How the rich protect their online identity

You can't always control what's said about you on the Internet. But with enough money, you can influence what comes up in a search. A few companies promise to control your message online, or eliminate a bit of scandal or bad press -- for a price.

"We can remove something that shouldn't be there," said Chris Dinota, the CEO and founder of Solvera Group. The cost for that service? Between $50,000 and $300,000, depending on the project, plus a monthly maintenance cost. While many less expensive services work to move negative content down and positive content up, Solvera will try to remove the negative links altogether and manage the search results.

Dinota's company, which performs background checks and will not work with clients whose negative reviews prove to be accurate, will "de-index" negative links, removing them from the search results of Google, Yahoo and Bing. This sometimes involves legal battles to get content removed, using a court order alleging something like defamation or slander.

Many are desperate because a negative link can have devastating effects on an individual, or the bottom line. He described a company that made $10 million to 15 million in revenue, but "because of a link at the top they literally lost $1 million in revenue," he said.