Online reputation management

Your name is being Googled right now. What's on page one?

For Australian businesses dealing with a bad review cluster, a damaging article ranking for their brand name, or an ex-employee blog. We push the harmful results down, then build the positive presence back. No fake removal promises. No grey-hat tricks.

Founder-led by Dorian Menard. 13+ years SEO, only.

30 minutes. We pull your SERP live on the call. NDA available before you share anything sensitive.

60–90 days To first measurable lift
Suppression No fake removal promises
13+ years Senior SEO specialist
Pick your path

Two situations. Two different plays.

Reputation recovery and review-building are usually sold together as one fuzzy "reputation package". They're not the same job. Pick the one that fits — the page is built so you can skip the rest.

Reactive · Crisis

I need to recover from a reputation crisis.

Negative articles ranking for your brand name. A fake-review cluster. An ex-employee blog. A defamatory forum thread sitting on page 1. We diagnose the damage on the call, then build the suppression plan.

  • Negative content suppression (we push it down, we don't fake removal)
  • Branded SERP rebuild
  • Defensible review base
  • Custom-priced from $1,499 setup
Proactive · Build reviews

I want a steady stream of positive reviews.

You're fine right now — but you're sitting on 14 reviews while competitors have 280. The Review Engine automates request flow, response handling, and monitoring across Google, Facebook and Yelp.

  • Automated review request flow (Google, Facebook, Yelp)
  • Real-time monitoring dashboard
  • AI-drafted responses, human-approved
  • From $399/mo — free 30-day trial
Signs you need ORM

Six situations that make this a same-week call.

Most reputation problems get worse the longer you leave them. Negative results gather link velocity. A 1-star cluster pulls your average down for years. If any of these match, book the call this week — not next quarter.

  1. A negative result sits on page 1 for your brand name.

    An article, a forum thread, a review aggregator with a 1-star summary. Anyone who Googles you sees it within four seconds of landing on the SERP.

  2. A 1-star review cluster appeared in a short window.

    Three or more low-star reviews without text inside a few weeks. Usually a competitor, a disgruntled ex-employee, or a bot ring. The pattern is almost always identifiable.

  3. Your Google star rating dropped below 4.0.

    Local search visibility drops, conversion drops, ad CPCs effectively rise. The 3.x range is the danger zone — most consumers filter it out.

  4. A defamatory article or blog post is ranking.

    Ex-employee, ex-customer, ex-business-partner, journalist with an axe. Suppression works for most cases; for the legally actionable ones we work alongside your lawyer, not instead of them.

  5. A "scam" or "complaints" subdomain ranks for your brand.

    Sites that monetise complaint pages — ripoffreport.com, pissedconsumer.com and similar. We focus on outranking them with assets you control.

  6. Conversion has dropped and you can't explain it.

    Traffic's steady but enquiries are down. Often a reputation signal that's shifted on a review platform you don't monitor — Trustpilot, ProductReview, industry sites.

What we actually do

Suppression, not removal. We say it upfront.

Most ORM agencies oversell. We get calls weekly from businesses burned by an agency that promised review removal, took the retainer, and disappeared. Here's the honest scope of what we do — and what we don't.

What we do

  • Suppress damaging results
    We push negative content from page 1 down to pages 3–4 by outranking it with assets you own — your site, profiles, and authority placements.
  • Build a defensible review base
    Automated request flow across Google, Facebook and Yelp. Steady positive review velocity drowns out a 1-star cluster over time.
  • Rebuild your branded SERP
    Profiles, listings, owned domains and authoritative third-party features designed to fill page 1 for your brand name.
  • Work alongside defamation lawyers
    When content is legally actionable, your lawyer handles takedown. We handle everything that won't come down — which is most of it.

What we don't do

  • Promise to "remove" reviews
    Anyone telling you they can guarantee a Google review removal is lying or breaking Google's policies. We don't.
  • Buy fake positive reviews
    Against Google's ToS, against the ACCC guidelines, and the cluster gets detected. We build real review flow from real customers.
  • Publish disguised "press release" content
    PR-wire spam used to work for ORM. Google's caught up. We build properties that stand on their own.
  • Run black-hat negative SEO on attackers
    Even when an attacker deserves it. We don't play that game and we won't hide it if a competitor proposes it.
Reputation Repair · process

Four phases. No mystery retainer.

Reputation repair is built, not bought. Most clients see first measurable lift within 60–90 days. Full branded-SERP rebuild typically lands inside 6 months. Anyone selling you faster results in this category is selling you a problem.

  1. Assess
    Week 1

    Forensic SERP audit. Damage mapped.

    • Live SERP capture for every branded query
    • Negative content inventory and link-velocity check
    • Review platform audit (Google, Facebook, Yelp, industry sites)
    • Fake-review pattern detection
    • Scope, plan and pricing locked
  2. Stabilise
    Weeks 2–4

    Stop the bleed. Lock the foundation.

