(Blog) Many of you have Googled yourselves, but most of you have been doing it wrong. Not wrong, necessarily, just not optimally. Googling or searching for yourself is basically typing your own name into a search engine like Google, Yahoo, Bing and seeing what comes up.
Most of us do this from a skewed perspective because we use the same search engine that we work from. The same site we do social media on, build our websites on and search for ourselves and related projects and brands. Your search history affects your results.
In order to Google yourself or search for yourself correctly, you should use an Incognito window in Chrome, an Inprivate window in Edge, or a private window in Opera. Your search is still most likely affected by your location, and for most of us that’s perfect. However, by using a VPN service you could see how you trend in another country.
Opera private has a built in VPN and I am happy to say that DavidKamatoy.com comes up #1 in Google in the Nederlands when searching for David Kamatoy.
Why should you Google Yourself? 
Are you working on your personal brand as an Artist, Entrepreneur, Entertainer, A
uthor, Actor, Singer, or Media Personality? Maybe trying to apply for that next job?
If you are looking to blow it up on social media and the internet, the best thing you can do is to start by “Googling yours
elf” or searching for yourself, your brand, or your company to see what comes up. Study what comes up, compare that to the top searched sites, and then optimize accordingly.
We often base our branding decisions “on what we want,” but that has to be balanced with the reality of how people actually see you on the internet.
Google is the #1 Website in the United States according to Alexa.com.
ACTION: Open an “Incognito” Browser in Chrome or your favorite browser and search for yourself or your brand: “Your Name” “Your Brand” “Your Company Name.”
- Tip: You want to type in your name or, if your name is not unique, then most likely your name + your occupation or company.
- You want an incognito window so that your own search history does not bias the results.
- You can also use a VPN to try to check results in other countries or areas.
- If you can’t find your name because it’s generic, then that’s when you want to get a yourname.com URL, or you may consider changing your name or creating a stage name. (Just ask Michael Douglass aka Michael Keaton).
So the question is, what comes up? Does your website come up? Your Facebook account? Your IMDB?
Whatever you see is most likely what other people are seeing when they search for you. If someone meets you or does research on you, this becomes the first, second or third impression.
If you are using Chrome and Google, then you have technically Googled yourself.
Let’s dig deeper.
Within the world of Google we suggest looking at...
- Google News
- GoogleImages
- Google Videos
- Google Maps
- Google Shopping
- Google Books
- Google Scholar
Other Search Engines
- Follow a similar path on other search engines and browsers
- Bing, Yahoo, Opera
- Dogpile is a great search engine because it returns all the best results from the leading search engines.
YouTube.com is the #2 website in the United States according to Alexa.com.
Whatever or however you are searching for yourself, type it into YouTube.com
What videos show up? Do you have your own channel? Does someone else have a name or brand like yours? If you don't come up, then what does?
This is why Video is such a powerful tool. Google owns YouTube, and YouTube results feed into Google. A well-viewed, optimized video typically comes up in the Google Search.
Facebook.com is the #5 website in the United States according to Alexa.com
Search for your name, your brands, your company, and your hashtags on Facebook and other social media sites.
Top social media sites, and how you trend or rank in those sites, will show up not only on those sites but also in the search engines based on traffic.
Build your own name .com Website Yournameasabrand.com
Grabbing your name url as a .com, . net etc. is the top strategy that helps you to control your own message. Your own consistent blogging and content should be placed here, in addition to social media sites. Remember, you most likely do not own or control Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, and your profiles can disappear or be banned overnight.
On that same point. Remember to build your own database using a system like jugglemail.com (Shameless Plug) to build, control and communicate with your fans or database.
Summary: Googling yourself or searching for yourself properly using private windows is the best place to start when trying to create and control your personal brand, your brands and your projects. Take note of what comes up and then strategize on how to optimize your presence using that information.
CTA: Call to Action, Action Action
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- If you are interested in discussing a project, please contact us directly via DavidKamatoy.com , DavidKamatoy.guru or KamatoyMediaGroup.com
David Kamatoy, Multi-Creative Entrepreneur is a juggler figuratively and literally. Working in the fields of entrepreneurship and entertainment, the DavidKamatoy.com show is about his crazy journey as Jack of all Trades, Master of Some while working professionally in multiple fields. He and his team are often tasked by other entrepreneurs to help build their projects because of their eclectic backgrounds.
For more information. Contact us directly at KamatoyMediaGroup.com
For more information. Contact us directly at DavidKamatoy.com
For more information. Contact us directly at DavidKamatoy.guru
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Youtube Clip of the show on the new KMGTV Youtube Channel.
(The original catalog of videos is still at Youtube.com/thejuggler but due to Youtube Google issues. This is the new channel.)
