Can I ask companies house to hide my info from search engines?

[Marcos Millet]

Hope everyone's had/having fun with the beast.

So here's my issue:

If you were to Google my company, many unwanted suggestions appear: 2 Companies House links, 8 3rd party sites containing the same info, and a few other ones who've duplicated our social media accounts. Weird.

I learnt that I can request for the 3rd party sites showing my info to add a noindex tag to the web page concerned, which means the info will still be there but it won't be accessible from search engines. I've done this and all but one are obliging.

I understand the info on companies house is public information - but is there any way I could ask them to do the same thing that the 3rd party sites have done? The information would still be accessible, just you'd have to search directly on THEIR site (or another means).

The fact that the companies house registration appears above my own URL in search rankings is simply bad for business, not to mention I'm not massively overwhelmed about my home address being right there (my mistake). One option is that I have to suck it up and move the registered address and potentially pay for an office space of somekind, which isn't ideal and a pain. Another option is to naturally decrease the search engine ranking of the unwanted URL, but overtaking the ranking with my own URLs. This is the goal, but SEO like this takes time. Another option is for companies house to add the noindex tag to the concerned URLs so they won't show up anymore from the likes of Google etc. There are a couple of other options but they are things I'd really like to avoid.


I understand the information is public. I just don't want it to be slapped on front page news!


What's my best option here?


Tldr: can I ask companies house to add a noindex tag to my company registration page so it doesn't show up on search engines?

 

[NDT Level 3]

As you say this is public information, so the public have a right to view it. i.e Companies House website. You can get this information removed but you have to give a good reason. i.e You work in animal testing and have received threats or such like. The fact that you don't like it on google would not be good enough IMO.

BTW the 'noindex' tag is optional for the engines to follow. Most will but this not legally binding or anything, it's just a guide for the spider.

Also there are many benefits to your data being available on the CH website. i.e. people can easily verify that you exist, and are a bona fide company.

 

[KAC]

Sadly now that the information is on Companies House, it is there to stay as your address was included in the incorporation documents. It also enables a link to your previous company. It's the price we pay for Freedom of Information. My home address is still listed with details of companies I resigned from in 2001 and 2008

 

[Nathan Hill-Haimes]

Sorry you're stuck Companies house data is public record. IOM provides anonymity.

 

[Alan]

The OP's issue is not the fact it is public, but it ranks too high in Google.

Without the option to noindex, the only solution I see is to raise your site or bury the unwanted sites.

If your brand keyword is really hurting business, do what most brands do, bid on your own brand in Adwords, bidding on your own brand is normally cheap as competition is low and you should get a good quality score.

 

[billmccallum1957]

I did google your business, what a shame you picked that name!

Firstly, google thought I was looking for The Gift Store and I had to choose Gifty to get to your links, the first three were your site, and Companies House is not on page 1 (only 1 reference site was on page 1).

If you just google Gifty, you get totally different results, none of them are you.

To be honest, only someone looking for your details will be going to the trouble of googling you.

Unless someone actually Googles "The Gifty Store" and chooses the right spelling option, they will probably have trouble finding you.

 

[Paul Carmen]

No is the short answer, but this has already been covered in detail!

Firstly, google thought I was looking for The Gift Store and I had to choose Gifty to get to your links, the first three were your site, and Companies House is not on page 1 (only 1 reference site was on page 1)

You should be able to rank your brand name fairly easily, that's the first thing any website should get right SEO wise. I wouldn't worry about beta companies house or limited company info sites outranking you, they should be no issue once you do the basics for your brand.

As Bill's search above shows, your problem is that you have a number of major issues with your brand/site/technical SEO setup, both from a Google & a customer trust point of view: -

• You should have a consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone no) for your business & mark this up so Google knows the exact details, you don't.
• You should have those trading details clearly on your site for a customer trust point of view, along with clear contact details, you don't.

