Rebuilding Your Search Results After an Arrest

Why new pages matter

Search engines try to show the most relevant pages for a search. When someone searches your name and very little exists about you, a mugshot site or old news story may be the most relevant thing available. When strong, current pages about you exist, search engines have better options.

This is not about hiding the truth. It is about making sure the first thing people see reflects who you are now, not one moment from years ago. Our guide on whether you can push down negative results explains what is realistic.

Start with removal

Before building, remove or reduce what you can. Each removal leaves one fewer result for new pages to compete with.

Mugshot sites. See our guide to getting a mugshot taken down and our guide to state mugshot laws.

News stories. See our guide to old arrest news stories.

Sealed records. See our guide for when an expunged record is still online.

Court record sites. See our guide to court records on Google.

Claim your name with a personal site

A personal website at your name is the page you control most. You decide what it says, and it can rank well for your name over time.

Pick a domain. Your full name as a .com is ideal if it is available. Our guide to choosing your name domain covers options if it is taken.

Keep it simple. A home page with your name and a short introduction, an about page, a page showing your work or skills, and a contact page are enough. See what pages a personal website needs.

Use your name clearly. Put your full name in the page title and the main heading of your home page, the same way people would search for it.

Do not mention the arrest unless you want to. Your site is about who you are now. Some people choose to include a short, calm statement, but most do not need to.

Our guide to owning vs renting your name online explains why a site you own is worth it.

Complete your LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn profiles often rank near the top of name searches. Use the same name you want people to find, add a clear photo, write a headline that describes your work, fill in your experience and skills, and write a short summary. Our guide to LinkedIn headlines and summaries can help.

Add a few more profiles

Choose two or three profiles that fit your work and that you will actually keep up. Depending on your field, that might be a professional association directory, a portfolio site, a GitHub profile, a speaker or volunteer page, or an industry community. Quality matters more than quantity. A handful of complete, active profiles helps more than dozens of empty ones.

Make everything consistent

Use the same version of your name, the same photo, and the same short description across your site and profiles. Link your profiles to your website and your website to your profiles. This helps search engines understand that these pages are about the same person. See our guides on making your profiles consistent and using the same photo and name everywhere.

If you share your name with other people, consider adding a middle name or initial consistently. Our guide on using a middle name or initial for work explains the trade-offs.

If your name is common

A common name changes the job a little. You are competing not only with the arrest result but with other people who share your name. Adding a location, a profession, or a middle initial to your profiles helps search engines and people tell you apart. On your personal site, a clear line like "[Your Name] is a [job] in [city]" makes it obvious which person the page is about.

There is also a hidden upside. If someone with your name has strong pages, an old arrest about you may already be lower than you think. Search from a private window and from your phone to see what most people actually see. Our guide on someone with the same name as you covers more.

If your name is rare

With a rare name, almost every result is about you, which makes the arrest more visible but also makes new pages rank faster. A personal site and a complete LinkedIn profile can show up within weeks. Focus on a small number of high quality pages and keep them updated.

Keep it active

Pages that are updated tend to do better than ones left alone. Add a short post, project, or update to your site every month or two. Keep your LinkedIn current. Mentions from other places, like an employer's team page, a volunteer organization, or a local business directory, can also help, as long as they are real.

How long it takes

New sites and profiles often take a few weeks to appear for your name and longer to rank near the top. Results depend on how common your name is, how strong the negative results are, and how much accurate content exists about you. Our guide to your first 30 days improving your name results lays out a realistic schedule.

Check your progress

Search your name the same way each month, in a private window, and write down what ranks on the first page. Watch for new copies of the arrest on other sites, and send removal requests as they appear. Our monthly name check routine makes this quick.

Remember that results look different for different people and places. Our guide on why your Google results look different explains why.

A simple 90-day plan

Weeks 1 and 2. Search your name and list every result on the first two pages. Send removal requests to mugshot and people-search sites. Request court records and check whether you can seal the arrest.

Weeks 3 and 4. Register your name domain and publish a simple personal site. Complete your LinkedIn profile. Pick two or three other profiles and fill them out completely.

Month 2. Link your profiles and site together. Add one piece of new content to your site, such as a short post about your work or a project. Follow up on removal requests that got no answer. Use Google's refresh tool for any pages that changed.

Month 3. Search your name again and compare to your first list. Note what moved. Keep adding small updates and send new removal requests for any fresh copies.

After that, a monthly check and a small update every month or two is usually enough to keep things moving in the right direction.

What success looks like

Success does not always mean the arrest disappears completely. For many people it means the first page of results shows their site, their LinkedIn, and a few professional profiles, and the arrest, if it still appears, is lower down or on the second page. Someone who searches your name once will see an accurate picture of who you are now. That is often what matters most for jobs, housing, and new relationships.

Getting help

You can do all of this yourself, and many people do. If you would rather have help, look for someone who explains what they will do, uses only honest methods, and does not promise guaranteed removal or rankings. Our guides to DIY vs hiring reputation help and reputation help red flags explain what to look for.

What to avoid

Fake reviews or fake profiles. These can backfire and may violate platform rules or laws.

Paying mugshot sites. Paying one site rarely solves the problem and can encourage more listings.

Spammy link schemes. Shortcuts like buying links can hurt rather than help.

Giving up early. Change often takes months. Steady, honest work is what tends to last.

Common questions

Sources

1. Refresh outdated content (Google Search Help)
2. Remove content about you on exploitative sites that try to charge for removal (Google Search Help)
3. SEO Starter Guide (Google Search Central)
4. Spam policies for Google web search (Google Search Central)