    • Google review removal requests where eligible
    • GBP cleanup and optimisation
    • Review request flow live (the engine starts day one)
    • Owned-property assets built and indexed
    • Schema, NAP and citation fixes shipped
  3. Build
    Months 1–3

    Outrank the damage with assets you own.

    • High-credibility owned domains and microsites
    • Authoritative third-party features and listings
    • Branded-query content on your site
    • White-hat link acquisition to positive assets
    • Steady positive review acquisition compounding
  4. Dominate
    Months 3–6

    Branded page 1 yours. Negative pushed to 3–4.

    • Monthly SERP screenshots and rank tracking
    • Continuous review velocity and response
    • Refresh and defence work on owned properties
    • Quarterly strategy review
    • Plain-language reporting — no vanity dashboards
Honest timeline. Search engines weight content age and link depth. A negative result with 12 months of link signal won't move in 30 days — and any agency promising that is one to walk away from. The compounding work starts the day you sign.
Review Engine · proactive

Steady review velocity, drowning out the bad day.

For businesses that aren't in crisis but are sitting on a thin review base. The Review Engine builds steady positive velocity across the platforms that actually move local rankings — Google first, Facebook and Yelp behind it.

Automated review request flow

Triggered after each customer interaction via email and SMS. Cadence is tuned to your category — too aggressive and you burn the list, too soft and the velocity stalls.

Google, Facebook and Yelp coverage

Primary push to Google (the one that actually moves Maps rankings). Secondary placement on Facebook and Yelp. Industry-specific platforms scoped on the call.

Real-time monitoring dashboard

Every new review across every platform, surfaced in one place. Star-rating trend, review velocity, response status, and platform breakdown.

AI-drafted responses, human-approved

Every response drafted, none auto-sent. You approve with one click or edit. Brand voice preserved, local keywords woven in where natural.

Negative review SLA

24-hour response on any new sub-4-star review. Most damage from negative reviews comes from leaving them without a measured, public response.

Monthly reputation scorecard

Star average, review velocity, response rate, platform mix, and rank delta in Maps for your top suburb. Plain language, one page, sent on the same day each month.

Dorian Menard — Search Scope founder and senior SEO consultant
Founder
Dorian Menard
Search Scope · Australia
SEO since
The founder

Meet your senior SEO consultant — Dorian Menard

Founder. 13+ years, SEO only.

13 years specialising in SEO. Founder of Search Scope. I work directly with every client on strategy and execution. No account managers, no offshore teams, no templated retainers.

My work covers local SEO, Google Maps, GBP and GMC reinstatement, ecommerce SEO, technical audits, and AI search visibility. I work with established Australian businesses that want a senior specialist — not a service package.

13+
Years
200+
Engagements
98%
Reinstatement
1
Specialist on your account
Real client outcome

3.2★ to 4.3★, negative pieces pushed to page 3–4 in six months.

Home services company, Brisbane QLD. Engagement under NDA — anonymised on request. The full outcome below is exact: star rating, reviews removed, SERP movement, and the conversion lift that followed.

Brisbane QLD · Home services

A 1-star cluster of 16 reviews with no text had dragged the overall score from a healthy rating down to 3.2. Multiple negative pieces were ranking on branded queries. Conversion had dropped without an obvious cause — until they pulled their own SERP.

We removed the ineligible 1-stars through Google's official process, ran the Review Engine on the rest of their customer base, and used a wide range of owned and third-party properties to take back page 1 for branded terms. Negative pieces averaged page 3–4 by month 6. Business conversion came back up significantly across the months that followed.

3.2 → 4.3
Star rating recovery
16
Unfair reviews removed
Page 3–4
Where the negatives went
Trajectory
  • 1
    Starting position
    3.2★ — 16 unfair 1-star reviews
    A no-text 1-star cluster pulled the average from a healthy 4-something into the danger zone. Negative articles and forum threads holding multiple page-1 positions for the brand name.
  • 2
    Month 3
    Damage stabilised
    Review removal requests landed on the eligible portion of the 1-star cluster. New review velocity built. First owned assets ranked for branded queries.
  • 3
    Month 6
    4.3★ — branded page 1 reclaimed
    Star rating fully recovered. Negative pieces averaged page 3–4 on branded SERPs. Conversion lift compounded through the months that followed.
What we did
  • 16 ineligible 1-star reviews removed through Google's official process
  • Defensible review request flow live across Google, Facebook and Yelp
  • Multiple owned-property assets built to outrank negative pieces
  • Authority placements on industry and local publications
  • Branded-query content suite on the main site
  • GBP rebuild — categories, services, posts, Q&A, photos
Pricing

Two programs. Real numbers.

Review Engine is a fixed monthly. Reputation Repair starts at $1,499 setup and is scoped on the call — depth of damage, niche, and the number of owned properties drive the final number. Month-to-month, ex-GST, no lock-in.