The NAP & business details should be listed consistently across the internet: -

• Social media, you only seem to have Facebook & Instagram & these aren't consistent, are you Gifty or thegiftystore?
• You should list 100% consistently on the major sites/directories that Google looks to; e.g. GMB, Google+, Bing Business, Yell etc.
• You should get some consistent NAP links from local & relevant directories too

You have a number of onsite technical SEO, URL, security & other SEO issues

• All your main URLs add /?v=79cba1185463
• All your pages can be accessed by http & https, so aren't fully secure
• Your brand appears to be The Gift Store, not Gifty, from your page titles setup
• You seem to have either duplicate content or canonicalisation problems, plus long & duplicate meta descriptions too
• You have a large number of links in to the site, but they are mainly from the same sites & seem a bit low quality. Improving the quality & diversity here would be beneficial

I'm happy to talk you through what's wrong, or answer any questions on the detail above. Feel free to PM me about any of it.

 

[Marcos Millet]

Thanks everyone for your insights!

The OP's issue is not the fact it is public, but it ranks too high in Google.

Without the option to noindex, the only solution I see is to raise your site or bury the unwanted sites.

If your brand keyword is really hurting business, do what most brands do, bid on your own brand in Adwords, bidding on your own brand is normally cheap as competition is low and you should get a good quality score.

Exactly. Bidding on the term(s) I'm concerned about isn't a bad idea. I'll look into it.

I did google your business, what a shame you picked that name!

Firstly, google thought I was looking for The Gift Store and I had to choose Gifty to get to your links, the first three were your site, and Companies House is not on page 1 (only 1 reference site was on page 1).

If you just google Gifty, you get totally different results, none of them are you.

To be honest, only someone looking for your details will be going to the trouble of googling you.

Unless someone actually Googles "The Gifty Store" and chooses the right spelling option, they will probably have trouble finding you.

I agree with everything you said. As useful as it is, it's annoying how Google will show different results though for different users - I can't get a true representation of what's happening with my search results!

The goal is to get my site ranked as high as possible for terms: "thegiftystore", "the gifty store", and eventually "gifty". These are things I overlooked when creating the business but you live and learn. Maybe one day it'll say "Did you mean "The Gifty Store" when users have searched for "the gift store". Haha.

You should be able to rank your brand name fairly easily, that's the first thing any website should get right SEO wise. I wouldn't worry about beta companies house or limited company info sites outranking you, they should be no issue once you do the basics for your brand.

​

Agreed.
​

As Bill's search above shows, your problem is that you have a number of major issues with your brand/site/technical SEO setup, both from a Google & a customer trust point of view: -

• You should have a consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone no) for your business & mark this up so Google knows the exact details, you don't.
• You should have those trading details clearly on your site for a customer trust point of view, along with clear contact details, you don't.

Not sure if this is going straight over my head or not, but I'm not sure what you mean. Admittedly my site is far from perfect (as is everything else), but I do have a contact page? The company registration number is visible from every page too in the footer I don't feel like I need my business address plastered all over the shop, as it's completely irrelevant. Nothing happens there from the customers point of view.

If you can however give me some tips on how to improve the consistency of my NAP, then I'll definitely give it a go..
.

• Social media, you only seem to have Facebook & Instagram & these aren't consistent, are you Gifty or thegiftystore?

FB and Insta usernames are both @thegiftystore... but the names shown are just Gifty

I want to be known as Gifty, but I understand it's going to be a lot more difficult for me to rank on SE as Gifty than thegiftystore or the gifty store. So I was planning on maxing out thegiftystore efforts, then working on gifty. Overall though, it's thegiftystore ltd. trading as Gifty.

You have a number of onsite technical SEO, URL, security & other SEO issues

• All your main URLs add /?v=79cba1185463
• All your pages can be accessed by http & https, so aren't fully secure
• Your brand appears to be The Gift Store, not Gifty, from your page titles setup
• You seem to have either duplicate content or canonicalisation problems, plus long & duplicate meta descriptions too
• You have a large number of links in to the site, but they are mainly from the same sites & seem a bit low quality. Improving the quality & diversity here would be beneficial

I'm happy to talk you through what's wrong, or answer any questions on the detail above. Feel free to PM me about any of it.

I agree about that URL situation. I've worked with multiple developers along the way, no doubt been swindled by a few. I thought I'd just have to live with this URL. I'll look into it.

I'm gonna blame the last 3 bullet points on this bloke who did 1 month of SEO for me. He was terrible. I understand I'm not going to see SEO results overnight - but he was just adding SEO nonsense in poor English. I'm fine with anything if it's going to get me results, but not at the detriment of readable content. Lol.

