@lucifer: We can and have had things completely removed from the internet. We don't use SEO to do that, though. Getting something completely stricken involves other techniques.

@dave and everyone else from way back: I'm really disappointed with the unprofessionalism I saw coming from the SEO community when this article went up. To give you an update, since this article, I've spoken at a number of major industry events, am a regular speaker at Ateneo's Certified Digital Marketer Program, and in August my business was acquired by one of the largest PR firms in the Philippines. I now head their digital team, and implement social media and ORM for Fortune 500 companies (among other clients). I contract my SEO out, though, albeit to more professional practitioners. In Manila, you have to learn what my friend calls "industrial nice," even if its to someone you think really deserves it, because you never know when a bad word will come back to bite you.

Most people are not aware that when they use Google, their search activities are being monitored by Google. I don't think Sterling Rep Management can hide or erase anybodys online garbage. Once you Google, your garbage is processed and stored. Best they can do is bury your garbage deep in their trash bin which can be retrieved anytime upon request.rnrnNoticed that Sterling Rep Mgmt. did not mention Yahoo, because Yahoo does not track down customer search activities. TIVO DVR / Digital Video Recorder is an online video provider that tracks down online customer behavior and profile. TIVO sells information to other providers so don't be surprised if you receive lots of junk mails.

if you need to hide/delete a webpage from google search results -- visit his link: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=164734rnrnyou should have a google account.rnrnand i dont know if yahoo or bing has this feature.

--

Illegitimi non carborundum, Tony!

@urduja - its not an 800 peso email. its 800 pesos to check the watchlist every day, check up on what changes have been made, then send the email if the changes r substantive. i dont think thats steep. and people should charge whatever they can get for their services.rnrn@Dave - well he said he wasn't an SEO guy or an SEO company so ur not in the same business. he also said that he wasn't interested in SEO for his site at this time, so all ur "its bad for SEO" comments don't really apply. so ur concerns were based on faulty assumptions it seems. and you should apologize now for the way you presented yourself in such a condescending manner "You have got to be kidding me. Where do I even start with your site?" and you call yourself a business person? not too professional, di ba? tonys real name and real business are out there for inspection and ur criticism. you're hiding behind a nickname. i for one would like to know your business name so i can avoid it and tell my friends what kind of person runs it. to be fair i ll send them to this comments.rnrn@everyone - the only person in this discussion who has actually used tony ahn s services has reported that he was happy with them and that says a lot.

Correct Tony, I do own an SEO business. What gave it away? The fact that I was dispensing advise on your SEO? Damn you're good (sarcastic).rnrnI have never once mentioned my company name, nor would I ever. I am not interested in poaching any business from you at all. rnrnThe reason I started commenting is because as I work in the same business, I am sick of hearing horror stories from my customers about so called "SEO professionals" who have no idea what they are doing and simply taking customers money expecting that the customer knows even less. I have interviewed streams of so called "SEO Professionals" and so many of them again have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. The SEO business is so rife with rip off merchants and scam artists that it muddies the water for the rest of us within the same industry.rnI saw your press release and immediately thought that you and I could work together as I am always in need of more high quality, knowledgeable, SEO guys. So, I took the first step and ran a quick background check on your website. The results of which I posted as a comment. I would not have normally posted the results as a comment, but I was so concerned at the seemingly suspicious nature of your business that I thought that the general public should be informed. If any of the information that I uncovered is incorrect I will publicly apologize (haven't I already said this?)rnrnThe cost for my services are not cheap, that I will admit to. And the reason why it's so is because I know what I am doing, I have streams of happy customers who have left comments on my website, piles of examples and statistics proving beyond a shadow of a doubt my ability and I even provide a full refund if we do not obtain the guaranteed ranking positions that we set for our customers website.rnrnI am not promoting my business name and I will refuse to do so. I am simply not here to gain any business.rnrn

