Wouldn’t it be great to crack the first page of Google results for a search of your name?  Or, if your links already appear on the first page, wouldn’t you like to add yet another result?  Your Google Profile is the simplest, most sure-fire way to add another opportunity for searchers to find you.

Once published, a preview link to your Google Profile will appear at the very bottom of Page 1 search results for your name – which can be extremely beneficial if you have a common name (and others have not yet claimed this space).  Here is an example:

To create a Google Profile, navigate to http://www.google.com/profiles, and come armed with a Google account (Gmail, Google Wave, etc).  From there, updating your profile is an absolute snap.  Follow these 7 steps to create the perfect Google profile that describes you well and encourages searchers to find and contact you elsewhere on the web.

1.  Display your full name and allow others to contact you.

Your Google Profile exists solely so searchers can find you and contact you -  checking these 2 boxes makes perfect sense.  All reward, no risk.

2.  Upload a picture.

Keep in mind that most folks searching for you via Google will likely know something about you, but not everything.  Maybe they met you at a conference, and only remember your name and face?   Including a close-up shot is the easiest way to set you apart from others that share your name.

3.  Include a detailed history.

Same philosophy as above – those searching for you will likely recognize you by a single defining trait.  Did they grow up with you in Omaha, Nebraska?  Do they know you from college or from prior work experience?  Take the time to fill out your past history in full detail, so anyone from your past will recognize that you are you.

4.  Write a killer “What I Do” section.

In the “What I Do” section, Google provides the examples of  “Actor, Engineer, Scientist”.  Boring!  Instead, amp this section up by including a few provocative titles that really describe what you do.  For an excellent example, see the snapshot below from Meg Guiseppi’s profile.

5.  Write a brief, but informative, bio.

Your Google Profile is not a final destination, it is merely a portal.  So, keep your bio brief and to the point.  Include enough information to identify yourself, and to encourage searchers to contact you elsewhere (embedded links work great mixed in with your text).  Note: Others might debate my point about keeping your bio brief, as many have an extremely long description.  Ultimately, it is up to you.

6.  Link, link, link.

Google allows you the opportunity to link to anywhere and everywhere you’d like.  This is your opportunity to send searchers to the real places you want them to connect with you.  Take a look at the Google profile of Robert Scoble, who has linked to over 40 places you can find him on the web.  Wow!  Here is a screen-shot of the pages I’ve linked to.  How many web destinations of your own can you think to link to?

7.  Include common misspellings of your name.

Google realizes that not all web searchers are prolific spellers.  You can include all the potential misspellings of your name so that your Google Profile will appear for all queries.  (Brett Favre, this is your lucky day).

What do you all think?  Do you have a Google Profile?  Share your link in the comments, let’s see those shiny profiles!

Ryan Rancatore can also be found at Personal Branding 101, discussing the tools and tactics that will help you build a killer personal brand in 2010 and beyond.

Ryan would love to connect with you on Twitter at @RyanRancatore, or on Linkedin, Facebook, or Brazen Careerist.

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Everyone’s personal brand is different, even if by the tiniest subtlety.  So, there are very few “sins” of personal branding that universally apply to all.  But, I’m confident that the seven personal branding sins listed below can be applied to everyone – including you (but let’s hope they don’t)! 

Without further ado, here are 7 sinful characteristics of a personal brand that you should absolutely aim to avoid. 

1.  Thinking you don’t need a personal brand

Surprise!  You do need a personal brand, and in fact, you have one whether you like it or not.  The experience that occurs when someone Googles you? That is one reflection of your brand (even if nothing shows up).  Your LinkedIn profile, or lack thereof?  Yet another extension of your brand. 

Personal branding is a bit like fashion.  Whether you know it or not, you’ve got a unique sense of style that the whole world can see. 

2.  Misrepresenting yourself

The internet is a glorious place where we all have the freedom to say and do pretty much whatever the hell we like.  Empowering? Yes.  Overly empowering? Maybe.  Artificially pumping up your personal brand by misrepresenting your experience or skill set will only come back to eventually bite you in the ass. 

