By Sharon Housley
©
2010
http://www.feedforall.com
and http://www.recordforall.com
Google
is sometimes thought to be the bane of the Internet, and it certainly can be a
thorn in the side of search engine marketers. Many fail to look beyond the search
of today, toward what the implications of indexing and storing information will
have on future generations. Forget the slogan "diamonds are forever"
-- "Google is forever" is more accurate in regard to the Internet. And
if not Google, then some other search giant will be able to retrieve information
from previous years within a few seconds. If something is online, it does not
just "go away". Like it or not, the entire world is being indexed and
categorized, and will be searchable for years to come.
Individuals
today have a personal brand. Employers and colleagues will search on your name,
so it is imperative that you keep this in mind when posting online. You must control
your online reputation.
The web is not always a friendly
place, so what do you do if you are not using an alias and someone is posting
derogatory information about you, your company, your products, or your brand?
Monitor
Your Brand
The first step in monitoring your brand is to setup automated notifications
within the various search engines, either via email or an RSS feed. This way,
you will know when you are being discussed, either in favorable or unfavorable
terms. For example, the "Google Alerts" feature is a free service that
will send email notifications to you when specific words or phrases appear in
new search results. Simply use your name, company name, product name, or brand
as the phrase being monitored. Ego Feeds work in a similar fashion, except the
alerts appear in a custom created RSS feed that updates whenever new mentions
occur. For more information about Ego Feeds, see a related article at http://www.feedforall.com/ego-searches.htm
Control
Your Brand
The second step in protecting your brand is to take a pro-active
approach to appearing in the top search results when your name is entered into
a search engine. You can do this by offering interviews, reviews, SEO, and writing
articles or posting blog entries. At the very least, make an effort to control
the top search results for your name. This will ensure that when your personal
brand is searched, those items will be listed in the top 10 search results.
Damage
Control
If you find something that is damaging or harmful, do damage control.
Control your responses, and behave in a professional manner so it is clear that
you took the high road when the exchange is viewed by others at a later time.
Social
The
final bit of advice is to simply keep personal things personal. While the social
sites are great for maintaining friendships, they are not helpful for people who
have an occasional lapse in judgment. Refrain from posting pictures that show
anything that you would not want your mother or future grandchildren to see, or
saying anything when you are mad or upset since we often say things "in the
heat of battle" that we regret later.
The Internet
is preserving and archiving personal history in a way that has never previously
happened. Control your online reputation for posterity.
