Essential Tips to Help Advisors Protect Their 'Webutation'

[EfficientCEO]

How To Stand Out With A Common Name?

Marie, I like the suggestion of being aware of what people can see about you. How do you recommend someone search for a common name like mine, Richard Walker? My name is so common that apparently I own a Pancake House, I'm an MD, I was a sports fisherman, a professor at Berkeley and much more. I try to differentiate myself with my middle initial (Richard D. Walker) and in that Google search I own every link on page 1 except for one of them. But how will people know to search for me that way? And does that matter?

Thanks for all your wisdom!

Richard Walker
Efficient CEO
http://www.EfficientTech.com
http://www.RichardDWalker.com

[Marie Swift]

Hi Richard,

I recommend you work with an SEO specialist to improve your search rankings on the search term Richard Walker. It will be difficult for you to train people to think of you as Richard D. Walker so the goal for you now is to become the most famous Richard Walker out there.

I'll ask some of the SEO specialists I know to chime in here on this blog post. They can give more tips and insights.

For now, I'd keep doing what you are doing:

1. Claim as many urls and profile pages with the name Richard Walker as you can on social media sites (do you have About.Me, Google and Pinterest profiles yet?)

2. Cross-link all of your digital assets and any/all articles and other sites that mention you

3. Have an SEO specialist look at the metadata and keywords on your website, blog, social media profiles, etc.

You can also tell people to search for Richard D. Walker on the web, print it on your business cards, etc.

Good seeing you at the T3 and TD conferences, Richard. And thanks for sending me a copy of your book, It's my Life: I can change if I want to. I plan to read it this summer.

All Best,
Marie Swift
The Marketing Maven
For Financial Planning