Seven Wonders of the Search World – Part 6

This is part 6 of 7 in the series on Personal Branding and online name optimization…

Virtual is not real – and real is not virtual…yet.  But we’re nearly there:

FACT #6:  Our virtual and real worlds are fast becoming alike

 

Except, of course, online we are much more transparent than we are in public.  Online, there isn’t as much to pull around you to hide what you are saying and the angles you are working.  Your virtual identity, when someone looks for the real you – is beginning to offer up a lot of free information about you. 

 

Sometimes it is the “real you” – the one who you want people to find.  Sometimes it can be the right picture, or wrong one.  Other times it is someone who shares your name.  Beyond that, it could be “you from a former life” – oftentimes, people change.  While other people may give them benefit of the doubt – the search engines know of no such thing.  When they search for your name – they find the best matches possible.  You need to help control that – and help them find you: the real you and the current you.

 

There is even a very amusing post about how someone’s daughter is molding her own and his reality with telling him “Daddy, Google it!”  And here is where our real and virtual world’s become one fastest – through our kids and the younger generations.  Hold on folks, and get your footing now!

Be sure to check out the other parts to this article – here are links to installment 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Andy “Google Me” Greider is a marketing consultant and new business director with Carroll/White and radio show host of business growth solutions show, Uniqueness is Power. Andy is also Brand Manager with qAlias, plus he is a serial entrepreneur, author, blogger, inventor of the Gorelephant and networther.

 

Seven Wonders of the Search World – Part 5

This is part 5 of 7 in the series on Personal Branding and online name optimization…

We’ve all heard to expression that “XYZ company is an 800 lb gorilla” – it simply means that they are dominant in their field and when we say such things, we intimate that company is not to trifled with.  We’re also aware of the idea that elephants never forget, right?

However, in the field of personal branding online, there is a new creature – and it comes with the answer to the following question – “what do you get when you cross an 800 lb gorilla with a 5 ton elephant?”  Answer:  the Gorelephant - better known as Google.  The unstoppable, overpowering business entity with the long memory. 

This strange little analogy leads to:

FACT #5.  The internet (Google and other search engines) forgets less than an elephant

For all those hitting send before thinking, or being rude to customers online in a fit of anger, or even being railed against - the catalogable world information enters once it is in cybersapce is remarkable because: Once something is out there, it is out there – in general.  There are paid ways to remove some things (we have yet to find one that does it super well, but are always looking.)  Most of the time – people can (and will) find the info on you and your personal brand.  You can certainly cover it with plenty of other things to look at instead, and take top position online when your name is searched, but it is very difficult (or expensive) to remove bad press.

How does having top rankings for your personal brand help?  Besides making you easier to find, the truth of the matter is: people are generally unsatisfied with what they find.  If you make it easier for them to find something relevant - they will stop looking once they think they found what they were looking for.  Taking the time to position yourself properly and in a space where you control what is found, is key. 

Show them a large amount of information – even better – include links – and they will think they have found the font of knowledge about you.  And then that little indiscretion from college or happy hour or court or whatever else – may well never land on their radar.

 

Be sure to check out the other parts to this article – here are links to installment 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Andy “Google Me” Greider is a marketing consultant and new business director with Carroll/White and radio show host of business growth solutions show, Uniqueness is Power. Andy is also Brand Manager with qAlias, plus he is a serial entrepreneur, author, blogger, inventor of the Gorelephant and networther.

 

 

 

Google Me – Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution….

Google Me!

 

When you hear it, depending on who said it – the connotations can be many.  But we all know what it means – to search and find.  To show how fast Google has become a piece of the collective mainstream consciousness, let’s do a little experiment->

 

Think back 5 years…to when Google was one of the fastest growing sites online, but was still not quite mainstream enough to be a verb in Webster’s.  Then think back just less than 10 years, to when you first heard about Google.  I know it seemed like another good search engine to me at the time.  Did I suspect what was coming?  Maybe the founders did – but I can’t recall anyone with the grand vision of today (even 5 years ago.)

 

Now, think about today – we have “Google Me” – as a song, a new movie, a radio show, and a battle cry for those wanting to be found.  According to Jim Killeen, producer of Google Me – the Movie, there’s even Google Me, Reality TV up and coming.  Host Jim Cobb produces Google Me Talk Radio, and artist Teyana sings “You betta google me baby!” The other day at a networking event, I heard more than 10 people say “Google Me” when someone asked for a business card.

Where will Google and the Google culture be in 5 years?

