about internet marketing

Ten years ago, we identified ourselves online with handles, and anonymity ruled the web. It was not unusual to correspond with “Jetsfan77″ or “HikingGirl_06.” The idea of having all your information attached to your name — your real name — seemed crazy. As we’ve moved away from handles, using our legal monikers has ushered in an era of more authenticity and accountability on the web.

And as distinguishing your identity across the web becomes increasingly important, it has also become increasingly difficult. With almost 30% of the world’s 6.7 billion person population using the class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet today, there are bound to be many of them who share the same name.

There are 149 other “Sarah Kesslers” on Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook. Twenty-six of us have Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter accounts, 93 of us use MySpaceclass="blippr-nobr">MySpace, and 78 of us are Linkedinclass="blippr-nobr">LinkedIn. Staking out digital territory across the web, needless to say, has been difficult. And my name isn’t even among the most common.

In a world where almost 80% of hiring managers Googleclass="blippr-nobr">Google job candidates, it’s important to make sure that the people looking you up find you and not someone else with your namesake.

This importance became clear to Pete Kistler when he figured out that he was being turned down for jobs because he shared a name and age bracket with an ex-convict. To help others like him, he started Brand-Yourself, a personal online reputation management service. We caught up with the site’s Chief Marketing Officer Patrick Ambron for his advice on staking out an online identity when there’s competition for your name.

1. Register Available Domain Names

Domain names are important. So important, in fact, that a largely abandoned WordPressclass="blippr-nobr">WordPress blog that uses my name in the title is currently the first search result for my name.

Ambron says that claiming your domain name is the first and most important thing that you can do to make yourself more visible in a Google search. Claim your name on whatever domains are available. Even if you don’t plan to use yourname.co, .info, .net or .mobi, you’ll be preventing other people who share your name from using those domains to compete with you for search result status.

“Google loves the domain name,” Ambron says. “It’s a powerful indication that site is going to be about you.”

2. Mention Yourself on Your Website

It might feel weird to talk about yourself in the third person, but labeling your website’s tabs with your name can give you an advantage in search results.

“This is called keyword density,” Ambron says. “When Google spiders index a site, they look to see how often certain words are used to determine what the site should rank. If your content never mentions your name, how will spiders know it’s about you?”

Even though you might be thinking, “of course it’s [your name]’s bio. Who else’s bio would be on my site?” it’s important to use your full name so that search engines recognize that the site is about you when someone searches for your name.

3. Link to All of Your Content

“ considers each link to your site a vote for the site,” Ambron says. “Google has gotten pretty smart, so where those links come from is very important. The more reputable links are better votes. A vote from CNN is better than some site you made that you just linked to yourself.”

Fortunately, as an individual, there are an abundance of opportunities for you to create links to your site from reputable sources in the form of profiles. A vote from your friend’s website might not count for a lot, but a vote from Facebook will be counted as much more reputable.

Sign up for as many directories and social sites as possible, and make sure to link them all together. One tip that Brand-Yourself advocates is to locate profiles where your name is still available. You can also locate and reserve your name across the web using one of these websites.

“Even if you don’t plan on using all those social sites, and there are plenty of them, it’s good to grab them up,” Ambron says. “It’s good that you’re keeping someone else from using them with your name and contributing to their results.”

4. Create Content and Get Social

“Google loves updated content,” Ambron says. “And the fastest way for an individual to have updated content is to have a social profile that they use.”

One easy way to make sure your blog is always updated, for instance, is to integrate your Twitter account’s RSS feed. Every time you tweet, you’ll update your blog and improve its prominence in search results.

“If you have a blog post that you put on your site, Facebook and Twitter, and five people Like it and share it,” Ambron says, “that’s five credible links from Facebook and from Twitter to your site.“

Do you have a digital doppelganger who has caused confusion in your life? Tell us about it in the comments below.

