With the launch of Google Friend Connect last fall, users have given more attention to their profiles as they join various sites (like this one) using Friend Connect. Google continues to make inroads into social media. Recently they modified how user public profiles display on search engine result pages. If you want a free and easy way to get on page 1 of Google, now is a great opportunity. In this post I’ll walk you through three things you can do to maximize the use of a public profile page, and it only takes a few minutes.
3 Tips to Capitalize on Google’s Latest Social Media Move – Get on Page 1 of Google
1.) Google Your Name
This is a good practice to do from time to time to see where you fall on the results page. If you share a name with many other people than it will be competitive. Pay attention for any sites you own, or manage, as well as social media sites where you may have profiles like, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.
Look at the bottom of the first page, you should see a Profile results for… entry similar to mine in the screenshot below (you may have two profiles as I do):
Sidenote: A couple days ago I clicked through my profile and was prompted to get free Profile business cards printed (so I did it), nice! An interesting approach for Google to get profile data cleaned up.
If you don’t see your Google profile listed there, would you like to? If you are interested in being found on the first page of Google, goto #2. If you are there, congratulations! Now let’s beef up your profile a bit.
2.) Create or Update Your Google Profile
If you don’t have a profile yet (Google account), or yours doesn’t appear there, click the link that says Create a public profile page or simply go here. If you have a Google account (and aren’t already logged in, click the link that says Sign in to see your profile, and sign in, if you don’t have a Google account just click the Create my profile button and follow the prompts.
Once you get into the Edit profile area, I have a few areas I’d like to emphasize, and one shortcut some of you will benefit from.
About Me (Tab): Fill out as much as you can so that you stand out as uniquely you. This is true not only for the search engines to find it, but also those who read it.
Photo: As a marketer, you have a photo on your profile, do what you do with most profiles uploading one of your standard social network pictures. This helps others recognize you and they’ll be more likely to make a connection.
Short Bio: This is in the A little personality section halfway down the page. Give a brief summary about yourself, and what it is you and/or your company does. Include HTML links if appropriate (not too sales oriented, use this to identify you).
Links: Of course enter your business and other public websites, however, this is a great way to share other ways people can connect with you. As a marketer, do your best to be everywhere (within reason). See this post for the SEO benefits of your Google profile page.
*Time Saving Tip: Google will do what it can to find public links about you intelligently so you can add them. If you have a FriendFeed account, enter that profile URL first. When I did that, it picked up all my profile information from FriendFeed, and presented them as available to add to my public profile.
Photos (Tab): Great way to share photos from your Picasa or flickr account. Consider sharing photos from a recent tradeshow, or marketing event. It will brighten up your public page.
Profile URL: Back on the About Me tab scroll to the very bottom, in the Profile URL section, choose the name friendly URL for the profile. This will make it easier for people to find you.
3.) Verify your Email
One last thing, I encourage you to verify your email. This will put a green backgrounded white letter block next to your name that says Verified name. It will make your profile stand out a bit more, and it is logical to conclude if you have a competitive name, Google will favor results that have their email verified. Do so in the Verified domains section just above A little personality on the About me page.
Have a look at my Google Profile Page here
By taking these three steps, you can build on what Google is doing with social media, by making it easier for you to be found. If you need some more motivation, have a look at another post about 3 ways Google Friend Connect (and Profile pages) positively impacts SEO.
How’s Your Profile? Was this helpful? Are you excited about Google’s social media initiatives? Share your profile…In the comments boxes below share the link to your public profile so all of us can see (it may just help your rankings).
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Hi, my name is Travis Campbell, I operate this site. One way I can extend what I've learned marketing online over the years is by writing about it here... and helping you along the way.
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