The other day, Amber told you about Google Profiles, and they’re a great step towards managing your online identity.  After all, if anyone wants to know anything about you, they’re going to Google you.

But what if you’re a web designer and the top result for your name is a popular Canadian right-wing blogger (just an arbitrary example)?  To ensure you have the information you need to keep your identity from getting muddled with those who share your name, here are some simple steps to start with…

• Try Pipl. Information is your friend, and you have to have it to be able to manage it, and Pipl helps you get it.  Here’s what they say about their service…
  “Since most personal profiles, public records and other people-related documents are stored in databases and not on static web pages, most of the higher-quality information about people is simply “invisible” to a regular search engine.”

  “Unlike a typical search-engine, Pipl is designed to retrieve information from the deep web, our robots are set to interact with searchable databases and extract facts, contact details and other relevant information from personal profiles, member directories, scientific publications, court records and numerous other deep-web sources.”

• Create your internet business card.  You may have multiple sites online… maybe one about your pet rock collection and one about your catering business – likely you want your catering business to take top ranking here (unless you make your living off of pet rocks of course), so purchase your name as a domain name and use it to point people in the direction you want them to go.  Consider it your personal online greeter, like at Walmart, only better.  Make your name prominent on the page, along with your location, contact info and brief intro. You can link to your catering business and your pet rock collection if you like.  Also, once you own yourname.com, not only do you control it forever but you can also point it anywhere you like in the future.Many people share their name with others, and you can guarantee that each year your name will be shared by an increasing number of people.  So if you’re going head to head with other Jane and John Does, try to “brand yourself” uniquely.  Include an initial or your middle name.  Of course it’s best to use the name most likely to be searched, but if that’s not available you don’t have to rename yourself …  just be sure to pair up the unique name you choose for your domain with your email, etc…
• Be consistent. Speaking of pairing your unique name with your email, etc… Search engines will find your business card site and link it with your name only if it is linked to your name on other pages already identified by Google. For example, if you’re blog commenter or online community participant and you want Google to find your business card site, change your commenter/participant name to the name used in your business card site and link it. Make sure your Google Profile info matches that on your business cards site too.

Web Marketing Therapy Related Links:

• Google Profiles
• Building and Branding Your Facebook Identity (Part 2): Know Your Target Audience
• Building and Branding Your Facebook Identity (Part One)
• Use Social Media to Store Your Business Card Contacts

Categories: Blog Babe Tips, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Web Marketing Tips

Tags: online identity

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