Can you say that you own page 1 of Google for search results on your name? I can! And if your answer is also “yes,” then you must be doing all kinds of right too! I cannot over-emphasize the importance of this to your business and your personal brand. For example, I have worked very hard to make sure that my name is synonymous with Houston Relocation. This didn’t happen over night, but over a series of many sleepless nights, week after week and month after month.
As a bi-product of my efforts, my name has also become synonymous with Social Networking. If you are friends with me on Facebook, connected to me on LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, read my Houston Relocation Blog, etc., then you know what I am talking about. I am out there posting, commenting, linking, following, blogging literally all the time. Of course it helps that I am an insomniac, as I often do most of these activities during the wee hours of the morning…thus the idea of many, many sleepless nights.
So back to the idea of owning page 1 of Google…
To truly be effective on-line, Google has to know about you. And, the only way that Google is going to know about you, is for you to be out there, all over the place, all the time. Original content is also the key. You will notice in my many posts on this Houston Relocation Blog, that my content is only ever original. I don’t copy and paste OPC (Other People’s Content). I write about a variety of topics that include a lot of information about Houston, relocation, real estate, conferences, social networking, technology and so on and so on. As such, Google continues to promote me for key words such as Houston Relocation and Moving to Houston, as well as a slew of others based on my blog posts.
I use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter much the same way. I make sure that my blog posts and the articles that I write about relocation and moving to Houston are always posted on these sites as well, and linked back to my Houston Relocation Blog.
The payoff has been huge! I am hearing from other relocation professionals, clients, transferees, colleagues and friends on a regular basis about how they “follow me” on all of these different sites. And the new business opportunities that have resulted are rapidly increasing. These new business opportunities come in the form of new referrals, as well as invitations to speak at relocation and real estate conferences and events, RFIs (Requests for Information), RFPs (Requests for Proposals), and collaboration opportunities within my networks.
Google has become the modern day business card. Everyone Googles everyone when they are looking for contact details and a variety of other information. That’s why it is essential to own page 1 Google real estate on your name. It’s good if you can say to someone, “Just Google me,” and know that you will come up on page 1 of Google. Better still, when you say, “Just Google me,” you want to have the confidence that you will not only come up on page 1, but that you will dominate page 1. Make sure you own that real estate!
Here’s a great example of something that someone told me today. I had lunch today with a friend and business associate that I have known for the past 10 years. While driving to work this morning, she called her office to get my telephone number. The person in her office Googled Michelle Sandlin, and naturally, I came up page 1, position 1…and 2…and 3…and 4…and 5…and, I think you get the idea. She told me that I was all over the place and how impressive that was. 
So, what happens when you Google your name? Please tell me you Google your name on a regular basis and set Google alerts for your name and company and various other key words of interest. This is a very important part of growing your brand, your business and making sure that you are ranked where you want to be with Google.
Technology and social media have revolutionized the way that we communicate and how we do business. Those who don’t stay on the cutting edge of this technology and utilize it for growing their business are quickly being left behind. I am fortunate that John Daugherty, Realtors not only recognizes the importance of technology, social networking, blogging and Google rankings, but that we are leading the charge in Houston. And I dare say, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Wait until you see what is coming next. We have a lot of really cool things in the works that will soon be released.
Stay tuned….
{ 1 comment }