@urduja regla - Actually I am on my period. Thanks for asking. I am impressed with your vocabulary though (I'm not being sarcastic, I really am impressed) I'm asking all these questions because what if I were a potential client? Kung katulong nga eh isang damakmak na clearances and recommendation letters ang hinihingi natin, eh lalo na kaya yung taong hahawak ng reputasyon ko. if I were to hire someone to handle my reputation, I want that person to be someone who can really walk the talk.rnrn@Tony - In as much as I would like to post links, spot doesn't allow it. Like I've said in my comment directed to urduja regla, I am checking your reputation and your credibility because you're selling reputation management. I'm not into SEO nor PR. I'm in the entertainment industry. I am a potential client. Or at least was a potential client. rnrn@Cruz - 800 pesos for a notification is pretty steep, don't you think? That's an 800 peso email. What does that 800 pesos comprise of? Is it notification and modification? Does modification cost more?rnrnBut if there are people willing to pay you Tony, then congratulations. I wish you the best of luck in your business.

It's one thing to have concerns which Tony addressed earlier. It's another to jump on the "mean bandwagon." Seems there's a number of firms that do rep mgt; maybe some of those or others that do similar PR work saw him as a competitor and flayed away at him here as he suspects. What you said makes sense Cruz and is a positive note in therndiarrhea of negativity that has been posted.

Dave said: "you charge 800 pesos per month to monitor wikipedia articles. Having made many wiki articles myself, I know that when you edit or create an article there is a tickbox that will notify you whenever any changes have been made. This is free, anyone can use it and you want to charge people 800 pesos per month for ticking a box once. Not very ethical is it?"rnrnas someone who also knows wikipedia i can tell you that hes not charging to tick a box. hes charging to look at his watched articles list every day then notify the client if something changes. and i suspect he ll only be notifying of content changes not typo corrctions. just my 2 cents, tony correct me if im wrong.

It has been brought to my attention that a couple of the commenters here are actually SEO providers that consider me a competitor, so they're impugning my reputation and business in order to maintain their "competitive edge" against me, which is a shame, because I believe in competing by providing a great service at a great value, not by tearing other people/businesses down.rnrnI hope I've provided enough information to show casual readers what kind of person they're dealing with. I won't be commenting on this thread further, as the vitriol and provocations are unjustified and unnecessary. I encourage those with additional questions to contact me directly. Thank you all.

That time of the month Urduja? rnrnWhat's your problem anyway? Your tone is too vitriolic for a casual observer so what's the deal?rnrnBest of luck to you Tony. You're handling this with much grace, unlike this person here.

Thanks for your kind words, Carlos. And yes, I did his work pro bono for two reasons: 1) He's a friend, like I said, and 2) He was supporting what I consider to be a worthy cause: the RH Bill.rnrnTo answer urduja's questions (noting that not all of the numbered paragraphs were questions):rnrnNeotitans is our hosting provider, nothing more. If they're sold and suspend hosting, we'll have to find a new host, I guess. I'm sorry I don't understand the statement/question for #2.rnrnSterling Rep does not have a Wikipedia page, nor does it warrant one according to Wikipedia's rules, so I'm not sure what it is you're seeing. Can you provide a link?rnrnArtefact is a three year old company. I ran it for the better part of 2010. It is under new management now.rnrnI've received a barnstar and a letter of appreciation from Sue Gardner, the CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation. I'm also a member of Wikimedia Philippines. I have a half dozen other barnstars, a four award, and the imperial triple crown jewels as well. I show my awards page to potential clients that request to see them.rnrnWhen I ran Artefact, those sites gave us a certain amount of referral traffic each month, so I used them again. Right now I've got word of mouth going, which produces more and faster tangible results than SEO optimizing for a particular set of keywords, so I'm concentrating more on that.rnrnWe have a number of methods at our disposal. SEO is one of the primary ones but not the only one. Our methods are proprietary, though, so unfortunately, I can't share them all with you.rnrnSorry, I don't have the time right now to answer Dave's questions, maybe later. Thanks for your interest.