Specifically, don’t call yourself an expert or a guru unless you really are one.  Those words are utterly meaningless unless you can quickly back them up. 

3.  Making your personal brand ALL about you

Sure, your personal brand is ultimately a reflection of you and you alone.  But, do you want that reflection to be of a self-centered individual that only looks inward? I hope not! 

I love the 90/10 rule put forth by Jack Humphrey.  Make 90% of your communication about others, or how to help others, and save a maximum of 10% for you.  Will this dilute your personal brand, you might be wondering?  Absolutely not.  Instead, you will come across as knowledgeable, truly willing to share the ideas of others, and ready to lead them to success. 

4.  Building a brand you don’t believe in

Admittedly, the personal branding hype machine is screaming at an all-time high right now.  But don’t be confused into thinking you simply must build a brand this instant around your current job or area of study.  If your heart isn’t in it, or you have self-doubt over your current path, take time to sort it all out. 

Consider Ola Rynge’s take on the importance of passion.  If you are lacking passion, your personal brand will lack passion as well. 

5.  Forgetting the “personal” in personal branding

I find it quite interesting that businesses today attempt to humanize their corporate brands, while many individuals are actually doing just the opposite with their personal brands.  Personal branding is not about hiding your unique traits, it is about making them shine bright! 

The one thing that separates you from the rest of us is not your proficiency with Microsoft Excel, or your super slick profile pic.  What separates you is the fact that…I don’t know actually, you tell me.  Would I know it from your outward personal brand? 

6.  Forgetting the “social” in social media

Social networking is a huge part of personal branding today.  It is absolutely the most effective way to connect with others and communicate your unique message.  But, if all you are doing is repetitively shoving your message down the throats of your network, you will soon be all alone, screaming to no one. 

One of the best examples I can give is Scott Stratton, @unmarketing.  Scott exemplifies all that is good about social networking, and provides an excellent example to follow.  As he puts it, “Engage, Interact, Build.”  Check him out. 

7.  Never taking a day off

The 24/7, lightning quick world we operate in today is truly amazing.  Sometimes I get the feeling that if I miss an hour on Twitter, something Earth-shattering will happen without me.  I’ve got to get over that, and I bet you do too.  So you don’t tweet for a day – will you lose followers? Or your blog goes stagnant for a week.  Will your subscribers panic and unsubscribe? No and no. 

While it is true that your personal brand is publicly viewable on the web 24/7, don’t think that your personal branding efforts must follow the same time schedule.  Taking time off just might be the catalyst you need for a more inspired brand. 

What do you think?  Do you agree or disagree with the 7 “sins” listed above?  Any universal no-no’s that I’ve left off the list?  I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments section below. 

Ryan Rancatore can also be found at Personal Branding 101, discussing the tools and tactics that will help you build a killer personal brand in 2010 and beyond.  

Ryan would love to connect with you on Twitter at @RyanRancatore, or on Linkedin, Facebook, or Brazen Careerist.

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If your having trouble landing a job it may just be because you aren’t looking in the right places.  According to the Labor Department’s most recent data, over 15 million people in America are out of work. That’s over five job seekers per opening. While this is great for employers, it also means that they get positively overran by applicants the second they post something on a job board.

That is why over 80% of today’s jobs aren’t advertised. So how  are you supposed to find a job when there 5 applicants for every job and 80% of those jobs are nearly impossible to find? The answer is more simple than one would think: network, network, network.

Just ask John Nichols,a career paralegal who  was laid off in July. Nichols had worked in 6 firms in the last 11 years and upon his recent lay off all the legal jobs he could find meant a 30-40% cut in his salary. With a wife and two kids, he just couldn’t make that sacrifice, so Nichols decided to take the leap and leave the legal world behind.

Nichols was now in a tight spot. No job and mid career shift during one of the worst job markets of the century. His only choice was to kick his networking efforts into high gear and uncover the hidden job that was right for him. Nichols began by utilizing social media sites like linkedin and eventually created his own networking group in his home town of San Francisco. He quickly found a new job in sales, a job that gives him more flexible hours and nearly doubled his salary.

