The Build a Better Brand Platform: 30 Day Challenge is a third of the way complete. If you have been following along since Day 1 then congratulate yourself. You have shown a lot of commitment to building an author’s platform that will truly serve you. I owe you thanks for taking this challenge seriously and testing to see how it will work for you. We all owe thanks to Robert Brewer and the challenge he created in April for MNINB.
Day 10 Challenge: Search Your Name
Today’s challenge, do a search on your name as it appears in your byline. First, search your name using Google . Try Bing. Give Yahoo a try. These are three of the main search engines. Searching your name, you’ll receive an idea what others will see when they search specifically for you by name. If you have a blog (and you should after Day 5) then hopefully it shows early on the first page of results. You want this to be the same for a website if you have one at this point. Hopefully, the majority of results will lead people to your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media. Even better if it leads to your writing or positive reviews of your writing.
Google Search Sean O. Murphy and this is what you will see. There are 2 more pages a lot like it!
We are just looking for a little insight into what others see when they look for you. Search images as well. If your blog/website doesn’t show early (or even on the first page) then…
DON’T PANIC.
We will cover some methods for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) later in the overall challenge. In other words, I am going to talk about how to get your name a little higher in the search results a little later this month.
Apparently, I share my name with a retired Gaelic Footballer. Additionally a search for “Sean Murphy” will not find me as readily as searching my entire byline. I changed my byline to include the middle initial when my first experiments with self-Google-ation would always bring back results for an Associated Press writer of the same name, in the same town, with many more credits to his name (this Sean Murphy). However, he has added “AP” to his username on much of his social media to avoid confusion. No, not with me! I believe with the Irish Footballer that shares our name. Although, I am sure that I am squeaking in on his searches of late.
You might be surprised who people are finding when they are looking for you. It is worthwhile to see what images people are finding when they are looking for you as well.
Extra Credit?
Who are people finding when they are looking for you? Share anything interesting that this challenge taught you in the comments.
Related articles
- Build a Better Brand Platform: 30 Day Challenge (Day 9) (verynovel.wordpress.com)
- Build a Better Brand Platform: 30 Day Challenge (Day 8) (verynovel.wordpress.com)
- Build a Better Brand Platform:30 Day Challenge (Day 5) (verynovel.wordpress.com)
- A Better Brand Platform: 30 Day Challenge (Day 6) (verynovel.wordpress.com)
- Search Engine Results Continuing to Diverge (firstdigital.co.nz)
Interesting. Haven’t done it yet, but since my name is very common I expect to find quite a few of me! And I may have made a boob with my blog name. Thought it was OK at the time, but not sure if people will find it from just my name.
I will go away and try.
Thank you.
OK, I looked. Very disappointing. Must be thousands of us Pat Woods out there and I do not figure very highly, neither does my stuff sit neatly together in one lump. And I thought patwoodblogging was such a good idea.
If you google Pat Wood Blog I’m about five down on the first page, but nothing else is related to it.
Methinks I have some work to do…
I don’t think that I could find you at all. Don’t worry. There is some SEO work coming up and that should improve your results.
I’m listed, but the writing site is quite a long way down, below the academics some of which are me (hooray!) but the top Rachel Hallett is someone else (boo!). I’ve been tagging and submitting URLs this afternoon, so hopefully when I try this again in a week, I’ll fare better. By the way, I’ve put a link to this programme in my academic blog (which I’m in the process of duplicating on WordPress in the hope of more hits) – hope that’s OK. If not, let me know and I’ll remove it (URL: http://www.tunesandtreadmills.co.uk/blog/). It just seemed perfect for academics.
It looks good. Thanks for the link.