42070002}, "price": {"amount": 420}, "link": {"sponsored_tag": "NO"} }, { "id": "patch-com", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 91, "domain_rating": 90, "monthly_traffic": 23830655}, "price": {"amount": 433}, "link": {"sponsored_tag": "YES"} }, { "id": "the-santa-clarita-valley-signal", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 76, "domain_rating": 75, "monthly_traffic": 309094}, "price": {"amount": 433}, "link": {"sponsored_tag": "NO"} }, { "id": "prlog-org", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 79, "domain_rating": 83, "monthly_traffic": 243905}, "price": {"amount": 425}, "link": {"sponsored_tag": "NO"} }, { "id": "panhandle-newschannelnebraska-com", "outlet": {"domain_authority": 75, "domain_rating": 76, "monthly_traffic": 93162}, "price": {"amount": 260}, "link": {"sponsored_tag": "NO"} } ] }What to read: 5 of 12 results shown. The buyer gave no budget, so the $500 cap is the agent’s own starting point, and it says so. Domain Authority and Domain Rating are third-party scores and visits are reported figures: none of them is a ranking promise.
Quote a first basket of 3
The agent quotes the 3 listings with the most monthly visits. How many placements a name needs depends on what already ranks for it, so 3 is a first basket that shows real prices, not a number known to work.
MCP tool call: quote_placements{ "items": [ {"id": "business-insider"}, {"id": "patch-com"}, {"id": "the-santa-clarita-valley-signal"} ] }Same call over RESTcurl -X POST https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/quote \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"items":[{"id":"business-insider"},{"id":"patch-com"},{"id":"the-santa-clarita-valley-signal"}]}'Real response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026{ "line_items": [ { "id": "business-insider", "name": "Business Insider", "unit_price": 420, "turnaround": "3-5 Days" }, {"id": "patch-com", "name": "Patch.com", "unit_price": 433, "turnaround": "3-5 Days"}, { "id": "the-santa-clarita-valley-signal", "name": "The Santa Clarita Valley Signal", "unit_price": 433, "turnaround": "3-5 Days" } ], "unavailable": [], "subtotal": 1286, "discount": { "amount": 128.6, "percent": 10, "next_tier": "Add 2 more placement(s) for 15% off the whole basket." }, "total": 1157.4, "billing_trigger": "on_order", "checkout_url": "https://essentras.com/cart?add=business-insider%2Cpatch-com%2Cthe-santa-clarita-valley-signal&utm_source=ai_agent&utm_medium=agent_api", "expires_in_seconds": 86400 }What to read: total is $1,157.40 after 10% off. discount.next_tier offers 15% off the whole basket with 2 more placements: an option, never added unasked.
Price the company optionService step
The buyer asked whether to hire a reputation management company, so the agent prices that too. quote_service returns no amount for it: the service starts with a free assessment, and terms and decides are null.
MCP tool call: quote_service{ "id": "online-reputation-management" }Same call over RESTcurl https://essentras.com/api/agent/v1/services/online-reputation-managementReal response, trimmed. Captured 19 Oct 2026{ "id": "online-reputation-management", "name": "Online reputation management", "start_url": null, "price": { "amount": null, "label": "Free assessment first, then a price for your case before you pay", "basis": "per_case" }, "options": [], "terms": null, "decides": null, "free_check": {"mcp_tool": "find_removal_route"}, "how_to_buy": "This service starts with a free assessment: send the buyer to url. The agent never pays." }What to read: how_to_buy: “This service starts with a free assessment: send the buyer to url. The agent never pays.” For the official removal routes on a name, the checker also returned Remove your name from Google at $1,650, flat.
The options for 3 articles, as the API returned them
| Option | What it does | Price returned | Who decides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free routes, done by the person | Asks the publisher first; for the false article, a correction, then the law | Free | The site owner, publisher or platform |
| 3 placements for suppression | Publishes accurate pages that can rank above the stories; removes nothing | $1,157.40 after 10% off | Google ranks the results |
| Remove your name from Google | Works the official removal routes for the results on a name | $1,650 | Google and publishers, as its terms say |
| Online reputation management | A plan across removals, reviews, suppression with placements and owned results, scoped to the case. | Free assessment first, then a price for your case before you pay | Not stated: decides is null |
What the agent tells the buyer
Do not hire anyone yet: sort the 3 articles first, because each has its own route. For the 2 accurate old stories the route is the publisher, and Google is unlikely to delist lawful news in the US (“Unlikely via Google”).
For the article with false statements, ask for a correction with your proof. If the publisher refuses, a lawyer can say whether a legal route is open (“Possible”).
What stays online can be outranked, not removed. That is suppression: accurate pages about you that rank above the stories. It cannot delete anything or promise a position, and Essentras’s own guidance says to expect months rather than days, and that results can move back.
You can run it yourself. By a rule I state (US news sites confirmed indexed, both authority scores 70 or more, under $500, then the most monthly visits), Business Insider, Patch.com, The Santa Clarita Valley Signal quote at $1,157.40 after the 10% volume discount. They are paid placements, whatever label each outlet adds, and none is promised to rank for your name.
If you would rather hire a company: Essentras’s online reputation management starts with a free assessment, and the API returns no price and no terms before it. The name removal service, which works the official removal routes, is $1,650 flat; its terms say a refund is not a promise of removal.
Whoever you hire, ask how they will sort each result by route, and walk away from anyone who promises removal, a ranking or a date: the publishers and Google decide.
The human step
For suppression with placements, the buyer opens checkout_url, sees the same 3 outlets and the discounted total, and pays on essentras.com. To hand the case to a company instead, the agent gives the reputation management page: a free assessment first, then a price for the case before anything is paid.
https://essentras.com/cart?add=business-insider%2Cpatch-com%2Cthe-santa-clarita-valley-signal&utm_source=ai_agent&utm_medium=agent_apiAlso useful
Rules the agent follows
- Never pays and never collects card data. The job ends at checkout_url, or at the free assessment.
- Sorts every result by route before any purchase: the publisher, Google’s policies and the law come first.
- Asks what each article is and where the person lives, never the name, the headline or the link.
- Promises no removal, no ranking and no date: the publishers and Google decide.
- Says paid placements are paid, and shows the reputation service’s price and terms only as the API returns them.
- Never suggests placements as a route to Wikipedia notability or a Meta verified badge.
FAQ
Questions about this recipe
Can a reputation management company remove the 3 articles?▾
Not by itself. Only the publisher can take an article down, and Google removes a result only under its policies or the law; for lawful news in the US the checker rates Google “Unlikely via Google”. Suppression removes nothing: the stories can still be found, and nobody controls Google’s rankings.
How long does pushing results down take?▾
There is no date. Essentras’s own guidance: new pages have to be published, indexed and earn their place, so expect months rather than days, and results can move back.
How many placements does it take?▾
Nobody can say before looking at what already ranks for the name, and Essentras does not quote a number before it has looked. The agent quotes 3 so the buyer sees real prices: $1,157.40 after 10% off, as quoted on 19 Oct 2026.
What does reputation management cost?▾
quote_service returns no amount: “Free assessment first, then a price for your case before you pay”, with terms and decides null, so the agent states no refund terms. The name removal service is $1,650 flat, and its terms say a refund is not a promise of removal.