Boost Your Visibility with Personal SEO

In today’s digital age, your online presence plays a vital role in shaping your professional identity. The way you present yourself across the internet can have a significant impact on how you’re perceived by potential employers, clients, or industry peers.

Building a strong personal brand is key to gaining trust from colleagues and recruiters alike – and at the heart of this lies personal SEO.

Many people focus on perfecting their CVs or updating their LinkedIn profiles. However, your digital footprint stretches far beyond those platforms and deserves equal attention.

This blog will walk you through reliable and effective ways to boost your online visibility. By following these tips, you’ll be able to highlight your expertise and make a lasting impression in your field.

What is personal SEO and why does it matter?

Personal SEO is about optimising your online presence to ensure your name appears at the top of search results for relevant queries.

This process involves making sure the right content is featured when someone searches for you across various platforms like Google, Microsoft Bing, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other professional websites.

In this article, we’ll focus on personal SEO as it relates to individuals who use their name to offer products and services, separate from a commercial business or brand.

Personal SEO can have a significant impact on your career in several ways.

Firstly, it allows recruiters to easily verify your qualifications before extending interview invitations. Secondly, it helps business partners and networking opportunities find you with ease. And thirdly, it enables recruiters to find highly qualified candidates for job openings.

Ultimately, personal SEO empowers you to take control of your own story.

By managing your online presence effectively, you can influence how others perceive you and protect your reputation, especially during key moments in your career.

What distinguishes personal SEO from business SEO? There are several key differences that set them apart.

Scope and scale
Personal SEO generally requires fewer pages and platforms compared to business SEO, which manages large websites with numerous pages.

Keyword strategy
For personal SEO, the focus is on variations of your name and areas of expertise. On the other hand, business SEO targets product or service keywords and commercial terms to reach potential customers.

Goal orientation
Personal SEO is centred around building your individual reputation and creating career opportunities, while business SEO aims to drive leads and increase sales.

Content approach
Personal SEO content is aimed at showcasing your individual expertise, whereas business SEO content is designed to solve customer problems and highlight products or services.

Measurement metrics
Success in personal SEO is reflected in increased visibility, networking opportunities, and career growth. Business SEO, however, focuses on metrics such as conversions, revenue, and market share.

Ultimately, personal SEO helps people find you and trust you, which can have a direct impact on your career and professional opportunities.

Auditing your digital footprint

A clear understanding of your online presence is crucial before you begin building your SEO strategy. Think of this as taking stock of your digital assets and liabilities – the first step in creating an effective personal brand online.

Conducting a self-search assessment

To fully grasp your digital footprint, you must first conduct a thorough self-search. It’s essential to know what appears when someone searches for you online.

Start by searching for your full name in quotation marks (e.g., “Jane Smith”) on Google and Bing.

Here’s how to get better results:

Use an incognito or private browsing window to avoid personalised results.
Try searching on different devices or networks (e.g., home Wi-Fi vs. public Wi-Fi).
Look up variations of your name, including any nicknames or professional titles.

You should also include previous employers, educational institutions, and locations to find professional connections. This gives you a complete picture of how potential employers, clients, or colleagues might view you online.

Identifying positive and negative content

The next step is to classify your search results. Ask yourself: “Does this reflect how I want others to see me professionally?”

Sort each result into these categories:

Positive: Content that enhances your professional reputation.
Negative: Information that could harm your image.
Neutral: Content that doesn’t impact your reputation either way.
Private: Personal information you wish to keep private.

First-page results are especially important, as they have the most impact. Make sure your online presence demonstrates that you are trustworthy and competent.

Mapping your existing profiles and content

The final audit step is to list all your digital touchpoints. Create a spreadsheet or document of every platform where you are active. This will help you assess each one’s consistency and potential for improvement.

Consider:

Personal websites or blogs
Social media profiles on all platforms
Professional directory listings
Content you’ve published or contributed to
Mentions in media or on other websites

Check if each profile or piece of content aligns with your desired personal brand. Ensure that your information is current and consistent across all platforms.

Regularly check your online reputation

It’s a good idea to check your online presence at least once every quarter or year. This will help you stay on top of any content changes, spot patterns, and resolve issues before they escalate.

Creating a strategic content plan

Just like a content strategy for a business, a successful personal SEO strategy requires a well-organised content plan that effectively demonstrates your value.