Really. Google “me” in your search bar or Google home page and see what happens.
I was going to post about this yesterday and I’m glad I didn’t, because as of today, searchers who enter only the word “me” in the search box will be given an opportunity to set up or edit their Google Profile.
The personal profiles are not new. I did share some of my thoughts on this in Unchained in Seattle. They’ve been around for a while now, it just seems that every time I take a look at them they add more features. First with a curious name verification process, then just last week with custom URLs. They now support a pretty good amount of info on someone depending on your settings. Numerous links to sites, an ‘about me’, contacts, and a Flickr or Picassa feed for photos.
None of this might be relevant except for the fact that Googling you is what people do. Even my wife (against my personal preference) told someone to just look me up on Google the other day. That person found me in a heart beat.
Profiles are already showing up at the bottom of page 1 search results and for those with common names there G will sport 4 profiles per page. I suppose the more you share on you profile the better your results. So far, there’s only one of “me“.
While the big G says they are not having a run at Facebook’s social network action, google profiles still would be a good place to stake your claim. Especially if you like using any of their other services, such as Maps or anywhere else your profile will be linked to…
Now if all that’s for nothing, then consider this. I reviewed my first message via my profile that simply read “Loved looking through your material. When I decide to move back to SF, I’ll give you a call.”
Update: For promotion, Google is giving away 10,000 sets of 25 business cards to go with your new profile page. Get em’ while they last.
Brian Brady says:
Good advice, Brad. Will you help with both SMM sessions next week?
April 22, 2009 — 6:24 am
Brian Brady says:
I just created one and it showed up, at the bottom of page 1, instantly
April 22, 2009 — 6:27 am
Brian Kinkade says:
Thanks for the heads up! Looking forward to more profile features from G.
April 22, 2009 — 7:39 am
Cameron Keegan says:
It’s amazing how things like this lead to other things, and those lead to other things.
I came on Bloodhound to check out the new posts, went to Google to create a new profile, and then wound up writing a “Knol”. Now I’m posting this comment.
April 22, 2009 — 10:15 am
Cheryl Johnson says:
I’ve probably said this before, but whenever I Google my own name, I am always amazed when I look at the list of accomplished, powerful and intelligent women with whom I share a name. Makes me right proud. 🙂
April 22, 2009 — 12:32 pm
Todd Covington says:
With every passing day it becomes more amazing what you can find on the internet. I started a new website in November and there are literally thousands of placed to put your business ans personal information on the web. In the end, Google is still king. Some how I missed the Google personal profile stuff. I haven’t done a personal profile yet but will sometime this week. Great post and information.
April 22, 2009 — 1:06 pm
Geno Petro says:
I just created my Profile and Knol page. Thanks much for the cool tip(and also for the kind thoughts, Brad).
G.
April 22, 2009 — 1:11 pm
Vicki Moore says:
Hey! That’s cool!
April 22, 2009 — 1:20 pm
Steve Hysinger says:
amazing. First i found my old phone number on my first link and then found some information that i had provided to a client that i believed to be confidential.
thanks brad, so much to learn and even more to do.
April 22, 2009 — 3:17 pm
Mark Green says:
I think I need to either:
– change my name
– run for Governor
– become an NFL football player
– become a pseudo ER doctor on TV
I’m about the least “Googleable” person I know.
April 22, 2009 — 3:18 pm
Brad Coy says:
Brian – You bet! Looking forward to it.
Mark – “I’m about the least “Googleable” person I know.”
That’s not true, at least for now… I found you “Mark Green” on page one. Knowing that the results are driven by some strange algorithm tells us it’s probably best to flesh out the details for a higher rank.
Glad you all found it helpful. One other thing I noticed was on the backside edits for your contacts tab, there are a few different privacy settings for groups of friends, family, and co-workers. Taking the contacts in from you gmail account, if you signed in with one…
another item is the photos setting, which allows you to tap into a certain “set” of uploaded photos to flickr or picassa. This could further help with any personal branding.
I just tweaked my page a little bit. If you would… let me know what you think.
April 22, 2009 — 4:04 pm
Michelle DeRepentigny says:
The only good thing about having a last name like mine is that people can find me – if they can spell my name 🙂 I’ve even managed to rank on the front page of G for “michelle de”.
Thanks for the reminder to go in and clean my profile up.
April 22, 2009 — 4:24 pm
Joshua Hanoud says:
hmph…I did it all up and mine doesn’t show up on Google Search at all…it doesn’t like me.
April 22, 2009 — 6:42 pm
Brian Brady says:
“let me know what you think.
Really good. I like the use of “sales copy” in your profile but more importantly, I love the links you’ve embedded on the right. How about a link to an IDX feed (Search homes for sale in in San Francisco)
“it doesn’t like me.”
Sure it does, Josh. Wanna know how we’ll fix that? Brad’s coming next week, too. He’s on faculty @ Unchained
“I’ve even managed to rank on the front page of G for “michelle de”.”
Pretty cool. Can you rank for Mickey D? That would be pretty impressive 🙂
April 22, 2009 — 8:21 pm
Brad Coy says:
Brian – that’s a cool idea!
Josh – if you checked “Display my full name so I can be found in search” then it might just be taking some time to recognize. Not that you don’t already OWN page 1 🙂
Some other tips from G:
Here are some other tips to improve your ranking in Google’s people search engine:
* link to the profile from other sites
* verify your name
* include a photo and enough details about yourself
Today, they also opened up a forum for suggestions and voting on future versions.
April 22, 2009 — 11:51 pm
Scott says:
Nice find. I’ve been doing my own SEO for a bit and didn’t know about this for branding
April 23, 2009 — 4:00 am
Esko Kiuru says:
Brad,
Outstanding discovery. SEO is such a broad topic, but so long as you get some of it implemented it’ll help you get decent placements.
April 25, 2009 — 10:10 pm