Carlos,rnrnI apologize for this and I have asked administrators to delete that comment as per the conversation we've had. This is my error and I take full responsibility for it. rnrnTo reiterate, this does not involve Carlos Celdran in any way, shape or form. He has no involvement nor influence in my previous statement. The previous statement was incorrect and presumptuous. I have asked Spot.ph to delete that comment.rnrnI am capable of making mistakes and this is one of them. I am not in PR and never have I claimed to be. I am a technical person. I apologize to you Carlos.rnrnTony,rnrnI do not say anything lightly without prior research and evidence. rnrnEverything that I have listed is fully researched, and if I am wrong, then prove me wrong and I will stand down and apologize publicly.rnrn

I DID NOT DISAVOW Tony Ahn. I have been satisfied with the work that he has done for me in the past. I cannot in truth say that any work he has done for me has been a rip off or of questionable quality or that I was charged any exhorbitant fees that seemed out of line.rnrnMr. Dave, for someone who supposedly runs a respectable onlne info and SEO, company. How ethical is it for you to put out a quote that I never said or to make insinuations about someone's business without evidence or meeting them first?rnrnI am not a business partner of his just to be clear, just a client. And he didn't charge me. I HAVE NOT SAID ANYTHING of the sort that you have printed and seriously, I have not experienced anything with him that would make me DROP his services.rnrnPlease Dave. If you have ethical or professional issues with him, PLEASE DO NOT BRING MY NAME INTO THIS. Deal with Mr. Tony Ahn directly.

I meant that as #11.

Tony,rnrnI appreciate your reply and in fact, I do have some questions for you. rnrn1. I understand why an online PR company would use SEO. Is this why NeoTitans is involved? Are you utilizing NeoTitans for your SEO? Would it be possible for us to be assured that Sterling Rep is indeed a local company by providing us with details of government accreditation and registration? (As all local businesses are required to) Now, NeoTitans, as per our research, is for sale. If NeoTitans were bought, what happens to Sterling Rep? rnrn2. In your statement "In regards to “hiding *gly truths,” the Internet provides an opportunity for people to say what they want with little consequence." One can surmise that this can apply to you as well. The currency of your business which is "trust" can be negated with that statement. This does apply to you too, correct? rnrn3. "...our clients don’t have the time or inclination to write their own articles. If we write their articles, they get a certain standard of writing." Would your level of standard be just like your own Sterling Rep Wikipedia page? (which, in my observation was a cut and paste from your website)rnrn4. I'm also very curious as to what happened to Artefact Inc. - a company in which you were the Managing Director. It seems that Artefact Inc was very active from May 2010 until June 2010 and then nothing was heard from them again. As a person who had such a high position in the company, you are in a position to answer truthfully, are you not? So, what happened?rnrn5. Your site also states that you are an "Award Winning Wikipedia Editor". One with such honors should be proud of his achievements. May we know what these awards are? This must be the reason why you charge such a premium on the articles you will write for your clients. Did you receive a Barnstar? A Wikiproject award? A son of Jimbo?rnrn6."...We’re not listed in those Philippine directories for the purposes of SEO or link-building. We are listed because they send us traffic." I would like to understand where this "traffic" is coming from. Because as per my research, philippine-directory.com only has 68 sites linking to it according to alexa so that doesn't produce much traffic. Philippinesdirectory.net only has 14 sites linking to it so ergo, no traffic as well. But then, that's a technical point and as you have said, you have a separate SEO team that deals with this. Perhaps, you could tell them that they could look into this and make it better for you, your company (which I will assume, use SEO to get ranking) and your site. rnrn7. ..."In regards to “hiding *gly truths,” the Internet provides an opportunity for people to say what they want with little consequence. Paying an attorney to chase them all down is very expensive, so I’m an alternative to that. " It is also true that self medicating is cheaper than seeing a doctor. Your claim was that you could "bury" these negative articles deep into Google's bowels that people won't bother reading them. They still exist though. And if someone is very determined and patient, they will find it. And how do you propose to put all these negative articles on page 17 of a Google search? That would mean creating at least (by my rough calculation) 86,000 original and positive articles that search engines would have to determine as relevant and will rank higher than the previous existing "negative" articles about said person. I do hope that with your Award winning writing skills and your team of writers, you are able to do that. rnrn8. Can your clients pay you in gifts as well? I mean, that was how the anthropological researchers from Artefact Inc stated it. I was just curious. rnrn9. Finally, you state that you are a PR firm. An Online PR firm that uses SEO as one of the tools. However, you also stated that you can "take back" a tarnished online reputation by pushing back all the negative articles, comments, etc. in the farthest position in Google (what about the other Search engines, btw?). I don't know how you're going to do this without utilizing FULL SEO. If you have a plan other than FULL SEO and all its components I would love to hear it. Because logically, FULL SEO is the only way I see it working. Oh, but your methods are not "common wisdom" nor is it "what's in fashion". But you claim it works so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Still, I'd love to know how you plan on doing it. You do have a plan, right?rnrn10. I take Dave's 10 points though and ask if you could kindly respond to them as well.rnrnThanks Tony! I do hope you can answer these questions. You did offer. :)rnrn10. As a PR company, your prime commodity is image. just as you've said, you are the company and your currency is personal trust. The research we've done so far about you lacks that kind of personal trust. But that's just me.rn

