Why do the search results differ for me and for a colleague?

Because of personalisation. Search tailors results to your query history, location and device, so you almost always see your own name in a more favourable light than an outside reviewer does. To see the picture as an employer or a bank would, open search in a private window, without signing in, and ideally compare with results from another region. That de-personalised view is your real reputation.

Which free tools help track mentions?

For a one-off check, the search engines themselves in a private window are enough — across every spelling of the name, plus the image block, autocomplete and maps. To watch for new mentions, free Google Alerts and, if the site is yours, the built-in stats in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools work well. Separately, ask an AI assistant 'who is…' or 'what is known about the company…' and see what it says. Free tools show the picture well but don't cover closed databases, messaging apps and reviews across every platform — a full view needs systematic monitoring.

How often should I check my reputation?

Run a full check before important events: a job change, a deal, opening an account, launching a public project. In calm periods, an individual can review quarterly and a company monthly, because reviews and mentions of a business appear more often. If you've been through a conflict, a legal dispute or an information attack, increase the frequency: in the acute phase, track the results and new publications daily, or the negative takes root in the top.

What should I do if the check finds negative content?

Don't delete in a panic and don't write to the author. First, capture the find with a dated screenshot and identify its type: an inaccurate statement of fact, outdated information, a lawful publication or an opinion. The type decides the path — a platform complaint, right to be forgotten, court, or suppression with truthful content. There is no universal 'delete' button, and a rash reaction often amplifies attention to the material. If the negative could affect a deal, a job or your safety, it's wiser to show the findings to a specialist before acting.

How to Check Your Online Reputation: A Step-by-Step Guide

You can check your online reputation yourself, for free, in about an hour: open Google and Bing in a private window, type your name or company in every spelling, and read the first two or three pages of results calmly — those are exactly what the person checking you sees. Then go through the surfaces people usually forget: the image block, autocomplete, maps and reviews, databases and registries, and the answers AI assistants give. Tag every find as "helps / neutral / harmful" and you'll have an honest map of your digital reputation — something you can actually act on. Below is the full checklist, step by step, with free tools and the typical mistakes.

Step 1. Look through the reviewer's eyes, not your own

The main trap in a self-check is personalisation. Search knows your query history, location and device and tailors the results to you, so you almost always see your own name in a gentler light than an outsider does. To see the real picture, open search in a private window without signing in, and if possible repeat the check from another device or region. That de-personalised view is what an employer, a bank or a partner will read.

Step 2. Check every variant of the name

People search for you in different ways, and each phrasing returns its own results. Work through the list — it's different for a person and for a company.

For a person	For a company
Full name, in full	Full and short legal name
Name + title and company	Name + "reviews", "scam", "fraud", "lawsuit"
Name in transliteration (as in a passport)	Brand + name of the CEO or owner
Name + city or former employer	Website domain and product names

Be sure to add "trigger" words to the name and the company — "reviews", "scam", "fraud", "lawsuit", "debts". These are exactly the queries a wary reviewer types, and they surface what a neutral query never shows. Capture the results in dated screenshots: the results change, and you'll want a reference point.

Step 3. Go through every surface of search

The classic list of ten blue links is only part of the picture. Reputation is also shaped by the blocks people rarely look at.

Organic results

The first 2–3 pages of Google and Bing for every variant of the name. Read not only the titles but the descriptions under the links.

Images and autocomplete

Which photo appears first, and what search offers in autocomplete as you type the name — suggestions are built from mass queries and reveal the sore points.

Maps and reviews

Listings on Google Maps and geo-services, reviews on industry platforms and aggregators, the rating and the freshness of comments.

Databases and registries

Court and enforcement databases, company registries and counterparty-check services, profiles on social networks and messaging apps.

AI answers

What ChatGPT, an AI answer in search and AI Overviews reply to "who is…" or "what is known about the company…".

Five surfaces that together make up your digital reputation — each one needs checking

Two blocks deserve special attention. Autocomplete is assembled from what other people search en masse, so a word like "scam" or "reviews" appearing next to your name is a signal of an established query, not a coincidence. And AI answers are increasingly the first thing someone learns about you — and they can confidently retell inaccurate or confused data.

Step 4. Tag your findings and assess the risk

A list of finds is useless until it becomes a map. Go through each result and assign it two labels. The first — stance: "works for me", "neutral", "harmful". The second, for the harmful ones — type: an inaccurate statement of fact, outdated information, a lawful publication, an opinion, or a stranger who shares your name. This tagging decides everything: inaccuracies are challenged, outdated material is removed via the right to be forgotten, lawful content and opinions are suppressed, and a namesake needs separate work to disentangle profiles.

Separately, weigh the position: negative content on page one and on page five are different threat levels, because almost no one reaches page five. The map of "what, which type, at what position" is your action plan. We cover the detailed methodology of such tagging for complex cases in the reputational risk map.

Free tools for ongoing observation

A one-off check shows a snapshot of today, but reputation changes. To avoid checking manually every week, set up free observation: Google Alerts on the name and company with variants, the built-in stats in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools if the site is yours, and the habit of repeating an incognito search periodically. That covers the open part of the web. What free tools don't see — closed databases, messaging apps, reviews across all platforms at once, and mentions that don't name you directly — needs systematic mention monitoring for a full picture.

"Most people first search themselves seriously only in a crisis — when a deal has fallen through or a bank has said no. By then the negative has already lodged in the top, and there's no time for calm work. A self-check is valuable precisely because you can do it in advance, in the quiet: you learn about the problem before the people who will check you, and you keep a reserve of time to react properly rather than in a rush."

Aegis Reputation Lab Team

AEGIS Position

Common mistakes in a self-check

It's easy to run a check that reassures rather than helps. The most common mistake is to look at the results from your own account and take comfort in a favourable picture that exists for no one but you. The second is to stop at page one and a single neutral query, skipping autocomplete and the "trigger" phrasings. The third is to check only yourself and forget about namesakes, whose negative search happily pins on you. The fourth is to write to the author or hit "delete" the moment you find something — which often amplifies attention to the material. And the fifth is to treat a one-off check as enough: without observation the picture goes stale within weeks.

When it's time to call a specialist

A self-check is excellent at diagnosis — showing what's happening. But if it finds inaccurate accusations, court records, signs of an information attack, or negative content that could affect a deal, a job or your safety, the next stage is where the cost of error is high. Here the key is not to make things worse with your first moves: showing the findings to a specialist before reacting is almost always cheaper than fixing the fallout of a hasty complaint. Regular professional observation is also worthwhile in itself — so you're the first to learn of a new mention.