Many in personal branding (including myself) preach about the positive effects that a professional blog on a subject you care about can have on your personal brand. A blog is a great way to show that you are knowledgeable about a subject area and that you are employable in that field, could serve as a consultant, or could speak on the topic. It also can show that you don’t just spend your spare time vegged out on the couch eating bon bons. You are taking the time to better yourself and are sharing what you’ve learned with others, a great trait that many hiring managers are looking for.
Another great reason to start a blog is to impact your Google search results. Blogs have a tendency to move up in the rankings very quickly. Your name is plastered all over the site. Each blog post includes your name and you also likely have an About Me page that has detailed information including your name and background. Because of this, Google closely associates the blog with your name when they analyze it with their search algorithm.
As proof that this true, I did a Google search for Nick Gilham. Even though this blog has only been online for about a month, A Branded You is already #5 in the search results for my name. The results above are for my name domain, my Twitter feed, my Flickr photostream, and (unfortunately) someone else’s Facebook page. I am not the only Nick Gilham in the world and I do have to share the search results with others that have the same name.
Many of you have this exact same problem. No matter how uncommon your name may seem, there is likely someone else out there that shares it. This can make the task of standing out from the crowd online seem daunting, but don’t give up before you even get started. As I have proved, you can begin to differentiate yourself in just a few short weeks. I was able to quickly surpass many results for these other Nick Gilhams in very little time. All it takes is a little effort.
