A reader wrote in today to ask a good question:
I was just wondering on items that we post to this site – like the comment fields on the brag basket.. would they be show up in google searches? My only concern was that if i posted “business” type things – I wouldn’t want them to come up in a google or yahoo search if a customer typed in our business name. We had a problem with this on our association message board where we all voiced “concerns” that we wouldn’t want blasted out to the world – then later found out they were showing up on searches! Anyway – just wondering…. Thanks.
Anything you post in the comment box here and on any other website is public. It is possible for your comments to be found by search.
I always follow the guideline of only posting comments that I don’t mind everyone on the planet reading. You can always comment, especially in the Brag Basket, without giving the details. Feel free to leave out your business name, or to skip over any details you wouldn’t want to share publicly.
New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.
- Cheap placemaking idea: instant murals - September 11, 2020
- Refilling the rural business pipeline - July 7, 2020
- Huge vacant buildings: grants to renovate? - June 9, 2020
- Economic self defense for small towns - June 7, 2020
- The best things you can do for local businesses in light of coronavirus - March 27, 2020
- How to get more parking downtown without adding any spaces - March 7, 2020
- Exact Yeti Blue mic volume and Windows settings to reduce background noise - February 17, 2020
- Getting local businesses to cooperate with you: Shop Hopping Around Brownsville - December 16, 2019
- Survey of Rural Challenges 2019 results - December 5, 2019
- Shop Indie Local adds a new twist to tired Buy Local campaigns - November 11, 2019
So right Becky. And I had a friend who deleted a comment and it continued to show up in search results for a while. Putting our best foot forwards is the best way to go!
I offer the same advice that I’ve offered for years: Don’t email, post or comment to a blog, direct message, chat, etc. *anything* that you wouldn’t be willing to see as a headline in your local paper. If an email / posting / comment makes you angry, wait for 24 hours before replying. If you hesitate for even a moment on the “send/post/publish” button, DON’T click on it. The Internet is full of cautionary tales of people who did and now regret it. You’ll thank yourself later.
Janice and Ruth Marie, thanks for adding your thoughts. I think it comes back to our small town courtesy. If you wouldn’t want it to get back to someone, don’t say it.