When it comes to maintaining a visible Internet presence, not all dentists face the same obstacles. You can bet that Dr. John Smith faces a very different set of problems than Dr. Jahun Symeth.
Dr. Symeth’s challenge is to get patients to spell his name correctly when they search for him online.
Dr. Smith’s challenge is to somehow remain visible in a sea of other Smiths. And if there happens to be another Dr. Smith in the same city… Well, it can be enough to make one consider changing one’s name.
Ordinary people face the same set of issues. If your name is even remotely common, it can be quite difficult to find the real you online. Do a Google search, and your own identity can easily be lost amid competing results for other people with your name.
Google has realized that people don’t like this – and they’re doing something about it. They have introduced a new Google Profile Results function that will show basic information on different people with the same name.
Here’s what it looks like:
All you need is a Google account to set up your own profile. You can post as much or as little information as you’d like. You can even let people contact you by email without revealing your email address.
My own name – Julie Frey – is not terribly common. But search for me on Google, and I don’t even make the first page. I was invisible in a sea of other Julie Freys slightly more famous than myself.
Then I loaded up my Google Profile… the first Julie Frey to do so. Now my picture shows up on page 1. Take that, other Julie Freys!
Just follow this link to set up your own profile and make yourself more visible online:
Google Profiles