Thank you for the straight-forward explanation Tony. Considering how you were slammed by many commenters, your response was both gracious and rnnon-judgmental. Good luck to you.

Thank you for the straight-forward explanation Tony. Considering how you were slammed by many commenters, your response was both gracious and rnnon-judgmental. Good luck to you.

Hi, I thank all of you for your candor, and I’ll respond here.rnrnWe’re not an SEO company. We’re a PR firm that uses some SEO techniques. I have someone who does the SEO for us. For SEO companies, being ranked highly for a keyword is a way of proving they’re good at SEO. We’re a little different. And most SEOs will tell you that it takes a few months. Our site went live about a month ago.rnrnRegarding Wikipedia, yes, anyone can write an article for free. However our clients don’t have the time or inclination to write their own articles. If we write their articles, they get a certain standard of writing. They get good references. And often they get on the front page of Wikipedia. That’s the value we bring.rnWhy do you think I seem to think that the Philippines has no PR companies? I said we were the first local rep management firm. There are local PR firms (have been for a very long time), and there are SEO firms that do rep management on the side, but we’re the first rep management firm that doesn’t offer that service as a secondary offering.rnrnWe’re not listed in those Philippine directories for the purposes of SEO or link-building. We are listed because they send us traffic.rnrnYes, we’re virtual. A small team. The reason that we’re under tonyahn.com is because the currency of my business is personal trust. I’m the face of the business, I meet all clients personally, and the site is primarily to send them somewhere so they can see what I can do for them. While that may not be the "common wisdom" or what's in fashion right now, it works for us.rnrnI’ll explain how Sterling Rep Reputation Management came into existence, and maybe that will clear some things up. Carlos Celdran is a friend of mine, and when he got arrested, I wrote a Wikipedia entry for him, got it on the front page, wrote a Wikinews article for him, got that on the front page as a featured story, and AP and Reuters watch Wikinews. He got picked up on the newswires the next day. Also got a couple other articles placed for him. Did some reputation work for him as well. He was pretty happy with my work, and introduced me to some other clients, and so I put up a website and went into business doing this. It is a very very young company, but the market is there.rnrnIn regards to “hiding *gly truths,” the Internet provides an opportunity for people to say what they want with little consequence. Paying an attorney to chase them all down is very expensive, so I’m an alternative to that. American reputation management firms charge $3000 to $10,000 for services that I provide for a fraction of that because I’m here in the Philippines. Sterling Rep is local, and the money it makes stays here in the Philippines and pays Filipino salaries.rnrnSterling Rep does have standards of business and we won’t work to bury criminal convictions, links to criminal databases, or other things of that nature.rnrnI’m happy to answer more questions, and I appreciate all your feedback.

I have contacted Carlos and can confirm that he was completely unaware of the information we uncovered about TonyAhn.com. Carlos has now confirmed that he will have no further business or dealings with Tony Ahn.rnI wanted to post this here so that no one thinks that Carlos had anything to do with it. I support Carlos and would hate people to think something negative about him that was simply not true.

***THIS COMMENT HAS BEEN DELETED DUE TO VIOLATION OF SPOT.ph's TERMS & CONDITIONS.***

Someone should link or paste all your comments to Carlos Celdran's FB page. I don't have an FB so I can't do it.rnrnGood job to urduja and dave. Asteeg kayo.

