Have you Googled yourself yet?

Ensuring your online presence is super important, as it should accurately reflect who you are. Whether you’re job searching, networking or trying to work your way into an elite group, it’s a sure thing that someone is going to dig deeper online to discover what you’re all about. To show you an example, I Googled my own name. Here’s how I look to the world:

Renee Achterhof – Google Profile
Renee Achterhof | Facebook
Renee Achterhof | LinkedIn
Renee Achterhof, Grand Rapids, MI | My Life
Renee Achterhof (RAchterhof) on Twitter
Renee Achterhof | Rapid Growth Media
Renee Achterhof on the Behance Network
Renee Achterhof (shoozer228) on Etsy

We don’t necessarily have control over what results show up on which page in Google. That’s why it’s important to see which results do pop up, so that you can refine those pages to the image you hope to convey to those searching for you.

Now, my searcher most likely has the following impressions of me: I have active accounts on social networks – Facebook, Twitter and Google+. I am in-the-know about networking sites – LinkedIn and Rapid Growth Media. They will also be able to see that in my spare time, I enjoy posting my portfolio on Behance Network and browsing Etsy. From one quick look, anyone learn a lot about me.

So how should the content on those pages look? BEAUTIFUL.

This is the content we can actually create – we have control over how we appear online. Upon clicking into any of these search results, my searcher should immediately see that I have painted a clear picture of who I am, including a visual via photos. Be very careful with this one. Although some may not think that photos posted on social networking sites have much more impact than a good laugh with your friends, you never know who else may be lurking. Pictures tell more than 1,000 words. My searcher will also see my experiences professionally and my general philosophy and outlook on life. Content is witty and well-written. What seems like “little stuff” on social networking sites (misspellings, missing punctuation, etc.) may not be so “little” to those gaining a first impression.

Go ahead and Google yourself! You may be surprised at what you find. Go through and reevaluate how you may look in the eyes of your searcher.

Renee Achterhof is a content writer for Mindscape at Hanon McKendry