Reputation firm: what to put in the contract before you sign
Guide · Updated October 31, 2026
Most disputes with a reputation firm come from vague contracts: unclear deliverables, unclear ownership and unclear exit terms. A few clear paragraphs avoid most of them.
This guide lists what a fair agreement should cover. It is not legal advice; have a licensed attorney review any contract you are unsure about.
What the agreement should cover
- Scope: specific tasks, such as monitoring, reply drafting, policy reports or content creation, rather than outcomes like removals or rankings.
- Methods: a statement that the firm will not post fake reviews, gate review requests or misrepresent who it is.
- Ownership: that all profiles, accounts and content created remain yours.
- Reporting: what you receive and how often.
- Access: what logins or permissions the firm needs, and how they are revoked.
- Exit: notice period, handover of materials and what happens to content the firm published.
Questions to ask before hiring any reputation provider
Reputation work ranges from routine (replying to reviews, claiming profiles) to complicated (legal requests, search results). Before signing anything, ask:
- Exactly what will you do, item by item, and what will you not do?
- Which platform rules or legal processes does each removal request rely on?
- Do you ever post reviews, create fake profiles, or pay for removals? (The right answer is no.)
- Do you have any relationship with the sites where the content appears?
- Who owns the accounts, logins and content created during the project?
- What happens if a request is declined?
Treat guarantees of removal or of a specific ranking as a warning sign. Platforms, publishers and search engines make their own decisions.
Why platforms rarely remove posts on request
In the United States, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act generally protects websites from being treated as the publisher of content their users post. In practice, that means a website usually has no legal obligation to remove a user's post just because someone says it is false or unfair.
Most removals therefore happen under the platform's own rules (its terms of service or content policy), through a court order directed at the content, or through specific laws such as copyright.
Exceptions and details matter, and this is general information rather than legal advice. A licensed attorney can explain how the law applies to a particular post.
The federal rules on reviews in plain terms
In 2024 the Federal Trade Commission finalized a rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, which took effect in October 2024. In general terms it targets:
- Fake reviews, including reviews from people who do not exist or who did not have the experience described.
- Buying positive or negative reviews, or offering rewards that are conditioned on what the review says.
- Reviews by company insiders or their relatives that do not clearly disclose the connection, in certain circumstances.
- Using unfounded legal threats, intimidation or false accusations to suppress reviews.
- Misrepresenting that a website that displays reviews is independent when the business controls it.
Separately, the Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 generally makes it unlawful to use form contracts that bar customers from posting honest reviews. If your intake paperwork contains a non-disparagement clause, have a lawyer look at it.
This is a summary, not legal advice. For questions about how these rules apply to your business, consult a licensed attorney.
Negative is not the same as removable
The most common source of frustration is the gap between a review that feels unfair and a review that breaks a rule. Most platforms allow honest negative opinions, including ones you strongly disagree with.
- Usually allowed: a low rating with a short complaint, criticism of price or wait times, an opinion about quality, or a description of a bad experience from the reviewer's point of view.
- Often against policy: reviews from someone who was never a customer, reviews posted by a competitor or a former employee, duplicate reviews from the same person, threats, hate speech, and posts that publish someone's private information.
- A gray area: statements that sound like facts and may be false. A platform may not be able to judge these. That is where documentation, a calm public reply and, in serious cases, advice from a licensed attorney come in.
Sorting reviews into these three groups before acting keeps you from spending time on requests that are unlikely to succeed.
Legal note: this guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws and platform policies change and vary by state. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Getting help
Many of these steps you can take yourself. If you would like someone to look at your situation with you and suggest a plan, you can book a paid consultation. This is a paid consultation: price confirmed when scheduling. No payment is taken on this site. We do not guarantee that any review, article, listing or search result will be removed.