A few days ago Google pumped up the branding value of Google Profiles with the transformation into a photo-included customized listing in search results for your name. This is a big deal for personal e-branding!
To see how it works, type my name with quotes (“meg guiseppi”) in a browser window, and if you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you’ll see my Google Profile with my photo. Attention-grabbing, isn’t it? Any photo or image in search results draws eyeballs, right?
Think what impact this can have for you in a job search or to attract business. Hiring decision makers or potential clients searching your name to find out about you or searching relevant key words that bring up results for you will immediately zoom in on your Google profile photo and want to click through.
Google makes it extremely easy to set up a Google account and put your profile together, adding your photo and on-brand professional headline along with links to your other online involvement (blog, website, social networking profiles, etc.).
Of course, your Google Profile is one more opportunity to broadcast your personal brand message. I used my brand bio for my profile. You can certainly use your branded resume for your profile, or maybe a mix of your resume and brand bio.
This nifty boost to search result listings gives Google Profiles a bit of an edge over profiles on social networking sites like Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, etc., making it a must-do online branding strategy.
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Why Google Alerts Is One of My Favorite Personal Branding Tools
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