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"Rick Santorum, you've had a \"Google problem\" for years. A search for your last name reveals not your own website or Wikipedia page, but a website that associates your name with an explicit term describing the after-effects of certain type of sexual activity.\nThe website was put up by Dan Savage in 2003 in response to comments you made about gay marriage. It quickly went viral, and it's been stuck at the top of Google's indexes ever since. The site also hosts a blog where users discuss your stance on gay rights. Savage has now threatened to redefine \"Rick,\" too, if you run an anti-gay campaign in 2012.\nSantorum, now that you nearly won the Iowa Caucus you're on the tip of everyone's tongues and typing fingers. Google searches for \"Santorum\" have spiked in the past few days. This isn't just a result of people trying to find Savage's joke, either. Searches for \"Rick Santorum\" have peaked and your site even crashed due to an overabundance of traffic on Wednesday. See for yourself:\nRick, we're not taking a stance on your campaign, but if you want to win, it's crucial that you take action and fix the issue. But how? \nGoogle has refused to alter the \"Santorum\" result because it's an accurate reflection of search traffic and SEO.\n\"Google\u2019s search results are a reflection of the content and information that is available on the web,\" a Google spokesperson said. \"Users who want content removed from the Internet should contact the webmaster of the page directly. Once the webmaster takes the page down from the web, it will be removed from Google\u2019s search results through our usual crawling process. We do not remove content from our search results, except in very limited cases such as illegal content and violations of our webmaster guidelines.\"\nSavage's site went viral on its own steam and tampering with their indexes would go against Google's policies.\nHere, Rick, is what you have to do: First, read our guide on managing your online reputation using SEO (Search Engine Optimization). There are 4 steps:\nStep 1: See Where You Stand\nWhen you're first trying to improve your online reputation, you need to know your current keyword-and search-result situation. You can type your name in search engines and set up Google Alerts for your name. \nHowever, since we're pretty sure you already know where you stand, so you can go ahead and skip to step two.\nStep 2: Post Positive Content\nIf you want to make negative websites about you appear lower in search, you've got to create relevant, positive content about yourself. Publishing more information about the positive aspects of your campaign might be a good start. You should do this on your social media profiles as well.\nStep 3: Create an Identity Hub\nYou've got to make your site the go-to destination for all things Rick Santorum. You've already claimed your domain name. Next, you have to mention yourself a lot, link back to your own content, post often and to many different social networks.\nStep 4: Consider Automating the Process\nYour digital team is probably aware of the various tools, like Brand-Yourself and Vizibility, which can help an individual or a brand with SEO optimization and issues. If you haven't considered using them already, you should.\nAfter using our 4-step SEO guide, we've got two more suggestions.\nFirst, try Google's online tool to help manage search results in your name. You've got to play in Google's ballpark and by their rules, so you might as well use the tools they provide to fix your problem.\nFinally, you need to fight fire with fire. Savage's site went viral and you need to respond in kind. Take all the buzz surrounding your candidacy after Iowa and build an online presence that will spread your own site across the Internet. You're going to have to out-viral Savage's site.\nIf you follow the above steps and get to work building an online army to help your content go viral, you stand a chance of fixing your Google problem.\n\nSEE ALSO: Republican Candidates Take to the Web in the Battle for Iowa\nImage courtesy of Flickr, Gage Skidmore"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/01/04/rick-santorum-google-problem/>