Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Move 21: Google Does Your Bidding

The first thing people do nowadays is to Google you. The subtle move that gets across your stature is to have the Google results be what you want them to be.

There are two different variations of this move. The first is to have exactly the right results show up, be them links to your Philanthropy Foundation, Nobel Prize Awards, Venture Capital Firm, or other appropriate sites. This means that you have to do a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Search Engine Marketing (SEM) project on yourself, but it conveys the message that Google does your bidding.

The second variation is to have absolutely nothing come up. Zero results. Being un-Googleable is big-time. It stimulates the imagination and has an air of mystery. One easy way for this to happen is to have a different legal name than the one you are known as.

The net effect is that not only people see what you want them to see, they most certainly do not see the websites that would diminish you in any way. The end message is that you have control in places that normal people do not.