What happens when someone types your name into the search box on Google? Do you appear? Or are you buried so deep in search results no one would find you for days – or even weeks? Or are there many results that appear with your name, but none of them are actually you? Or are you found for things you did in your college years – and they should be forgotten?
Unless you are John Darwin, (the dead canoeist found alive living in Panama City via a Google search) being “ungoogleable” can have a negative impact on you.
Many web searchers believe that if you really do exist – and if you are a “real player” in your field, you should appear in search engine results. Often failure to get found can be a red flag to a potential business client, a recruiter or even to someone planning to meet you for the first time.
Why are some people un-Googleable?
- While web privacy is important, some take this to the extreme. As a result, they are not easily found on the Internet.
- In some cases, a people search results in nothing as they have recently changed their name (often due to marriage).
- Or some individuals simply have such a common name such as John Smith (Google results 7,520,000). They are buried too deep to be found.
- And then there are those that do nothing. That is exactly what is posted about them on the Internet.
- Finally, there are those still stuck in the print world. They haven’t started to publish online and are not managing their reputation on the web.
How does your name rank in Google’s search results?