@urdujarnThank you. I did do the best i could to research them quickly. The thing is that while you can hide negative items on search engines for most cases, you can not hide public information that everyone has access to and can check themselves.rnIt shows how horrible their PR and Reputation skills are!rnI hate foreign companies coming here to the philippines and want to punch every single one of them. I loved the opportunity to research this company.

@lambda - LMAO! My point exactly! They can't say it's "malicious defamation" because it's researched well and all the info found are on public access sites. rnrnThen, there will be blog posts and reviews and everything else in between. Like I said, their first client would be themselves. :D

i love the comments! if they really are worth their mettle, let's see them "hide" this article and the comments in searches. ha!

You have got to be kidding me. Where do I even start with your site?rnrn1) you are using a shared server in the usa, bad for seo.rnrn2) your company name or any keywords are not in your domain name, bad for seornrn3) searching for your company name on google, the first result is Linkedin, only the second result is your homepage. The seventh result is "Rush Limbaugh, racist pig and sterling representative"rnrn4) for a company in the philippines, you have no land line phone number or postal address, all you have is a mobile phone number located within the Philippines. The only other phone number you have seems to also be a mobile phone located in seattle, USA. Your USA cell number has the following details available online: The 206-407 exchange is serviced by the following companies within the SEATTLE ratecenter for the following mobile/cell phone companies: XO WASHINGTON INC, BROADWING COMMUNICATIONS LLC and T-MOBILE USA INC.rnrn5) you seem to think that the Philippines has no PR companies. Clearly you have not done your research.rnrn6) you have no postal address, so no one can see where your offices are (if you actually have any), for all we know you are running it all from a laptop in the mall where you can use free wifi!rnrn7) at the bottom of your sites front page you link to two free linkback directories. For someone who seems to claim they know so much about link building, why on earth are you using free receprical linkback directories?rnrn8) you charge 800 pesos per month to monitor wikipedia articles. Having made many wiki articles myself, I know that when you edit or create an article there is a tickbox that will notify you whenever any changes have been made. This is free, anyone can use it and you want to charge people 800 pesos per month for ticking a box once. Not very ethical is it?rnrn9) according to the DTI here in the Philippines, you are not registered with them under your company name. (whoops) I actually checked this online.rnrn10) On Alexa.com, a useful site for seo and other stats, your site has one 5 star review. "I would recommend this site to a friend". Coolness! Only problem is that the review was done by you!rnrnI could go on and on and on, but I dont want to waste any more time on this. One final thing, in the comments of this article you say "We use SEO, but that's just one of our many tools, and we're competing directly with the overpriced "branded" firms you're talking about", yet your domain (and I assume your company) is owned by NeoTitans, an SEO company that you claim to be competing against.rnrnSurely the first step to building a good reputation is ensuring that all information available relating to your business is accurate and not suspect as all yours seems to be.

@Kapengmabula - Mas matalino na ang mga tao ngayon (hopefully)rnrnYou won't believe what we've pulled up on the guy and the business. It's just so sad and laughable and also insulting.rnrnI have nothing against those who'd like to have a business online or anywhere for that matter. Aba, sino ba naman ang ayaw magkaroon ng negosyo, di ba? Kaso sana maayos at ethical!

ano ito? chikatime.com.2.zero? wala pa bang nadadala? (disclaimer: sa blog ni kitty go ko lang nalaman ang existence ng "chikatime.com")

They are supposed to be great at rep buildingrnso they opened up in Philippines, a heavily catholic country and their first client is the tour guide who was arrested for protesting in the churchrnrnAhem...rnrnAnd also, I'd like to point out that point out that the only phone number they have for their company in Manila is a mobile phone number which is on their website hosted in the USA?rnrnThey are on a shared server which is bad for SEO;rnalso bad for SEO is not having your main keyword or company name in your domain name and yet they are so called experts seems its one guy who knows nothing.

