Making a name for yourself online
Whether you like it or not, people will search for you online when you’re looking for jobs, pitching story ideas or even calling up sources looking for interviews.
Do your Google results portray you the way you want?
Some steps you should start taking now:
- Create some way to organize your clips online. Whether that’s your own Wordpress site, or a clippings service like Clippings.me, Contently or Pressfolios, you should be cataloging your published work in one place so that you can send that link to editors when you apply for jobs.
- Own your name in several different spaces. Sign up for Google Plus, About.me, LinkedIn, social networking accounts, and any new site that pops up along the way. If all you do there is point people to your clippings website, it will be enough to stake claim to your name and increase your search engine results.
- Decide on and use a consistent name. If you have a common name, think about using a middle name or initial. Use the same byline for every story you write, every blog you set up, every social media account you create. Consistency is key.
Consider the following:
Google results are based on page rankings. So if your name appears in the New York Times, that has more credibility than if it appears in a lesser known newspaper. The more links in and out of a site make a difference to its credibility ranking. Working at a newspaper will help, because your name will appear with your photos and stories on a consistent basis.
Consider also:
Everything you do online can become public, even if your profile is set to private. Everything you attach your name to will become part of your searchable record.