All of this was made possible because he figured out how to successfully tap into the hidden job market, here are a few tips to help you do the same:

Hidden Job: How to find the other 80% of Job Openings

1. Build up your online presence

Create profiles on the main sites like Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook then find some social networking sites more specific to your niche. This is important for two reasons: first you have to expect that an employer will search for you online so controlling what they find is essential.  Second, once you have a profile on social media platforms, you can tap into a companies network in countless ways.

Focus is everything

The best thing to do is keep your efforts  focused. You can do this by identifying five or ten companies you would like to work for then use social media platforms to find people that work at those companies.  You  can find these people by doing a basic search on sites like Twitter and Facebook or by looking for blogs pertaining to the company on sites like Technorati, which has hundreds of millions of search-able blogs. You should also join the online community of these companies, such as their Facebook group, because jobs are often posted there before they are sent out to the general public.

2. Constantly monitor social media

By setting up RSS feeds and Google Alerts you can stay in the know when a job is posted in your field, even a more hidden job. Also be sure to search Twitter frequently and if you hear of a job via twitter, respond via twitter as well to avoid being just another message that gets lost in the inbox. Once again, keep it focused on those top companies that you would like to work for. You can also make a Google alert for the specific people you begin contacting within companies so that you know the second something pops up online about them.

3.Don’t Rely on Big Job Boards

As we mentioned before, the  jobs posted on big job boards are becoming completely overrun with applicants. To find the good hidden jobs out there, try using smaller job boards that focus on a certain skill set, region or community. Sites like Craigslist are a good option as well.

4. Knock on a lot of doors

Even if a Company has not advertised a position yet you can’t lose by contacting them directly and getting on their radar.  You may also get lucky and knock at just the right time.

5. Turn Your Social Media Connections into real world connections

Meeting in person is still the best way to get your foot in the door and become memorable. Organize a networking event, set up a meeting or lunch date with someone you met online or just go to events that you know certain companies and employers are likely to be.

Evan Watson is an independent writer and the Chief Evangelist at Brand-yourself.com. At Brand-yourself.com,  Evan Watson combines his passion for writing, entrepreneurship, and making meaningful connections with new people.  Evan is also a self-proclaimed adrenaline junky and enjoys kite-boarding, snowboarding, and wakeboarding. For Evan, family comes before anything else, and he attributes his success and growth almost entirely to being raised in an extremely eclectic, multi-cultural family.

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For the most part when you start to create your website your SEO strategy should be very straight forward.  You want to make sure you are doing basic things such as using your full name as you want people to search for it.  You should also be making sure that you are creating a strong link network between your site and everywhere else that you exist on the web.

But there are a few things that you should be weary of that could get you into some serious Google trouble.

This list contains the 5 Don’ts of building a website:

1. Key word stuffing-  When a search engine crawls your website it looks to see what words are used often because that is how it understands the page’s topic.  You can over use words on the page.  Google looks at how many words are on the page and then looks at the density of certain words.  If you put your name in a paragraph 5 times, search engines will get suspicious and not rank you as highly.
2. Another note on keyword stuffing- It used to be an SEO tactic to put keywords at the bottom of a page in the same color as the background.  This way users did not have to see the words but the content would still be there when a search engine crawled the site.  Google wised up to this years ago and specifically looks to make sure that the content is a different color than the background and that users can see it.
3. Duplicate content-  If a search engine reads the same content twice it will assume that the content is not original and that the site is not correctly managed.  You should spend some serious time when you are writing your site’s content.  You want to ensure that it conveys the correct message.
4. Too many links-  Every link that you have going from your site to another site takes away from your rank.  You have to make sure that you are liking to good websites and that you limit the number of links that you have to the minimum.  But on the same not you want to make sure that you have a good link structure between your site and the rest of your profiles.
5. All images, no content-  Images mean little to search engines.  You should aim to have 250-500 words per page so that search engines can read the content.  Make sure that when you do have image, you have content around them.

There are many black hat SEO tactics that people sometimes use on the web.  When you are just starting off I would suggest that you create your site, create some good content and then start to tweak it.  Remember that the SEO process will take a couple months before you start noticing results.

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