Online Visibility – Being Found on Google

Online Visibility and Showing up on Google

Your online visibility  and showing up on Google can determine whether or not you will attract potential clients. If you don’t have an online identity, it can really hurt you.

Many of us who are older look at exposing ourselves on the internet a lot differently that the younger generations do.   A lot of us were raised in a way that we didn’t believe we should be sharing everything we do and think to the world.  As my mother used to put it, “it is important that some skeletons remain in the closet with the door KEPT closed”.

In this new age of technology, you will notice that many of the younger people are doing things a lot differently.  Go on to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, etc, and you will see them posting information that you would have not dared to share with anyone other than your family or closest friends – if even then.   We know that many of them will regret this when they get older.  However, the new rules dictate that we have to be willing to open up too.  Like it or not, the internet is often the first place people go to learn about the credibility of the person or company they are talking to or considering working with.

Being Found Online with Google

As many of you know, Google is the number one search engine on the web. What that means is that when a person wants to get information about any topic or person,  they now usually go to Google, type in a description of what they are looking for and hit the “search” button.  It doesn’t matter whether it is a company, a product or a person. 

That is how much things have changed. However, there are pros and cons to this.  Now, not only can you look up anything you want, but the reverse is true – people are also looking you up to see what they can learn about you.  If you are being considered for something important, chances are you will be “googled” first. If you are not found on Google, that can turn into being a real problem for you.    Not only do you want and need to be found – you want your name to appear a number  of times on the first several pages – otherwise you might end up being dismissed as being insignificant and not worth considering.

Get in the habit of “goggling” yourself.  How do you do that?   First of all, go to Google, type your name in quotations in the search box, hit enter and see what comes up.   If you don’t like what you see, then you will need to make sure some positive information is added in order to push the negative down the list.  Unfortunately, the negatives will not go away – they will just be further down the pages – therefore less apt to be seen.  I hate to tell you, but once on the internet – always on the internet.  That’s just the way it is. So just remember whether you like it or not, what shows up on Google translates to who you are to the reader.   Rather sobering thought isn’t.

Remember, if you do not have online visibility and are not being found on Google, it can hurt your credibility.

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