More Personal Branding Resources from Mashable:

- 7 Services to Find and Reserve Your Name Across the Web/> - 5 Ways to Avoid Sabotaging Your Personal Brand Online/> - 5 Ways to Clean Up Your Social Media Identity/> - HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on YouTube/> - HOW TO: Use Social Media to Connect with Other Entrepreneurs

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, carrollphoto, fitzer

For more Social Media coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Mediaclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Media channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Last week, AMD's corporate vice president for product marketing, Leslie Sobon, published a piece entitled "Get a Geek in Five Easy Lessons." The how-to guide was published on AMD's blog, so I'll be the first one to admit that I was shocked from the moment I started reading it. The piece (which you can and should read right here) is one of the lamest, most confusing things I've read on the internet in a very long time, and believe me: I read a lot of terrible stuff. Contained within this blog is Sobon's "expert" advice on how a single and seemingly quite desperate lady (she assumes there are throngs of you) can snag a geek -- no easy task if you believe what she's got to say. Sobon's advice for grabbing up a nerd for your very own? Change everything about yourself, lie through your teeth, pretend to be interested in super boring stuff, and before you know it: nerd happiness.



Now, before you tell me I have no sense of humor, I'll admit freely that it's possible that Leslie Sobon has written what she considers to be a joke piece worthy of The Onion. So I say to you: if this is a joke, why is it not funny, and why is it on the AMD blog? Likewise, of course, if she's in any way serious... well, then why is it not funny and why is it on the AMD blog? Regardless, there are a lot of problems with Sobon's piece, as you'll see below. Read on if you care to travel to the depths of my cold, angry female mind.



The "five lessons" of Sobon's piece are quickly summarized: learn a bunch of huge, technical words (what they mean doesn't matter), hang around at geeky places like GDC, ask questions (again, you don't need to actually know what you're asking or be interested in the answers), pretend to love Iron Man even if you don't know the specs of the Blu-ray player it plays in, and of course, ignore the fact that his clothes suck, because inevitably, they do. He is a geek, after all: that pocket protector is not optional. So, in many ways, Sobon's advice is like any ladies' magazine from the 1950's, in that she assumes you have nothing in common with your prey (you are man hunting, are you not?), that you never will, and that that's okay. In fact, changing everything about your actual self in favor of a new, improved, less truthy "nerdy" girl is the best way to go about catching one of these rare and beautiful creatures. So, here are the major problems I've got with "Get a Geek in Five Easy Lessons."



First and foremost, this piece is on an official AMD blog, and Leslie Sobon is writing in her capacity as the vice president of one of the company's departments. As such, her attempt at lame Carrie Bradshaw-isms are out of place, unprofessional and an embarrassment to the company that she works for, even if there's a standard "opinions expressed here" disclaimer attached to the blog.



Secondly, I find it appalling that Sobon thinks that the best advice she can give to her female readers is dating tips, especially since they're not even good ones. In fact, they're terrible. For instance, she suggests that ladies ask specific, nerdy questions such as "What will win, X86 or ARM?" then listen to the answers without worrying what any of it means, because pretending to be interested will carry them far enough. Have you ever talked to someone about the subplots of War and Peace, or tried to explain to a third cousin what you do for a living ("I write about computers, on the internet")? Have you ever watched those people try to pretend they understand what you're saying, or not fall asleep before you finish? Well, now imagine trying to do that in a dating situation. I'm not saying people don't do it -- just that it's not exactly a newfangled or savvy dating tip, unless you live on the set of a sitcom, where pretty much anything goes. Of course, she's also subtly implying that she herself fakes her way through geeky conversations, which is preposterous. I've never met Leslie, but am fairly certain she didn't rise to the highest ranks of AMD without having a detailed knowledge of "nerdy" topics like CPUs and 3D technology.

Small Business <b>News</b>: Franchise Fantasies

Starting a franchise is not for everyone, but among the possible paths to small business ownership it is certainly one route. There are many reasons a.

College Football <b>News</b> | <b>News</b> Media Generation - GenMedia.Info

College Football Returns; Today's TV Schedule | News One: and#13;and#13;College Football schedule.and#13;and#13;Saturday Games of Note on College Football Schedule (Ranked Teams)and#13;and#13;*San Jose State vs. No. ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: The White Paper Overview

Pundits still say they are a great way to develop credibility for your business easy to distribute in their popular current PDF format and also, if done right,

bench craft company rip off
bench craft company rip off

Small Business <b>News</b>: Franchise Fantasies

Starting a franchise is not for everyone, but among the possible paths to small business ownership it is certainly one route. There are many reasons a.

