You have probably seen the recent viral video about the guy who bought the names of some top New York ad executives in Google to help land his dream job…and it worked! Watch the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FRwCs99DWg.
This brings up an interesting dilemma for individuals who want to be found in Google. Unlike companies and businesses, individuals rarely have unique names. And there are few legal guidelines to help protect individuals in this area. You don’t get to trademark your name.
[Disclaimer: Vizibility.com is a Personal Branding Blog sponsor]
Company practices
Companies on the other hand have websites that detail all of their information, products, and services. They issue news releases and publish other content to make sure they have information that can be easily found. When a company is launching a new ad campaign or a new product, or just wants to show up on the first page of Google, it’s pretty easy for them to buy their way into the top of the search results. They use tools like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to manipulate their search results in their favor. And because companies have websites with all of their information, they can buy the necessary search terms and link the searcher back to their home pages or product pages to learn more.
For individuals, it’s not so easy. We still need to control our search results to make a strong impression and validate our credentials. Most of us, however, don’t have a good online destination that highlights everything we want others to see. And SEO can be expensive for an individual to pay for. But there is a clever solution. If you’re starting a new job search, or have an occupation where it is important that your search results can be found easily in Google, there is a simple and affordable trick to put yourself at the top of the results every time: just buy your name.
But where do you take the person who clicks your link to give them the most value? When people Google you, they want to see your search results in Google, of course. From there they can find your LinkedIn page, Twitter feed, Facebook profile, blog postings, etc., etc. In many respects, your personalized search results are the perfect destination. How do you get people to your personalized search results? The Vizibility service makes that a snap. And now we are beta testing a new service scheduled for release in the Fall where we’ll help you buy your name in Google Adwords and link anyone searching for you right to your personalized Google results. We’ll even send you an email or text message when someone searches for you!
So far the test results have been illuminating. In June, my name was typed into Google 1,368 times (I Google myself a lot but not that much!). My ‘ad’ had 29 clicks, a 2.12% click through rate. The ad was typically in the first or second position.
If you are interested in participating as a beta tester, please contact us at info@vizibility.com. You’ll need your free Vizibility SearchMe link to get started, which you can get at http://vizibility.com.
Guest Author:
James Alexander is the founder and CEO of Vizibility. A serial technology entrepreneur and graduate of the University of Oxford, James has been involved with Internet search since starting eWatch in 1995. Google him at http://vizibility.com/james.