One of the backlinks (I think that's the term) he added was from a "hackersparadise" forum. That looks lovely on the search engine (sarcasm).

 

[Paul Carmen]

@Marcos Millet there is too much to go through here on the thread now really, but you need help with many elements of your site & business practice, as there is loads that's wrong.

The point of NAP is that search engines use it as a trust/ranking signal. You don't have one, it needs all the elements & needs to be consistent. This will help you rank your business/brand name quickly.

I gave you some pointers, you have to be 100% consistent & list it in the places I described (plus many more), with the same NAP. Google how it works, there's loads of articles on NAP and setting up a Google My Business listing.

You can't call yourself Gifty & The Gifty Store, you are one or the other, not both. Google tries to bring up "The Gift Store" because you're not an established brand called Gifty & no one searches for "the gifty store", it thinks its a misspelling. You can view search results without your cookie history skewing them using an incognito window to a certain extent, or using proper keyword research tools.

From a PPC point of view, you'd not be bidding on your brand name, there's zero search volume for "the gifty store" or "gifty". You'd be bidding on someone else's brand, or more likely generic early search related gifting queries.

From a customer perspective, I've worked in retail/ecommerce for 20 years & many people won't buy from a retailer without a UK address on their website. As a limited company its also a legal requirement to show your registered address, see: https://www.gov.uk/running-a-limited-company/signs-stationery-and-promotional-material

You can just disavow spammy links using Google Search Console. The things you need to fix urgently are your sites SSL setup, your company legal requirements and onsite technical SEO, before worrying about other ranking work. Feel free to PM me if you want a full analysis or to discuss it any further.

 

[Alan]

many people won't buy from a retailer without a UK address on their website

An a breach of the e commerce directive, requiring a trading address ( primarily so consumers can excercise their right to return goods )

 

[Alan]

Also your site is dead slow, not only will Google not particularly like that but potential customers will definitely give up.

 

[Marcos Millet]

An a breach of the e commerce directive, requiring a trading address ( primarily so consumers can excercise their right to return goods )

The "registered address" is included on the website if one really wishes to find it, however it aint gonna be too helpful - Gifty is a retailer who uses dropshippers as their suppliers. I have and am 100% willing to disclose the address, I just don't want it broadcasted (in my opinion unfairly) above my own URL? To me that makes no sense.

I agree with the premise that if a customer can see an address, they'll feel more at ease. But I also think that if a customer sees a crappy residential address like mine, they wont be itching to buy something either.

Also your site is dead slow, not only will Google not particularly like that but potential customers will definitely give up.

I'm aware and agree - it's unacceptable and genuinely embarassing. I messed up with many things (learning curve) and trying to make do with what I've got. Believe it or not it's improved in the last month or so, and it's one of the priorities of things to improve, without making drastic site overhauls. But yeah it's high on the agenda.

Thanks for the feedback

 

[Mr D]

The "registered address" is included on the website if one really wishes to find it, however it aint gonna be too helpful - Gifty is a retailer who uses dropshippers as their suppliers. I have and am 100% willing to disclose the address, I just don't want it broadcasted (in my opinion unfairly) above my own URL? To me that makes no sense.

I agree with the premise that if a customer can see an address, they'll feel more at ease. But I also think that if a customer sees a crappy residential address like mine, they wont be itching to buy something either.



I'm aware and agree - it's unacceptable and genuinely embarassing. I messed up with many things (learning curve) and trying to make do with what I've got. Believe it or not it's improved in the last month or so, and it's one of the priorities of things to improve, without making drastic site overhauls. But yeah it's high on the agenda.

Thanks for the feedback

The customer may well not notice you have a residential address.
I've never bothered looking at what sort of address I've been buying from and have been ordering for over 20 years online.
And ordering mail order for decades before that.

I do notice when a site doesn't show an address (rare but it happens). Finding a UK address for the amazon company I needed to mail was harder than expected.

 

[TODonnell]

One trick may be to buy an address service like ours, change the registered office to that address on Companies House, then the previous address will stop being so 'visible', over time.

AFAIK, and this is only from a cursory glance, Companies House and sites which pimp off it will make the latest info the most prominent; people will have to dig for the old info.

I'm surprised other sites heeded the OP's request to noindex his listing; it's public info.