I get a lot of questions from people I’m connected to on on-line networking platforms asking what the difference is between Internet Marketing and Internet Presence. This is becoming more important as more people actually care about being found when someone does a name search in Google.
It is one thing to have content on the Internet that you are associated with such as press releases you are quoted in, blog posts you have authored or commented on, articles you’ve published on-line, web pages and websites you’ve created, and similar content others have written about you or that reference your name. It’s another thing if any of that content surfaces to the first page of Google when someone does a search – only – on your name (i.e., they don’t narrow/refine the search criteria by adding additional terms such as your employer or field of expertise etc.). Someone searching on – only – your first and last name should be able to find you on the first page of hits.
It is one thing if your name is so unique that Google only surfaces 968 hits your name. It’s another thing if you have a more common name like John Smith that surfaces 326 – million – hits. Someone with a name like John Smith has a lot more work to do to create a visible (key concept) Internet presence.
That’s where some basic Internet Marketing concepts come into play. Some people call it Search Engine Optimization, but that can have some cryptic technical connotations for those of us that don’t wear propeller hats (having a Physics degree, I used to wear one). I prefer to look at Internet Marketing in a more common sense fashion.
In the context of building a visible Internet presence, Internet Marketing is quite simply – using the Internet to market – you – or more specifically associating Internet content to your name in the eyes of a search engine.
You can have all of the content in the world floating around the Internet, but if no one can find it when they perform relevant key word searches in Google (or any search engine) none of that content is helping you create a visible (there’s that concept again) Internet presence. You can waste a lot of time creating content nobody will ever see if you don’t keep some basic Internet Marketing concepts in mind along the way.
Internet Marketing 101 - When it comes to building and establishing a visible Internet presence, it all starts with one fundamental concept: Your name – is – the key word phrase you are focusing on.
That means you want to have your name in the title of the content you create whenever possible. Ideally, that means you want it to be between the HTML title tags of the webpage that displays your content. It also helps if your name is in the first 150 characters of the content you create as well. Why? Because every search engine grabs a certain part of a document or web page to use as the descriptive text which appears below the actual hyperlinked Title of the hit. Often, but not always, a search engine grabs the first part of your content to use as the descriptive text. If you have a way of actually driving the META TAG “description” associated with the webpage displaying your content – obviously make sure your name is in the first 150 characters of that description. In addition, if you have the ability to select the META TAG “keywords” associated with the webpage displaying your content – obviously make sure your – first and last name – is one of the first 2-3 a keyword phrases you select.
Are you going through a resume writing or on-line bio writing exercise and trying to increase your visibility? Absolutely make sure you take the above basics into account if you are looking to ensure a document so obviously about – you – is going to be found when someone does a search on your name.
So what do you do if someone else is writing the article? Ask them if they would craft the article and associated HTML such that your name appears where it will be beneficial to you and not disruptive to the objective of the content.
What do you do if the content is already published on the Internet? You can create new content containing your – first and last name – hyperlinked to the associated URL of the content that mentions you by name. This is especially useful for women who go through a name change as a result of a change in marital status. Hyperlink your “current” name to content that references your “former” name. Basically you’re building a key word association with your “current” name and the associated webpage containing your “former” name in the search engines.
To accelerate your rise through the search engine noise to the first page of hits, you want to also consider where you are actually creating content. In other words, are you publishing new content on a web site you’ve created, someone else’s website, on sites that not only benefit from a lot of traffic, but also benefit from a lot of constantly changing new content, blog sites, etc.
From an article publishing perspective, EzineArticles is an obvious great example of a site that not only benefits from a lot of traffic, but also benefit from a lot of constantly changing new content.
From an on-line blogging/networking platform perspective Ecademy is an obvious example. Why Ecademy and not LinkedIn? Because LinkedIn does - not - give you the ability to post new content beyond your networking profile. LinkedIn's lack of constantly changing new content is why your Ecademy networking profile will virtually always rank higher in Google than a corresponding profile on LinkedIn. As a result, Ecademy is a fantastic platform for creating a visible (there’s that concept again) Internet presence in comparison.
If you keep in mind some of the basic Internet Marketing concepts discussed above when you are creating new content and trying to raise the visibility of existing content, your efforts will yield a much more visible Internet presence.
Happy Networking.
Ron Bates is an expert in mission critical retained executive search. He is a Managing Principal with the retained executive search firm Executive Advantage Group, Inc. He has delivered personal executive coaching projects to former SAP, E&Y, Oracle, and WorldCom Exec's responsible for multi-billion dollar business units, and co-founded
http://www.CV-Advantage.com, a self guided job search oriented executive coaching process.
With +27,000 direct contacts on on-line professional networking platforms, Ron has been referred to as "the most connected man on Earth". View Ron’s networking profile on Ecademy.
As a recognized expert in building an on-line personal Internet presence, Ron has been an invited speaker at venues such as the Marketing Executive Networking Group, British America Business Council, Expert Connections, and is a regular guest on Netshare’s “Ask the Coach”.
Ron's blog: Internet Presence – Do you exist? can be found at
http://www.search-advantage.comFor more information on Conducting a Job Search Campaign go to
http://www.job-search-campaign.com
