Gone are the days when the biggest draw of the internet was the anonnymity that the medium offered users. In the Facebook era the interent is all about interconnectivity. We are increasingly sharing more personal data about ourselves. Platforms like Twitter and Facebook allow us to share what we are listening to, looking at, playing, reading, and eating. This is not necessarily a negative but we all must be cautious of the image our online personas present. All it takes is a little negative content about you on a search engine results page (SERP) and your online reputation can easily become blemished. Online Reputation managment is no longer just a concern for businesses with employers increasingly using online interactions as factors in their hiring decisions. Here are some tips on how you can polish your Online Reputation and better brand yourself.
Do an online search on yourself
Know what’s out there about you. Google your name. Put quotation marks around your name for a more specific search . Specify the city where you live, your employer, or other search terms that relate to you. Typically, you should be concerned with the first four pages of content given that this is how deep most people go when searching. Search all variations of your name. Remember to search for your nickname if you commonly use it, your middle name or initial, or if your name is frequently misspelled, check these as well. Be sure that you logout of your Google account. Since Google keeps track of what you click, your results will be different than what an employer sees
Remove negative content
Delete and remove tags from photos that may portray you in an unflattering light, and remove references to polarizing affiliations. Some people will advise you to remove political and religious affiliations but this is a call you must make for yourself.
Content is king
Not all negative content can be removed easily but there is still something you can do about it. You can bury the negative content by posting positive content. The easiest thing to do that is create your own Website, like www.johndoe.com, or sign up for a blog on Wordpress or LiveJournal that has your name in the URL. Almost always your site will show up first in a search, pushing anything negative down the list. You can also take advantage of social networking sites like LinkedIn, Flickr, and Tumblr, since their pages rank high in Google and will be at the top of search results of your name. Simply open an account, input the bare minimum amount of info, and set it so that it can be publicly searched—you don’t have to actively use the site.
Become an expert on something
If you are looking to dominate the search enginge results pages position yourself as an expert in your field or hobby. You can do this by posting opinions or answering questions on sites like Twitter, LinkedIn or on a personal blog. It's easier than you think and you don't even have to post every day. You simply need some well-placed content on high traffic.
Don't lockdown all of your social media
It is not necessary for all of your social media accounts to be publicly visible. Just like it's not necessary for to heighten all of your privacy settings to make sure all of your content stays among your family and friends. If you are concerned with privacy, it may be a good idea to reserve some certain social media sites for your personal playground. For example, you could keep your Facebook information locked down and provide access only to close friends and family members while using Twitter, Tumblr or LinkedIn to form online connections and generate public facing content.