College Football <b>News</b> | <b>News</b> Media Generation - GenMedia.Info

College Football Returns; Today's TV Schedule | News One: and#13;and#13;College Football schedule.and#13;and#13;Saturday Games of Note on College Football Schedule (Ranked Teams)and#13;and#13;*San Jose State vs. No. ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: The White Paper Overview

Pundits still say they are a great way to develop credibility for your business easy to distribute in their popular current PDF format and also, if done right,

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

Ten years ago, we identified ourselves online with handles, and anonymity ruled the web. It was not unusual to correspond with “Jetsfan77″ or “HikingGirl_06.” The idea of having all your information attached to your name — your real name — seemed crazy. As we’ve moved away from handles, using our legal monikers has ushered in an era of more authenticity and accountability on the web.

And as distinguishing your identity across the web becomes increasingly important, it has also become increasingly difficult. With almost 30% of the world’s 6.7 billion person population using the class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet today, there are bound to be many of them who share the same name.

There are 149 other “Sarah Kesslers” on Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook. Twenty-six of us have Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter accounts, 93 of us use MySpaceclass="blippr-nobr">MySpace, and 78 of us are Linkedinclass="blippr-nobr">LinkedIn. Staking out digital territory across the web, needless to say, has been difficult. And my name isn’t even among the most common.

In a world where almost 80% of hiring managers Googleclass="blippr-nobr">Google job candidates, it’s important to make sure that the people looking you up find you and not someone else with your namesake.

This importance became clear to Pete Kistler when he figured out that he was being turned down for jobs because he shared a name and age bracket with an ex-convict. To help others like him, he started Brand-Yourself, a personal online reputation management service. We caught up with the site’s Chief Marketing Officer Patrick Ambron for his advice on staking out an online identity when there’s competition for your name.

1. Register Available Domain Names

Domain names are important. So important, in fact, that a largely abandoned WordPressclass="blippr-nobr">WordPress blog that uses my name in the title is currently the first search result for my name.

Ambron says that claiming your domain name is the first and most important thing that you can do to make yourself more visible in a Google search. Claim your name on whatever domains are available. Even if you don’t plan to use yourname.co, .info, .net or .mobi, you’ll be preventing other people who share your name from using those domains to compete with you for search result status.

“Google loves the domain name,” Ambron says. “It’s a powerful indication that site is going to be about you.”

2. Mention Yourself on Your Website

It might feel weird to talk about yourself in the third person, but labeling your website’s tabs with your name can give you an advantage in search results.

“This is called keyword density,” Ambron says. “When Google spiders index a site, they look to see how often certain words are used to determine what the site should rank. If your content never mentions your name, how will spiders know it’s about you?”

Even though you might be thinking, “of course it’s [your name]’s bio. Who else’s bio would be on my site?” it’s important to use your full name so that search engines recognize that the site is about you when someone searches for your name.

3. Link to All of Your Content

“ considers each link to your site a vote for the site,” Ambron says. “Google has gotten pretty smart, so where those links come from is very important. The more reputable links are better votes. A vote from CNN is better than some site you made that you just linked to yourself.”

Fortunately, as an individual, there are an abundance of opportunities for you to create links to your site from reputable sources in the form of profiles. A vote from your friend’s website might not count for a lot, but a vote from Facebook will be counted as much more reputable.

Sign up for as many directories and social sites as possible, and make sure to link them all together. One tip that Brand-Yourself advocates is to locate profiles where your name is still available. You can also locate and reserve your name across the web using one of these websites.

“Even if you don’t plan on using all those social sites, and there are plenty of them, it’s good to grab them up,” Ambron says. “It’s good that you’re keeping someone else from using them with your name and contributing to their results.”

4. Create Content and Get Social

“Google loves updated content,” Ambron says. “And the fastest way for an individual to have updated content is to have a social profile that they use.”

One easy way to make sure your blog is always updated, for instance, is to integrate your Twitter account’s RSS feed. Every time you tweet, you’ll update your blog and improve its prominence in search results.

“If you have a blog post that you put on your site, Facebook and Twitter, and five people Like it and share it,” Ambron says, “that’s five credible links from Facebook and from Twitter to your site.“

Do you have a digital doppelganger who has caused confusion in your life? Tell us about it in the comments below.

