Have you ever Googled your own name?
How many of the listings on page 1 are about you?
How many are about someone else that just happens to be blessed with the exact same name as you?
If a potential client or customers is researching you, the first place they will go to (in most cases) is Google. Of course, your website should be there, but what are some other easy ways to own the 1st page with more content about you?
It’s actually not terribly hard, and it doesn’t require a whole lot of work.
Just create profiles on these social media sites, be somewhat active, and you will rocket to the top within weeks or even days if your name isn’t too competitive.
Amazon.com – since we all know “poor people have big televisions and rich people have big Libraries” …all of us should have a large collection of books. And if you are a big reader, and not using Amazon, you need to start right now.
Amazon lets you to make a profile that includes all your relevant info…and lets you review books (and anything else they sell…which is just about everything). Each review you add links back to your profile and once you get enough links you will start to see it pop up in the search results.
Naymz.com – this is probably the only site on the list you haven’t heard of, and I don’t really use it at all…but it’s on the first page of the search engines for my name. All I did on Naymz was set up an account when a friend sent me an invitation, and then sent invites to my contact list. That was it.
I’ve gone in maybe 5 times in the last 2 years to manage invite requests. Don’t expect to make a lot of valuable connections here, this is just super easy to get set up and see fast results.
Facebook.com – if you aren’t highly involved with Facebook already you’re missing out. Go ahead and establish your account, then, just like with LinkedIn, upload your contact/client/prospect list. However, don’t add more than 500 connections in one day. Once you have enough friends you can set up a vanity url. Then, choose a variation of your name (i.e. facebook.com/brian.horn). If you build a decent sized Friends list, you should see it at the top of the search engines.
Twitter.com – not to beat a dead horse, but Twitter is a must for entrepreneurs.
Side note: I just got back from a speaking engagement at a Social Media Summit in Las Vegas very early this morning (this article is actually being typed 30,000 feet in the air somewhere over Utah), and had a chance to meet Tony Hseish, who is the CEO of Zappos.com. Very cool guy who is extremely active on Twitter.
You need to be interacting with your clients and potential clients in this new media or another person will, but if you need an another excuse, its quite easy to get your Twitter page to rank of the search engine also. Like the others I mentioned, just create a vanity url with your name, and start getting as many connections as possible.
LinkedIn.com – LinkedIn is more of a tool for people in the corporate world, and I reeally don’t us it at all. But you can still get it to rank on page 1 of Google. Use a vanity url with your name or company name (whatever you are trying to rank for). Fill it out completely and try to get a few recommendations. You can upload your email list and quickly find out which ones are active members.
You can also upload your client email addresses, or even your prospect list (I highly recommend connecting with everyone…especially now that LinkedIn can automatically receive your Twitter updates…you don’t even have to login to LinkedIn to keep fresh content.
Another very cool update that came out a few days ago: all your contacts within LinkedIn will link back to your profile. The more links back to it, the better. Get enough and your profile will start to rank.
Summary
So there you have it…5 social media sites that allow you to create profile that can rank on page 1 of Google for your name.
I didn’t spend any time trying to make this happen for myself, it was just a pleasant side result of being active in other social media/social networking sites. Although I have been able to replicate it for some of my clients.
About the Author
Brian Horn, of HornDog Search Marketing, is recognized by many as the “Glazer-Kennedy Secret Weapon” because of his role in helping not only Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazer with search engine optimization and social media, but also many of the top Information Marketers in the world. He recently released product that walks you through the process of ranking a website on page 1 of Google (http://www.beonpage1ofgoogle.com )
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