How to Raise Your Visibility on the Web
Recently, a friend of mine who is doing a job search asked me:
Bill… Petro… dot com, how did you come to get a .com after your name, and more importantly, how could potential employers find me more easily on the InterWeb?
And well he might ask. Aside from using your own private and personal networks to find employment opportunities… if you want to jumpstart your presence on the Web, here is a list of things you might do to increase your visibility, and enhance your brand appeal on the Web.
I’ll describe these in descending order, with the most impactful, and least time-intensive first.
1. Get your own domain name
2. Get on the major Social Networking systems
3. Get deeper and wider to make your name more pervasive
First, let’s start with the easiest and most immediately impactful thing:
1. Get your own domain name
There’s nothing more powerful than having a “dot com” after your name. This was the first thing I did back in the mid-’90s and I called it then “the personalized license plate for the Internet.” There are several immediate benefits to this:
- It’s easy to explain to people where to find you on the Internet. If they can remember your name, they can remember where you are.
- Conversely, it’s an easy way for people to remember your name. When I introduce myself as “Bill Petro dot com” it’s novel and memorable. However, people have asked me if I’ve legally changed my name.
- It increases the likelihood of your name showing up on search engine hits.
- You’ve now got the equivalent of an online resume!
This domain can be “hosted” by a number of companies, rather inexpensively, requiring only an additional annual registration fee to hold your name. Most hosting companies (Internet Service Providers) can handle both of these for you. On the Internet, names are “first come, first served” so act early and often. If YourName.com is not available, try some of the following:
- Your-Name.com Not as good, but at least it’s a dot com.
- YourName.net A popular alternative, though dot net is usually an ISP.
- YourName.org Typically a non-profit name, but at least you get your name in lights.
Some register all the popular domain endings for their name. This is a good way to protect your name if you can afford it, and many big companies have done the same. But this is not the only way to leverage “YourName.” Will discuss this more in my next article.
Thanks for coming along.