Thanks tukayo!rnrnIt's just incredulous. The statement they made on the site that says "Here in the Philippines, we can afford to pass our low overhead on to our local customers. " (and international customers one assumes seen as they list a Seattle phone number) is just disastrous! If their international clients see that statement they can complain about unfair pricing! rnrnThat's another problem pa that we see - SEO. A lot of people think they know SEO but they don't. It's like a buzz word they like to use. In the short span that my boyfriend and I read this article, we have already made several points and we've done our research. We know where his server is (oh, and by the way, it's a shared hosting option which is the cheapest and slowest.)and how many other domains he's got. His domain details don't have any names in it pa. So...why would I hire this guy? Kasi Carlos Celdran vouched for him? So, bibili din ako ng CY Gabriel Wonder Soap (ang sabon ng mga artista) kasi sabi ni Kuya Germs okay sya. *nods* Sige...rnrnAnd when you do google search for him, the most prominent article is a Tony Ahn from Korea? Hanobeh...it's a half baked business being passed on as sosyal. rnrn

bongga ka urduja for the in depth analysis and for dissecting their website. sapul! so much for the 'prestigious eklaver'

bongga ka urduja for the in depth analysis and for dissecting their website. sapul! so much for the 'prestigious eklaver'

Having an online business means that your website should be reputable, more so if your business is about creating a reputable online image. This company has a lot of room for improvement.rnrnFirst off - the name of the website does not coincide with the name of the domain. A good PR company holds the name of the company and not the owner. In online speak - that's just terrible PR and a terrible (and yet very self-serving) business decision.rnrnSecond - the links at the bottom of the page lists free directories. That's like wearing an Armani suit but wearing flip flops instead of shoes. rnrnThird - On the link that says "email a Sterling rep", it shows a mailto link that is sent to the Tony Ahn. Is he a one man company or does he have a representative? rnrnFourth - "Mitigating online reputation or brand damage (such as negative customer comments or even malicious defamation) by burying negative links deep in Google search results where nobody will read them" - That's just dodgy. There's a permanent and legal way of removing the comments. If they're proven to be malicious defamation, you can legally obtain a cease and desist order and then you can delete them. However, you can't delete them all or even "bury" it as there is such a thing called "cache" and if people downloaded them in their own personal servers, you're pretty much screwed. rnrnWhere's your company address? Should we assume that you're merely virtual?rnrnAnd 5 thousand pesos for a Wikipedia article?! Can you say "highway robbery"?rnrnIt looks and sounds to me that the very first client of this company should be themselves.

magkano naman kaya binayad ni Tony Ahn para lang ma-promote un site nila. :D

Well you chose the right country for it. The market is wide open. Just start with Congress--you will be the biggest agency in the Philippines.

naks naman! mukha na ba tayong hollywood o kaya washington? hindi yan papatok dito for sure.

bibbo,, bullseye men everyone forgets anything bad you did look at politicians, willy for once did a f**** job....hays no need here in the phil

bibbo,, bullseye men everyone forgets anything bad you did look at politicians, willy for once did a f**** job....hays no need here in the phil

bibilib lang ako dito if they can clean up the mess that Hayden Kho did to Katrina and Maricar.

Do anybody in the Philippines need this sh*t? There's an epidemic of amnesia in this country. If you do something f*ck up, in a year or so everybody forgets and you even get elected in government.

i agree with kalurkee and most especially with sagprod. truly shady most especially when its the *gly truth that they are going hide. and is carlos celdran a client or a partner? his fb info page says partner.

Far as I recall, anyone and his brother could create an article in Wikipedia for FREE.

interestingly, cant find tony ahn on google first page except a hastily produced linked in account. rnrnscary!

Isn't that kind of self-defeating? If I had dirt, I sure as hell won't announce to the world that I just hired some firm to clean up my online reputation.

@kalurkee Actually, Sterling Rep Reputation Management is the first LOCAL reputation management firm in the Philippines. We use SEO, but that's just one of our many tools, and we're competing directly with the overpriced "branded" firms you're talking about. We've got much better prices because we're based in Manila, not New York.

Great! More people to hide the *gly truth from us... Its just great!

Naku wag kayo paloko diyan, this firm is most likely an overpriced "branded" SEO firm. If you want to hide your dirt, just hire an SEO specialist to do exactly the opposite of getting your company/name at the top of search engine results.

Naku patok yan dito, daming dirt ng politicians and stars hahahahaha

That company is full of crap, it has nothing good to offer and purely idiotic.