Search Results: *Blushing Blogger*

I can’t tell you what happens when I do a search for my own name. It’s not me, is all I’ll say to you. If you’re a blogger you’ve probably heard about doing a search on yourself a half-dozen times. Business owners who are newer to the Internet, may be surprised at the idea.

Why search for yourself? To check who’s linking to you, writing about you,* and what they’re saying, and to check that you rank well for yourself.

Some recommend you have alerts sent to you for your own name, your business name, blog name, etc., to monitor changes. That’s all right (unless your name has a problem like mine has), but if you actually run a business, you’re busy; I’d say it’s a bit obsessive, like worrying over any other Internet stats. Just remember to check in with Google, Yahoo!, or your own favorite once in a while. Make sure your sites are ranking highest for “you” if at all possible, and if not, make sure you are making progress—ranking higher each time you check. Lots of great people have written about how to make this happen, so I’m not gonna go there right now.

And I Don’t Mean Stinks

For a real eye-opener, type in “[Your Business Name] S–ks.” In quotes. If things come up at all, you’re in trouble. If lots of things come up, you’ve got a long row to hoe. Pick up your tools or hire a gardener, metaphorically speaking, because you’ve got to start changing the Customer Experience for the better.

Remember the old saying that if you get one complaint, there’s probably a hundred folks who didn’t bother to tell you they felt the same way?

New rule: on the Internet, if you find one “Jay’s BBQ S–ks” article, it’s not just that there’s a hundred who felt the same but didn’t have blogs or couldn’t be bothered. It’s that a thousand (or a million) people may see that, and never come near enough to decide if your business is, indeed, terrible.

The Internet is written in indelible ink. You can’t fight what’s written about you. What you’ve got to do, starting right now, is decide what you want written about you. Then put every detail in place to make sure that is the only thing possible for a customer to write, from this second forward.

Don’t spend time playing with stats and alerts. Obsess over getting the Customer Experience right.

What happens when you Google yourself, your business name, your blog name? Do others rank better for “you” than you? Do you s–k?

Grow and be well,

Kelly Erickson

*People are writing about you even if you don’t have a website or a blog, so jump on the bandwagon now!