Review Engine

Businesses with no acute crisis. Goal is steady positive review velocity across Google, Facebook and Yelp, and a dashboard to monitor it all.

Free 30-day trial
Investment
$399 / month

The proactive program. Review request flow, dashboard, AI-drafted responses, monthly scorecard. Free 30-day trial — no card required.

  • Automated review requests (Google, Facebook, Yelp)
  • Real-time monitoring dashboard
  • AI-drafted responses, human-approved
  • 24-hour SLA on sub-4-star reviews
  • Monthly reputation scorecard
  • Free 30-day trial — keep all reviews collected

Reputation Repair

Crisis situations. Negative content on page 1, fake-review clusters, defamatory pieces ranking for your brand. Custom-priced based on damage depth and niche.

Custom scoped
Investment
from $1,499 setup, then monthly

The reactive program. Scoped on the call after we pull your SERP live. Setup floor is $1,499; final pricing depends on niche, link velocity behind the negative content, and how many properties we need to build.

  • Forensic SERP and review audit
  • Eligible Google review removal
  • Owned-property build to outrank negative content
  • Authority placements + branded content suite
  • Review Engine included
  • Monthly SERP screenshots and rank reporting
Reputation Perth-specific? Local Perth page Multi-location and enterprise — scoped on the call.
Confidentiality

What you tell us stays between us.

Reputation problems are sensitive. Most clients don't want their suppliers, staff, or competitors to know the work is happening. Four commitments we make in writing on every reputation engagement:

  • NDA before details
    We sign a mutual NDA before you share anything sensitive. Standard one-pager, signed inside the call if you want it.
  • No public client mention
    We never name a reputation client publicly without written approval. The Brisbane case study above is anonymised on purpose.
  • Founder-led, no offshore team
    Dorian runs every reputation engagement personally. For suppression projects a vetted Australian content specialist joins — under the same NDA.
  • No "trophy case" tactics
    Other agencies use ORM clients as case studies the moment they sign. We don't. Your name doesn't leave the engagement unless you ask it to.
FAQ

Reputation questions.

The 30-minute audit answers the rest. Real SERP on the call. NDA before anything sensitive.

Book a reputation audit

Sometimes — only when a review breaks Google's policies (fake reviews, off-topic content, personal attacks, conflicts of interest). That work runs through our separate Google review removal service. For everything else, we suppress: we outrank the damaging content with assets you own so it stops being the first thing anyone sees.

Most clients see measurable lift inside 60–90 days — that's when first owned properties start ranking and the review velocity starts pulling the star average up. Full branded-page-1 rebuild typically lands inside 6 months. Anyone selling faster results in this category is selling you a problem.

Not for the work we do. Suppression done properly is just SEO — owned domains, authority placements, genuine content, white-hat links. Where ORM gets businesses penalised is when an agency runs link spam, fake review schemes, or PR-wire stuffing. We don't.

Yes, alongside them — not instead of them. If content is legally actionable, your lawyer handles the takedown route. We handle everything else: suppression, review velocity, branded SERP rebuild. Most reputation problems can't be solved through legal action alone.

Reputation Repair is the reactive program — you have a crisis on page 1, we build the suppression plan. Review Engine is the proactive program — you're fine right now but your review base is thin. Repair includes the Review Engine. Review Engine on its own is the $399/mo subscription.

It's the floor. Repair pricing depends on niche, depth of damage, link velocity behind the negative content, and how many owned properties we need to build to outrank it. A single bad article from a small site is a different scope than a multi-piece attack with 18 months of link signal behind it. We scope on the call.

No. We sign an NDA before you share anything sensitive. The work is published on owned and third-party properties in your name and your brand — that's the point. Nothing identifies Search Scope as the agency behind it.

Yes. Search Scope is based in Perth but works with reputation clients across Australia. Suppression and review work is location-agnostic — the SERP doesn't care where the agency sits.

It's a 30-minute video call where we pull your live SERP, your review profile, and your reputation footprint together on screen. You see exactly what's ranking, where the damage is, and what it would take to fix. You leave with a written summary either way. No proposal unless you ask.

Specific outcomes — no, and you should walk away from anyone who does. What we guarantee is the work: scoped deliverables, monthly reporting, plain-language explanations, no lock-in, month-to-month. If we're not moving the needle, you don't keep paying.

30 minutes · No pitch deck · No obligation

Ready to get SEO working properly?

A genuine 30-minute conversation with the specialist who will do the work — not a salesperson. You leave with a clear view of what is broken, what it would cost to fix, and whether we are the right team for it.

Book a Free Strategy Call
No lock-in contracts 13+ years specialising in SEO Founder-led from first call
Written by Dorian Menard — Founder, Search Scope. 13+ years executing SEO.
Last updated: 2026-05-11