Imagine the nightmare scenario. You apply for your dream job and you wait. Months past and not a single response from the company. You begin to wonder what the hold-up is. Did they get your email ? Did you mistype your phone number or email ?

One day you are on Google searching for a DVD and as an experiment you put your own name in just to see what comes up. The first four entries are what you would expect; your Facebook page, your Instagram, you on Twitter and your LinkedIn page, but to your horror you see a link to an article about a crime you were cleared of many years ago but now visible to anyone searching your name. Then it hits you - anyone that reads your CV is going to do a search on anyone who applies for a job with them and anyone who searches your name would have seen the offending article.

So, you begin to wonder how that article suddenly appear out of nowhere. You read about a web technique called SEO - Search Engine Optimisation - where websites can be boosted up the search results. Did someone boost that article to discredit you ? you thank back to anyone you may have offended. After a while you give up and go for a wander around the park. after a while it hits you ! you do know a friend who did a lot of web work and often bragged about how she could push websites up Google searches ... and push them down. You wonder if this person is responsible for that hostile article suddenly appearing on Google search results.