Own It!
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Admit it, you’ve Googled yourself. We all have. We all breathe a sigh of relief too when nothing embarrassing shows up. Then we make a promise to ourselves to do it again in a year. That should be sufficient, right?
Wrong! It’s just not that simple any more. Social Media places an emphasis on you as an individual and so protecting your online reputation is imperative. It’s important to take control and manage it. In this first of a three part series on Protecting Your Online Reputation we will focus on owning your reputation and the positive steps you can take to manage your name across the Internet. This isn’t about your business, it’s about you!
Sadly, it’s now time to stop using the pet name your dad gave you when you three as a profile name! Begin by assessing all of your current online profile pages to make sure that you are using your real name on all of them. Be consistent across the web!
On LinkedIn, for example, you can easily edit your public profile URL by going to your Profile page, click edit next to your Public Profile and then edit next to “Customize your public profile URL” in the right hand column of that page. Making these simple changes makes it easier for friends, family and business associates to locate the real you.
Now, broaden your name search on the web. Check out search engines like Addict-o-matic, SocialMention, Technorati and Yasni. These searches provide a broader view of you on the web and will also cover blogs.
Next it’s important to reserve your name across the web and even secure your name as a URL. This doesn’t mean you have to create a web page, it just ensures that no one else can. You can use Knowem, Namechecklist, Namechk or Claim.io to view how your name is being used across the web and to secure your name if it is available. You can use these sites to lock down your domain name as well.
Finally, create a Google Profile. This profile will put all your online profiles in one place. Add to that a Google Alert for your name. You will receive emails on a regular basis that contain information on your name and help you monitor what is being said.
Now you Own It! Next up - we’ll Define It!
Need help managing your reputation? Contact us today, click HERE!