Take the quote down promptly and everywhere: pages, PDFs, images and printed material at the next reprint. Then ask Google to refresh its copy through Webmaster Tools, and record permissions properly from now on.

A polite request about an old quote

A client who praised your work years ago, quoted on your website with full name, title and company, writes to ask you to take it down.

Perhaps they have changed jobs and the quote speaks for an employer they have left. Perhaps a search for their own name now leads to your page before anything of theirs.

The request is usually polite and slightly awkward. It deserves a quick, complete answer, because the words are theirs to withdraw.

Consent given once can be withdrawn

A testimonial with a name attached is personal information, published with the person's agreement. That agreement was given for a purpose, at a time, and it can be taken back.

Canadian privacy laws generally let a person withdraw consent, subject to some limits. Some provinces keep their own private-sector privacy acts, so which one governs your business depends on its location and its handling of the information.

This is general information about consent, not legal advice about your own testimonials. In practice, the courteous answer and the careful one are the same: remove it.

Everywhere the name may sit

The quote rarely lives in one place. Before replying, list where it appears:

PDFs are the ones most often missed. A brochure replaced years ago can still sit on the server, unlinked, and still turn up in a search for the client's name.

Removing it from the site

Take the quote off every page and out of the list that feeds rotating quotes. Search the site for the person's surname to catch the places you forgot.

Delete old PDFs that carry it, or replace each with an edited version at the same address, so links from elsewhere still lead somewhere useful.

Check images and their descriptions, and replace any photograph of the person unless they agree to it staying.

Google's copy of the page

Google keeps its own copy of each page it has read, and the snippet in its results comes from that copy.

For days or weeks after the change, a search for the name can still show your page with the old words.

In Webmaster Tools, Fetch as Google reads the changed page and offers to submit it to the index, which asks Google to read it again soon.

If the old snippet persists, the Remove URLs tool lets a verified owner remove a page from the cache only, clearing the old copy until Google reads the page afresh.

For a deleted PDF, request removal of its address once it returns an error. Google's public tool for outdated content covers copies on sites you do not control.

A worked example

An aquarium maintenance service cares for large display tanks in restaurants, hotel lobbies and offices around the region, on monthly contracts.

Its home page and testimonials page quoted the general manager of a seafood restaurant by full name and title, and the same quote appeared in its brochure PDF and a proposal template.

She had since moved to another restaurant group and asked, politely, for the quote to be removed. A search for her name showed the service's page among the first results.

The owner removed the quote from both pages and the rotating list, replaced the brochure PDF at the same address, and deleted an old proposal PDF that had been left online.

He submitted the changed pages through Fetch as Google, used the cache removal for the testimonials page, and wrote back to her the same week listing what had been done.

Answering the person

Reply promptly, thank them for the original words, and say what you are removing and by when. Do not ask them to justify the request.

Tell them honestly what you cannot control: copies on other sites, and printed brochures already handed out. Say that printed material will change at the next reprint.

When it is done, write again listing what was removed. A former client treated this way has every reason to go on speaking well of you.

Recording permission from now on

Ask for permission in writing for every testimonial with a name attached, and keep the reply with its date.

Record what was agreed: the exact words, the form of the name, whether the title and company may appear, where it will be used, and whether a photograph is included.

Say in the request how to withdraw it later. Then review named testimonials once a year and check that the people quoted still hold the roles shown.

Testimonials worth keeping

A current testimonial from a client who still works where the quote says carries more weight with readers than an old one from someone who has moved on.

Asking for fresh words every couple of years keeps the page accurate, and gives clients who would rather withdraw an easy moment to say so.

The counter-case

Some testimonials carry no personal information: an initial and a town, or a company that has itself agreed to be quoted. A request about those may need less work.

And a quote copied onto another site is outside your control. You can ask that site's owner, but you cannot remove it yourself.

But wherever a real person is named on your pages, their request to be removed deserves a quick and complete answer, and the steps above are how to give one.

When the request arrives

  1. Reply the same day and confirm you will remove it.
  2. Search the site for the person's name.
  3. Remove the quote from pages and rotating lists.
  4. Replace or delete PDFs that carry it.
  5. Ask Google to refresh its copy through Webmaster Tools.
  6. Write back listing what was removed.
  7. Record permissions for every named testimonial.

Step four is the one that catches people out. Old PDFs keep the name online long after the pages change, and searches for the name keep finding them.

Replying in public to a customer's complaint, once its cause is fixed, is the theme of a September post, a review that complains about your website.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to remove a testimonial when asked?

Consent to publish a named quote can generally be withdrawn. Removing it promptly and completely is both the courteous answer and the careful one.

Where else might the testimonial appear?

In rotating quotes, old PDFs of brochures and proposals, images with the quote set in them, newsletters, social posts and printed material such as brochures.

Why does Google still show the name after I removed it?

Google shows results from its stored copy of the page. Fetch as Google and the cache removal in Webmaster Tools ask it to refresh that copy.

What about PDFs that are no longer linked?

They stay online and searchable until deleted. Delete or replace them, and once a deleted file returns an error, request removal of its address.

What should I tell the person?

Thank them, say what you will remove and by when, explain what you cannot control, such as printed brochures already handed out, and confirm when it is done.

How should I record permission for testimonials?

In writing, with the exact words, the form of the name, where it will be used, whether a photograph is included, how to withdraw, and the date.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

A client asking to be taken off your site?

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