And as distinguishing your identity across the web becomes increasingly important, it has also become increasingly difficult. With almost 30% of the world's 6.7 billion person population using the Internet today, there are bound to be many of them who share the same name.
There are 149 other “Sarah Kesslers” on Facebook. Twenty-six of us have Twitter accounts, 93 of us use MySpace, and 78 of us are Linkedin. Staking out digital territory across the web, needless to say, has been difficult. And my name isn't even among the most common.
In a world where almost 80% of hiring managers Google job candidates, it’s important to make sure that the people looking you up find you and not someone else with your namesake.
This importance became clear to Pete Kistler when he figured out that he was being turned down for jobs because he shared a name and age bracket with an ex-convict. To help others like him, he started Brand-Yourself, a personal online reputation management service. We caught up with the site's Chief Marketing Officer Patrick Ambron for his advice on staking out an online identity when there's competition for your name.
1. Register Available Domain Names
“Even if you don’t plan on using all those social sites, and there are plenty of them, it’s good to grab them up,” Ambron says. “It's good that you’re keeping someone else from using them with your name and contributing to their results.”
4. Create Content and Get Social
“Google loves updated content,” Ambron says. “And the fastest way for an individual to have updated content is to have a social profile that they use.”
One easy way to make sure your blog is always updated, for instance, is to integrate your Twitter account’s RSS feed. Every time you tweet, you’ll update your blog and improve its prominence in search results.
“If you have a blog post that you put on your site, Facebook and Twitter, and five people Like it and share it,” Ambron says, “that’s five credible links from Facebook and from Twitter to your site.“
Do you have a digital doppelganger who has caused confusion in your life? Tell us about it in the comments below.
More Personal Branding Resources from Mashable:
- 7 Services to Find and Reserve Your Name Across the Web
- 5 Ways to Avoid Sabotaging Your Personal Brand Online
- 5 Ways to Clean Up Your Social Media Identity
- HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on YouTube
- HOW TO: Use Social Media to Connect with Other Entrepreneurs