I can’t agree with these folks.I’ll venture a bold guess – and please comment to tell what your thoughts are:

-         With the environmental push growing and expanding, and the old guard of Baby Boomers retiring, business cards will become a thing of novelty for sake of the planet and that of convenience.  We’ll all make the move to be found online.

-         With the surge in mobile technology, we’ll move from towers and laptops to laptops and handhelds (already happening) – and then to solo handhelds with flatscreens and keyboards that tote along.  People will be Googling in the airport, on the train platform and in the hotel lobby to find contact info.

-         As things move to a more and more local focus, your standing in your community will be effected both positively and negatively by Google searches.

-         Google will have it’s own tv channel – much like HGTV – instead of house makeovers, it will be personal web makeovers.

Don’t believe it?  Take a second and think about what you believed ten years ago….and then leave us a comment.

 

Andy “Google Me” Greider is a marketing consultant and new business director with Carroll/White and radio show host of business growth solutions show, Uniqueness is Power. Andy is also Brand Manager with qAlias, plus he is a serial entrepreneur, author, blogger, inventor of the Gorelephant and networther.

 

Seven Wonders of the Search World – Part 4

This is part 4 of 7 in the series on Personal Branding and online name optimization…

Street Cred is now second place.  Sorry folks.  Your credibility on the street comes in second, with a growing gap, to your Net-Cred.  Funny, for how much we all use Google and internet to search the things we don’t know about, including each other – how relatively few people understand this merge between Street Cred and Net Cred going on right now.  Now is the time, and we recommend you begin to accept fact #4 real soon.  Check out this example of Barack Obama using the term Street Cred – but where did we find out about him using it?

 

FACT #4.  It’s gone from “Street Cred” to “Net-Cred”

 

Ask anyone 35 and under – and learn that they no longer believe in simple street cred – or at least that it’s taken a whole new form.  Now, it’s called “Net Cred” – and it is something every single person should covet and seek out. 

 

Without it, you don’t hold cachet with over 1/2 of the workforce employed today.  And that trend of who looks for you online – it’s only going up – in fact, it may be the only thing that is truly “trickle up” in today’s world.  More and more, even C-Level 50 and 60 somethings are searching online for info on colleagues, potential hires and more.

 

When people seek you out on online, they are doing so to learn more about you – and they want to find anything that can help them do that.  How do you present currently?  What does your personal online brand say?  Don’t think it matters?  Don’t think you need to do it now?  I’d suggest you reconsider.  Check out the ways you can be found online, and increase your personal brand.

 

Be sure to check out the other parts to this article – here are links to installment 1, 2 and 3.

 

Andy “Google Me” Greider is a marketing consultant and new business director with Carroll/White and radio show host of business growth solutions show, Uniqueness is Power. Andy is also Brand Manager with qAlias, plus he is a serial entrepreneur, author, blogger, inventor of the Gorelephant and networther.

 

All Press is No Longer Considered Good Press

It used to be that when someone got press of any kind, it was considered to be a great thing – negative or positive.  That kind old age has passed us by, as the information superhighway double wide tractor trailer with the plate reading “SERCH LIVES” screams by, horns blaring, reminding everyone of the bad press anytime a search is launched.

See, back in the day, the press lasted in a medium that only held onto information for a day at a time.  Even when VCR’s and then DVR came along, we didn’t often record news, and even then, it was only on our set, and what we recorded that we’d see over and over.

Now, however, it is anyone online searching for information about YOU.  And yes, they do search for you.  From job verification or validation searches, to bouts of wayward curiosity that kills the proverbial cat – you are being looked for.  And all press is not good press.

Yes, press online can be corrected very quickly, but it is still there, and even with the corrections, provides an unflattering view of you that doesn’t go away easily.  Taking some control over what people find first is imperative, and to make it something everyone can find, without needing to “sign up”, “link up” or any other such sharing of information to see yours. 

Andy “Google Me” Greider is a marketing consultant and new business director with Carroll/White and radio show host of business growth solutions show, Uniqueness is Power. Andy is also Brand Manager with qAlias, plus he is a serial entrepreneur, author, blogger, inventor of the Gorelephant and networther.

 

 

Seven Wonders of the Search World – Part 3

This is part 3 of 7 in the series on Personal Branding and online name optimization….

Ok, so, there was a time I hated being called a salesman.  Then again, it all came with my own perception of sales people and what they represented to me.  These days, I am comfortable in the notion that everyone is in sales of some sort - selling themselves and what they contribute on a daily basis to a client’s success. 

