Archive for January, 2010

They’re Googling you. They’re typing your name into the query box and their judging the results. They’re clicking on the ones that come up–even the ones you wish they’d avoid. They’re trying to figure out if you’re the real deal or an impostor. They want to know about your business and whether you can be trusted. They’re not accepting your word and your website’s statements to answer those questions.

They’re Googling you.

So, what are they seeing?

Do they immediately encounter a massive collection of links reporting positive news, trumpeting your professionalism, establishing your expertise and vouching for your great business ethics?

Is there so much positive information out there that it eliminates the risk of losing tem as potential clients or customers on the basis of that search?

Or, are they forced to dig deep to find a few halfway relevant entries? Are they uncovering personal profiles and information that’s unrelated to your business? Worse yet, are the encountering things that will actively encourage them not to do business with you?

Here’s the scoop: Many people will conduct extra research about you and your business before spending a dollar with you. If they aren’t finding the right things as they research, you’re going to lose them.

So you need to make your online presence a top priority. It’s time to start giving some serious thought to online branding and whether you’re doing everything you can to create that winning image.

The alternative, after all, is anything but attractive. You don’t want to lose business because you failed to take a handful of pretty easy steps.

That’s right. Easy. Creating a viable brand online isn’t that difficult. You don’t need to be a marketing guru to pull it off. You just need to follow some proven strategies. And if you’re willing to make that commitment, you will be able to develop an invincible online presence in a much shorter time than you may have imagined possible.

You can build that reputation the long, hard way. You can scrape for those first customers and slowly, but surely start building a presence via luck and word of mouth. Or, you can make the process move along at supersonic speeds by utilizing an extensive range of free and incredibly cheap resources.

They’re Googling you. Right now. Is that helping you or is it hurting you? If you don’t think it’s hoping you a lot, it’s time to turn branding into a top priority. Doing so is a winning investment. Improving your brand has a positive impact on your bottom line and establishes you in the marketplace in ways other techniques can’t manage.

Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Get started with personal branding today.

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