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Get Your Google Profile: Your Name on Page 1!
Set up a Google Profile and Get It Verified
For many people, a Google profile can be a great marketing tool. If you are a professional or offer a personal service of some kind, people often will use a search engine to search for you by name. They may not know your company’s name. They may have no other way of finding you.
Google profiles typically display at the bottom of page 1 of results. They allow you to tell a little about yourself and to provide links to other web resources like your website, your blog, your LinkedIn, Facebook and other social media site profiles, YouTube pages, etc.
To see what a profile looks like, try a Google search for “Carol Wilson.” When you see the results that are displayed, it becomes apparent that Carol Wilson is a very common name. But, if you scroll to the bottom of that first page, you’ll find a Google Profile listing for Carol Wilson, Century 21 Advantage, Tyler, Texas. Note that you didn’t even need to know where Carol lives to find her.
If you click on the link, it will take you to Carol’s profile page. From there you can link to several pages of her website and to her blog. The Google profiles are still new enough that Carol is still the only Carol Wilson to have a profile.
Here is another example of what a profile might look like for a client who has quite a bit of Internet real estate.
Here’s how you can get your profile—and get it verified (which is the tricky part).
First, you need a Google account. If you have a gmail account or use Blogger or another of Google’s web applications, you already have one. If you need to set up a Google account, you can do that here:
Once you have your account set-up, login to your Google Account using the link at the top right hand corner of the main Google search page. On the next page, in the same position, you will see a link to My Account.
At the top of that page, you will see a link for editing your profile. Provide as much information as you feel comfortable with. (If Google deems your profile too lacking in information, it will not be displayed.) Personally, I do not display contact information on my profile. However, I do provide a link to my website, which has contact information.
If you wish, you can add photos to your profile through Picasa or Flickr. Also notice that if, like me, you have used more than one last name, you can list the others there. That way, you will be able to be found in a search for those other names, as well.
Once you (and Google) are satisfied with your profile, you can get it verified. Verification is the method Google is using to ensure that the profile was actually created by you—and not by someone else who might be falsifying information about you.
To verify your profile, you need to log in on the Google Knol home page. You should be able to find a link to the Google Knol site from your Google Account page. If not, just use this link. At the Knol home page, you will need to sign in using the link at the top right hand of the page. Once you have done that, you should see a link in a similar position for “Preferences” On the next page, click on the “Name Verification” tab. I’d recommend using the phone verification option, but you’ll need to be near your phone when you do this.
Google verifies your information by making an automated phone call to the phone number you provide. The call will be made almost immediately, and all you need to do is to punch into the phone the PIN number Google provides on your computer screen. That’s it!
Having your Google profile verified is a great way to allow people to find your website and learn more about your business.
Posted by Janet Macdaniel on 6th June, 2009 | Comments | Trackbacks
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