 

If you don’t believe it, ok.  But don’t blame us when your profits plummet in coming months.  In a recessisive economy, we must become needed, not wanted, and be coveted and adored assets to our clients.  And therefore, it is important to realize, that no matter how soft your approach – we’re all selling something - (even if we’re “selling crazy”) - but it’s usually ourselves and our perceived value - each day.

 

FACT #3: We’re all in sales

Even if you don’t know it – you are always in sales.  People are looking to you for an impression of the company you represent.  They want to see how the see you – the value you bring - and what you can do for them.  They see that company’s brand in you – and they are interested or not – based on what they see. 

Nowadays, people are using the internet to find what they don’t know about - (even at 3 am) including you.  They are searching for you, for your employees, your client facing people.  They want to know how to connect and learn more about you?  Wouldn’t it make sense to make the best first e-impression?  Be sure to visit one of the best resources we’ve found to help in making that first e-Impression.

Be sure to check out the other parts to this article – here are links to installment 1, 2.

Andy “Google Me” Greider is a marketing consultant and new business director with Carroll/White and radio show host of business growth solutions show, Uniqueness is Power. Andy is also Brand Manager with qAlias, plus he is a serial entrepreneur, author, blogger, inventor of the Gorelephant and networther.

 

Seven Wonders of the Search World Part 2

This is part 2 of 7 in a series on online personal branding and search education.

 

Somewhere along the way, I learned that there was nothing more important that my name.  I don’t know exactly who taught me, but in my pre-internet world, (even pre-electricity) you were only as good as your name  (great tips for all, but especially real estate agents, at this posting) – and what others said about you in your circles of influence.  And your name was something you had control over – in large part – by how you handled yourself in relation to keeping your word and upholding professional and personal integrity.

 

However, in the past 14 years, and especially the past decade…the world of being as good as your name has changed – and drastically.  Now, “You’re Only as Good As Google Says You Are.”  And Google (and other search engines) watch your every move, even all you are Googling…lol!

 

They allow people to find out when someone mentions you, for better or worse, in a blog, on a website or in a paper – or even on the new cadid camera, Google Maps.  You can combat this by using RSS feeds to notify you when your name and your company name turn up in the news.  They chronicle your activities, both professional and personal.  Protection of your name is so important now, colleges have courses and are writing student body emails about it - recently we spoke at UGA to a class about the perils of Facebook.

This all leads to:

FACT #2.  Your name is the most precious thing you own

 

Your name is how people search for you and refer to you.  Even if you own a store called the Beer Neccessities- you are still Bob Carlson - the owner, and the person people refer to.  They say – “you should go see Bob Carlson – he has a shop up near you – called Beer something…”  People do business with people, not with businesses.  They refer to people, and not businesses.  There is a need for people to relate to each other – and we do it through names.  We do business with people we like – and we refer to those we really like.

However, we also use Google as our barometer of meeting, greeting and doing business or establishing relationships in the first place.  We’re all becoming more and more accustomed to the action of Googling all we don’t already know about – and so, as always, we suggest you have a guard up – and you be sure to protect your name online – and control what the web says about you.

 

Check out the first installment if you missed it….and as always, please leave comments, good and bad – we want to hear from you….

 

Andy “Google Me” Greider is a marketing consultant and new business director with Carroll/White and radio show host of business growth solutions show, Uniqueness is Power. Andy is also Brand Manager with qAlias, plus he is a serial entrepreneur, author, blogger, inventor of the Gorelephant and networther.

 

The Inherent Dangers of Leaving Self Online Promotion to Your Employees

In a world where we Google everything, what happens when someone Googles an employee of yours, with whom they are about to meet, and finds “less than savory” information? Do you get that appointment or sale? Or does your competitor?

Google helps us decide on many things, and what we find is important in that process. When people want to know about you – they Google you – and that goes for your employees as well. Due to all the places people can be “found wanting” – a bad night out, a legal hassle, college activities or prior business or legal issues that all come up in search – you want to control what people find. None of these are what we’d expect, but they do happen – more than we’d know.

Now you can now gain control over what people find out about your client facing workforce, while maintaining your brand and message, as well, with a cool company called qAlias and the private label services they provide.

“It seems a no-brainer if you can afford to do it,” says one executive at a Fortune 1000 about controlling name search. “I think this is one of the smartest ideas I’ve seen in quite some time, and at less than $10 per employee per month, it makes sense.  We gain in SO many ways.”

