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Perception is Reality? Google Alerts
October 03, 2005
If you are reading this blog then chances are good that you have “Googled� yourself, friends, family, and others. Besides occasionally finding out something I didn’t know, this name surfing mainly turns up a lot of information that doesn’t pertain to my targeted search phrase. Now this post is not about relevance, that can be saved for another day, it’s about the phrase “perception is reality�.
What people see, hear, and read about you will shape their perception of you or your company even if they have never had any interaction with you or your company. To emphasize this point I will use myself as an example. I typed in my name as the search term in Google and according to the results that came back I am either:
1. Somehow related to an “entertainment� video for adults only
2. The Controller for Intrapromote LLC
3. A sex offender from Muncie Indiana
Now I recognize that most fair minded people would be able to pick out the real me, but all of the disgusting stuff around the real me may lead some astray in their perception of who I really am. This can, and does, occur often with the ever-growing use of the Internet as a source of reference.
So how to combat this and put forth your best foot? Well, the first thing to do is to see what is out there associated with your name. A good tool for this is Google’s Alerts. With this free service you can get snippets of what Google indexes with your specific search term(s) delivered directly to you via email. Now this is not only a good first step in determining your online presence, it is a good ongoing tool to keep a pulse on your online presence.
I’ve used an example of a person search, but the same holds true for company search as well. With billions of pages indexed, there probably are many search results for your company’s name and/or products that may not present you in the best light.
Once you’ve determined what your actual online presence is, and you determine that you need to change it or even enhance it, I suggest that you consider Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services. While nothing in this world is for certain, good SEO strategy, practices, implementation can greatly assist you in your never-ending quest to control the perception of who or what you are.
All posts by Brent Sharp
posted by Brent Sharp at October 3, 2005 04:40 PM
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