DISQUS

rebkin · 1 year ago

After I'd read this post I typed in my 'screen name' Rebkin in Google. It found 13,500 results (!). They're all mine except two and they were way back on the list -- I browsed about 10 pages back. The weird thing is that no where is my own web page at http://rebkin.com to be found! It HAS been there before...I don't know what's up with that. It really doesn't matter because I don't have any real purpose with all this...I'd like to come up with one though :)
I've never felt the urge to state my own name online so ever since it all begun I've used a screen name. It used to be Webby -- which might have been 'original' in Sweden but not on the www. My real name is too long anyway. Rebkin.com was available and that was basically the reason why I signed up.. :) Now that's all very well...I just can't dream up one reason why anyone would search for it.

Svetlana Gladkova · 1 year ago

Mike, very reasonable post, really a must-read for anyone just starting with personal branding. I remember in the early days of Profy I did not bother to register accounts named "profy" everywhere I could but now I am most certain to at least add some basic information to any new service launched and forget it if I don't see traction enough to justify my efforts to keep it active. And even if you don't really get any search traffic, it will at the very least provide an extra incoming link or two.

P.S. Thanks for the link, by the way :)

Nils Geylen · 1 year ago

I never realized why exactly Twitter was so high up and it didn't occur to me that tweets count as content updates.

I suppose that's cool though, since I update there more than on my site.

It's all the same to me. I can be found, if someone wants me, so I'm not sitting waiting for the phone to ring. And, to be honest, I've been using Twitter or Friendfeed themselves as primary search a long time. If I need to find someone or something, it's there that I look first. Good to see Google catch on to that.

MartinSFP · 1 year ago

It's frustrating - I'd be number one result for my name if it wasn't for my idiot namesake who committed mass murder in Tasmania 12 years ago. As it is, you get three pages of him at the start. My FriendFeed page is the first sign of me on Google, right at the bottom of page 3.

Tip: even if you do most of the things listed here, sharing a name with a mass murderer negates the effort! :)

Udi Drezner · 1 year ago

Great Post!!!

I totally agree with the above tips. But even when you implement these rips, and create online profiles, there may be sites which will rank higher in search results for your name search. The reason for that may be:

1) The relevancy of the site to the name you searched
2) The number of clicks each site gets when people search for your name
3) the number of outbound links to the site
4) The page rank of the site
5) Newer and more updated sites may receive higher ranking at first
and more…
The ranking may also change drastically over time…

Anyway, there are a lot ways to make your site rank higher than others, probably the easiest way is to use services that create a web site for you and specialize in SEO. One service that I use (and I have many online profiles) is LookupPage.

For example, you can Google my name or search my name in Yahoo to see what I mean.

In addition, for popular names, like “John Smith” the service provides sponsored listing on Google to make sure your name is visible on Google first page every time your name is being searched. So you don’t necessarily need to use your middle name, but the name your are known for.

BR,
Udi Drezner

digitalshaman · 1 year ago

or ... you could trademark your name ... using all of the suggestions above to decide on what your applicable trade is & enforce the tradename against those who might cyber-squat or worse ... it is even helpful in resolving liability in ID Theft &/or getting some traction in the currency of recognition that we are all able to monetize using the intellectual property protections that larger entities take for granted and use successfully for their own gain ... this is not legal advice, express or implied ... but while the big boys attack the patent system, copyright & trademark protections get stronger ... so, why not? we are all analogs & intangible!

Hosting Reviews · 1 year ago

It's not as hard as most would think. Especially if you have a name that isn't all that common. However if you do... there's plenty you can do. The suggestions above will get you right where you want to be.

Trace Cohen · 10 months ago

Most people dont realize the importance of owning your name in Google. This is especially prominent in college students. Now this is a problem because more and more employers are searching for you online before and after interviews to try and find out more about you. In most cases students facebooks come up, which usually doesnt lead to good things unless you cleaned it up or put on certain security settings, which I highly doubt. So for a mere hour a week, joining and maintaining all your social networks online can actually help you out more than you could ever imagine.

Teaching students about personal branding is a must right now because there are so many ways that they can ruin everything they have achieved in their college career with a simple Googling of their name.

gochi · 9 months ago

Now a days owning a domain name is very important to your business, you should own a domain name that should include your keyword, if keyword with your domain name then it is very easy to find your website in Google first page.

stevenmartinez · 9 months ago

Oh your so intelligent. Your post is very interesting and at the same time very entertaining. Hope you will share more great information to us. Thank you so much! God bless and keep on inspiring others.

Miami Marketing Company · 6 months ago

The introduction of the blog seems to be catchy..
It attracts my attention to continue reading the blog..
I realized your point that you should have lots of money to gain reputation in the web..
I think all you need is just showcase a extraordinary achievement and share it with others..