So, what does this mean to your company?

With qAlias, you gain a top page presence for your employees whenever someone Googles them. You help control the personal branding of those you have hired, and in the process, help control your own brand as well. From the board, to the C-Level, to the salesforce, this is one tool all can leverage to prime advantage.

But what about the recruiters?

The recruiters you are worrying about finding your employees already have a very fair shot through the social-business networks. In fact, they have a better shot there, because there they can simply fish – by job title, industry, name and more. On the qAlias platform, they have to know the name of the person they are seeking.

Anything Else I Should Know?

Well, yes, there is – one of the coolest things about this service is how it inter-relates to combining your company brand with the employee’s online personal brand – and protecting both.  Companies also gain when the cross-links and increased keyword relevance begin to show up and effect organic search results and placement as well.

How Do I Find Out More? 

Please visit qAlias for more info and to learn how to connect with the qAlias team. For a sample of a qAlias profile with private labeling, google John Damiano.

Hurry and do this now for your company, employees and brand – before your competitor does it for themselves – or before you lose another big sale – without even knowing it is happening, because e-Impressions happen each  day – without you being aware.

Andy “Google Me” Greider is a marketing consultant and new business director with Carroll/White and radio show host of business growth solutions show, Uniqueness is Power. Andy is also Brand Manager with qAlias, plus he is a serial entrepreneur, author, blogger, inventor of the Gorelephant and networther.

Seven Wonders of the Search World – Part 1

Seven Wonders of the Search World – Yours For the Reading….

How $10 a month and some good old fashioned elbow grease allowed me to change my (virtual) world, web standing, increase my Net-Cred…and build my Personal Brand

All the best selling authors, authoritative bloggers and self-proclaimed experts say the same thing – “you need a strong personal brand online.”  Funny part is, they rarely tell you how to do it – past the idea of “be prolific with posting material online like I did.”

While that works – what they don’t mention is – they often built the audiences they have now with Web 1.0 – not Web 2.0 – and they relied on different web search criterion than you will need to.  We want to help you understand why it is important to position well online – we don’t just want to tell you to do it.  We also then want to show you how.  This seven part blog article covers the why – and the eBooks (create them with this program in the link) on the last post of the series show you the how.

It was eighteen months ago when I began to try and effect what Google said about me – and what people found when they searched.  I began in the organic world and have since expanded into the paid realm as well.  It’s amazing what $10 a month, some knowledge of search algorithms and some good old fashioned perseverance and hard work brought me – Google me now, Andy Greider – for an example of how I took control of what the web said about me…

Really, no, go do it now. It isn’t an ego trip (or a Ferris Bueller ripoff) - but it is prescient to the conversation we’re about to have.

Do you want that same type of presence?  Top line or at least page 1 on Google and Yahoo?  Page after page with your materials, accolades and writings?  If you’re someone who deals with clients, or who is in the public eye – you should care and want to present the best you – and if you have a common name – the real you.  We’d like to cover why it is important – and then how you do it, in today’s web world and atmosphere.  Here come Seven Factual Wonders of the Search World to help you understand, and then two eBooks to help you develop, position and explode your online brand and your business – sound good?

FACT #1.  You are being Googled

Yes, folks, it is time to face the music.  How much do you Google each day?  Yahoo?  Between the two, it is almost 90% of the traffic on the search engines.  How do you find out what you don’t know?  I’ll bet you Google it.  Right?

You can choose to not believe it, not want it to happen or profess to not care that it might be.  (You may not even feel it!)  But it is happening - surveys show about 13-15 times per month – and it really does matter.  What does it say to a potential client when they Google you and find nothing at all about you?  Or they find things you don’t want to lead with?  Or things that are outdated?  Or worse, things that are either wrong – or right, and embarrassing?  What if it is a recruiter or potential client?

Do you really think you can manipulate organic search (something that changes often and with good reason) – and have control over what they find?  You need to work in both the paid and the organic realm.  One should feed off the other.  You need to be someone who seems to be everywhere – all at once.  You can become recognized – and heralded as an expert in a few months online if you approach it properly.  Be able to say “Google Me!” and know what they will find.

Tune in tomorrow for Part 2….

Andy “Google Me” Greider is a marketing consultant and new business director with Carroll/White and radio show host of business growth solutions show, Uniqueness is Power. Andy is also Brand Manager with qAlias, plus he is a serial entrepreneur, author, blogger, inventor of the Gorelephant and networther.