Google-You Tips and Tricks From A Cyber-Guru

"How to Boost Your Googlego"

by Jessie Stricchiola

Have you Google'd yourself recently? More importantly, have you Google'd yourself ever? Chances are if you haven't, someone else has - and it could have a significant and potentially permanent impact on that person's impression of you. In the age of "Googling," in which anyone can research your entire life's history with a few simple keystrokes, a gesture as innocent as giving out your business card at a cocktail party offers you an opportunity to either shine - or shame. It could be a potential employer, a business competitor looking for an edge, or the potential husband or wife you met at the gym - and it is in your best interest to present your best face when people are looking to learn all about the person behind the name. Google offers free name-based marketing for you, and if you know how to take advantage of it, you can be prepared for any "Googling" eyes.

It is important to understand that if you have a very common name, such as John Smith or Jen Roberts, getting your information to the top of any search engine is going to be much more difficult than if your last name is Zoomengroovenruben. However, with some concerted effort and a little elbow grease, you can certainly improve upon your current situation if you've done nothing thus far.

First, there are three main areas in which you can utilize your Google exposure: general search, image search, and news search.

General Google Search:

One of the most powerful things you can do to increase your exposure is to have a web site that includes your name in the domain, for example, johnroberts.com. Or, if that domain is unavailable, then visitjohnroberts.com or johrobertsonline.com could work just as well. You can probably think of many other possibilities for domain names that might pertain to your particular business, such as johnrobertsphotography.com. Your name might be long, but if someone is going to type it into a search field, then they won’t mind seeing it in your domain name – and Google will actually love it.

Next, if your web site has many links coming into it from legitimate web sites that have your name in the text on their page, you have a great start on getting some Google rankings. If however you don’t work in the internet industry, this might be something that will take longer to establish, so it’s not top on the list – however you should be looking for links whenever, and wherever possible as a long term strategy. The third step is to make sure that your web site page titles are short, sweet, and targeted – especially the title of your home, or index page. The
“title tag” is what appears at the top of your browser window (in Explorer, in the blue bar on the top).

The home page (or whichever page is the default when the domain is typed in) should include a short title that contains your full name – for example, “John Roberts Photography” is much more targeted and optimized than “John Roberts Photography Including Animal, Family, and Landscape Portraiture”. The shorter and more concentrated your page titles, the greater
emphasis Google places on the words that are actually in the title.

Next, you want to make sure that your page descriptions include your name and any other immediately relevant information about you, with your name being the first two words of the description: “John Roberts Photography – view client portfolios online and learn about John’s philosophy.” If your name is primarily associated with a company (whether or not it is your
own) you want to make sure you have the company name in your description as well, as people might be searching for “John Roberts 123 Media." You can also include the company name in the title tags if you prefer – it’s simply a matter of what’s important to you.

You also want to make sure you have enough text content on your pages that talks about you – with your name repeated at least a handful of times; Google wants to know the page is about you.

Google Image Search:

Have you tried an image search recently? There are some pretty bizarre results that can come up for searches for people’s names – not the least of which are pictures of the wrong people! If you want to ensure that pictures of you come up in search results, make sure you post pictures of yourself on your site – and name these pictures along these lines: john_roberts.jpg; john_roberts_academy_awards.jpg, etc.

Google News Search:

Lastly, use Google as your personal PR engine. There are many channels online that you can use to promote yourself and/or your business – PRWeb.com and PrimeZone.com for example. Simply issue a press release announcing your move from one company to another, your promotion to a new position, your accomplishments within your current post, or a new article
that you have written or been quoted in. These releases get wide distribution across online media channels, which are the first to come up in Google News searches – and these pages sometimes stay in the main index for extended periods of time, giving you double bang for your buck.

These tactics are based on general SEO best practices – and if you have a moderately unique name, you should see significant improvement in a few months if you don’t have a web site yet – and could see rankings in a few weeks if you do. And if you want proof that I know what I’m talking about, just Google me.

If at the end of the day, however, you’re still having a hard time getting ranked for your name - or if you are ranking well but just want to dominate all Google results – then go on and open your wallet and purchase ads through AdWords. You’re sure to be found then. Just make sure you don’t have any enemies, as some people have been known to repeatedly click on ads.

Jessie Stricchiola, President of Alchemist Media, Inc.