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What you should be asking yourself is why does Google not know who I am? Am I so insignificant that the biggest and most used search engine on Earth doesn’t even know I exist? Why is there a Mongolian bongo player and a homemade remedy for herpes in the top ten results for my name while I’m nowhere to be seen?

This isn’t really identity theft as such, but when the media, employers, friends, and even potential dates are trying to dig up information using search engines such as Google they would most likely to be presented with details of a buck-toothed Mike from Tallahassee who’s hobbies may include scouring the globe for rare and precious Barbie dolls as well as creating his own rather ill fitting Tron outfit.

Wouldn’t it be great if the first series of results were linked to articles describing the ”great” work I have done, perhaps a detailed social media profile page, and even my own personal website containing information about how I take care of orphaned wheelchair bound bunny rabbits?

Not only would I impress the opposite sex with my caring sensitive side, I would have an accurate and totally controlled online representation of myself, and more importantly making sure I’m not credited with playing any type of hippie styled musical instrument.

In a recent article found in Marketing magazine, Domino’s Sales and Marketing Director Robin Auld was given the “Who does Google you think you are?” test. This reveals the first five search results obtained from entering his name as a search term.. Robin Auld, a prominent name in the UK marketing industry was unlisted, replaced by Robin Auld a South African singer-songwriter, and Robin Auld, a lawyer who had just undertaken a review of the criminal law system.

It’s not just individuals who are getting lost in the black hole of search engines it is businesses too. Nowadays a strong brand name does not necessary mean a strong search engine position. In a period where companies are cutting back on marketing expenditure for online paid marketing (comScore reported a 7% fall in Google’s paid clicks between December and January this year), businesses are looking to be positioned favourably for relevant search terms from which they can generate increasing amounts of visitors to their website. If your company isn’t appearing anywhere near the first page of results you might as well kiss goodbye to any chance of the fabled and much sought after “organic traffic”.

So, how can Robin Auld, the marketing professional, beat Robin Auld, the South African musician in the race to the top spots in Google’s search results?

- For starters, Robin should considering protecting his name from being used by other Robin Auld’s around the world and register his own domain name http://www.robin-auld.com as well as other variants such as .co.uk if he is concerned about local searches. This helps protect the “brand” that is his name.

- It doesn’t stop there though. What good is an empty website in a world ruled by search engines hungry for content? A very important step in making yourself known is to blog, let the world know what you think and let them tell you how wrong you are. Seriously though, blogging plays an important role in producing content for the search engines to index, they love it, and in exchange, your name gets listed! The non technical can just set up a blog with http://www.blogger.com and follow the instructions it gives on how to get your blog under your own domain name. The more technically able should consider using the likes of WordPress, Joomla! and Movable Type and setup their own hosting.

- The next step is to look at setting up his Social Networking profiles to public so that his information is accessible to search engines. Of course, he should most definitely consider signing up for any Social networks he is not listed in. A deeper search shows he already owns a LinkedIn and a Facebook account, but I couldn’t find any other profiles in Myspace, or the recently released XING.

- Lastly, he should bookmark everything he writes and share it with the world through sites such as Digg.com, StumbleUpon and others. Don’t be shy; your online presence depends on you taking action!

About the Author

Dan Williams is an expert in Brand Management and has helped many clients protect their personal brand, overcoming online presence issues such as the recent Brand Republic article discussing Marketing Professional Robin Auld’s absence from Google search results.

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[Via Marketing Articles At Isnare.com]