.:The Internet Home Business Magazine for Moms & Dads:.

What’s on your Google Resume?

 

I love to Google things. I Google names to see if people I know appear. I Google obscure words to see if I’m spelling them correctly. I Google businesses to find addresses and addresses to find maps. I love it. I even periodically Google myself.

There are few among us who have not yet Googled our own name just to “see what comes up.” There is a little something inside that gives a joyful shout when at least one of the sites that appear on the first page of hits is really and truly something you have done or said. It feels like a little taste of fame.

Yesterday, I mentioned that Lorna’s interview subject Googled her prior to their phone call to see if he could find anything out about her. I wondered if my interview subjects did the same. That really got me thinking.

How many potential clients Google me before hiring me?

In our Internet-laden business community, we often have little or no control over what information hits the world wide web regarding our writing and our businesses. Whatever Google decides is a ranking of the highest order is what your seekers will see. This is also true if your name is the same as another person’s (which can be scary if said person is a writer, as well).

When I Google my name, most of the first page hits are pretty benign. There’s a Marketing Executive in Phoenix with a pretty nice looking resume and a couple of random Tamara Berrys with addresses and phone numbers that are not my own. There is considerable flow to this Freelance Parent blog and to some of my appearances on other blogs in this community. There’s also a random little award I won in college. Then there’s Tamara Berry, an author who specializes in writing about family (that’s eerily coincidental). She’s not bad, but she’s not me. If I were a client, I would probably assume that one Tamara Berry who writes about being a parent is as good as another. Must be the same person, right?

It appears my Google resume is pretty safe—not outstanding, but certainly not catastrophic. But what if yours isn’t? What happens when a not-so-grammatically-sound writer lands on the first page of hits? What happens when something out-of-date or taken out of context appears?

I’m no SEO expert, and I don’t know a whole lot about landing on the first page of search engines, but what I’d really like to see when I Google myself is a plethora of my finest achievements and attributes. Short of coming up with six or seven websites plastered with my name or changing my name to something much less common, I don’t really know how to ensure this kind of publicity.

To be on the safe side, though, I recommend everyone take a few moments today to look at their own Google resume. You might be delighted. You might be horrified. But at least you’ll know what potential clients are seeing.

Popularity: 24% [?]

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Netvouz
  • DZone
  • ThisNext
  • MisterWong
  • Wists
add to sk*rt

If you liked this article, please...

Subscribe Via Email Subscribe Via RSS Add to Technorati

Or read these related articles...

  • Freelance Advice from the Blogosphere, Part 2
  • Finding Your Niche
  • Blogging for Dollars
  • Freelance Advice from the Blogosphere, Part 4

  • Discussion

    What do you think? Leave a comment. Alternatively, write a post on your own weblog; this blog accepts trackbacks [trackback url].
    Comment Policy

    Comments

    1.
    On January 23rd, 2008 at 2:54 pm, Rachel said:

    I’ve heard that the only sure way (and even then it’s not a sure bet) to make sure YOU come up in Google results is to buy yourname.com.

    My yourname.com is taken by a photographer. And worse–like you, Tamara–there’s another writer with my name…and she lives here, in DC. I hate my middle name, but am considering using it to differentiate myself. Or I could get married, hah.

    Seriously, though, what do you do? I haven’t run into any problems yet, or at least not ones that I know about, but who knows how many people are Googling me and finding someone else?

    2.
    On January 23rd, 2008 at 4:07 pm, Melissa Donovan said:

    When I Google my name, four out of ten on the first page lead to web sites and pages that are linked to me. I don’t know who those other Melissa Donovans are, but a couple of them appear to be involved in writing (one has published a book on creative writing!). All in all, I’m alright with my Google resume, but I’d like my blog, Writing Forward, to get on the first page. Thanks for this reminder!

    3.
    On January 23rd, 2008 at 4:23 pm, Lis Garrett ~ a writer's woolgatherings said:

    For the purposes of writing, I changed my name from “Melissa Garrett” to “Lis Garrett” and purchased http://www.LisGarrett.com. It’s #1 on the first page and takes readers directly where I want them to go - my site.

    4.
    On January 23rd, 2008 at 5:09 pm, Michele L. Tune - Writing the Cyber Highway said:

    Very interesting. I don’t think there’s another me who’s a writer. Hmm… I think my Google resume is ok. My Website http://www.michele-tune.com comes up and so does my blog, as well as links to some of my online publishing credits. I think I’m safe - for now. :-)

    5.
    On January 23rd, 2008 at 7:20 pm, Ally said:

    Oh man, one of my co-writers at a nutrition website blasted one of my vegetarian posts. Turns out he has a deal worked out where he can syndicate his content from our site. So that post is E-V-E-R-Ywhere. Funny thing is, he and I are friendly behind the scenes. oh well.

    6.
    On January 23rd, 2008 at 8:22 pm, Genesis said:

    I´m very pleased with my Google resume, since my name is rather unique, Genesis Davies, the top results are all mine. First up is my WAHM blog, then articles on Associated Content, then my EzineArticles Expert Author profile . . . not bad. :D

    After those, there are a few other links to assorted blogs and posts of mine, and then you get into obscure stuff, articles I wrote way back in 2000, when I was just getting started in freelance writing. Now that´s just scary.

    It´s not always what other people do, your earliest works are going to be available for all to see, too, so you need to be careful of your OWN work as well. Don´t put your name on anything that you might regret later on.

    Leave a Reply

    If you liked this article, take more To Go...

     

    Subscribe to Daily Posts Via Email
    Sign Up for the Weekly Email Newsletter
    We'll never sell or rent your info. Period.
     
    Subscribe Via an RSS Reader