More Personal Branding Resources from Mashable:

- 7 Services to Find and Reserve Your Name Across the Web/> - 5 Ways to Avoid Sabotaging Your Personal Brand Online/> - 5 Ways to Clean Up Your Social Media Identity/> - HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on YouTube/> - HOW TO: Use Social Media to Connect with Other Entrepreneurs

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, carrollphoto, fitzer

For more Social Media coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Mediaclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Media channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Last week, AMD's corporate vice president for product marketing, Leslie Sobon, published a piece entitled "Get a Geek in Five Easy Lessons." The how-to guide was published on AMD's blog, so I'll be the first one to admit that I was shocked from the moment I started reading it. The piece (which you can and should read right here) is one of the lamest, most confusing things I've read on the internet in a very long time, and believe me: I read a lot of terrible stuff. Contained within this blog is Sobon's "expert" advice on how a single and seemingly quite desperate lady (she assumes there are throngs of you) can snag a geek -- no easy task if you believe what she's got to say. Sobon's advice for grabbing up a nerd for your very own? Change everything about yourself, lie through your teeth, pretend to be interested in super boring stuff, and before you know it: nerd happiness.



Now, before you tell me I have no sense of humor, I'll admit freely that it's possible that Leslie Sobon has written what she considers to be a joke piece worthy of The Onion. So I say to you: if this is a joke, why is it not funny, and why is it on the AMD blog? Likewise, of course, if she's in any way serious... well, then why is it not funny and why is it on the AMD blog? Regardless, there are a lot of problems with Sobon's piece, as you'll see below. Read on if you care to travel to the depths of my cold, angry female mind.



The "five lessons" of Sobon's piece are quickly summarized: learn a bunch of huge, technical words (what they mean doesn't matter), hang around at geeky places like GDC, ask questions (again, you don't need to actually know what you're asking or be interested in the answers), pretend to love Iron Man even if you don't know the specs of the Blu-ray player it plays in, and of course, ignore the fact that his clothes suck, because inevitably, they do. He is a geek, after all: that pocket protector is not optional. So, in many ways, Sobon's advice is like any ladies' magazine from the 1950's, in that she assumes you have nothing in common with your prey (you are man hunting, are you not?), that you never will, and that that's okay. In fact, changing everything about your actual self in favor of a new, improved, less truthy "nerdy" girl is the best way to go about catching one of these rare and beautiful creatures. So, here are the major problems I've got with "Get a Geek in Five Easy Lessons."



First and foremost, this piece is on an official AMD blog, and Leslie Sobon is writing in her capacity as the vice president of one of the company's departments. As such, her attempt at lame Carrie Bradshaw-isms are out of place, unprofessional and an embarrassment to the company that she works for, even if there's a standard "opinions expressed here" disclaimer attached to the blog.



Secondly, I find it appalling that Sobon thinks that the best advice she can give to her female readers is dating tips, especially since they're not even good ones. In fact, they're terrible. For instance, she suggests that ladies ask specific, nerdy questions such as "What will win, X86 or ARM?" then listen to the answers without worrying what any of it means, because pretending to be interested will carry them far enough. Have you ever talked to someone about the subplots of War and Peace, or tried to explain to a third cousin what you do for a living ("I write about computers, on the internet")? Have you ever watched those people try to pretend they understand what you're saying, or not fall asleep before you finish? Well, now imagine trying to do that in a dating situation. I'm not saying people don't do it -- just that it's not exactly a newfangled or savvy dating tip, unless you live on the set of a sitcom, where pretty much anything goes. Of course, she's also subtly implying that she herself fakes her way through geeky conversations, which is preposterous. I've never met Leslie, but am fairly certain she didn't rise to the highest ranks of AMD without having a detailed knowledge of "nerdy" topics like CPUs and 3D technology.


bench craft company rip off

Small Business <b>News</b>: Franchise Fantasies

Starting a franchise is not for everyone, but among the possible paths to small business ownership it is certainly one route. There are many reasons a.

College Football <b>News</b> | <b>News</b> Media Generation - GenMedia.Info

College Football Returns; Today's TV Schedule | News One: and#13;and#13;College Football schedule.and#13;and#13;Saturday Games of Note on College Football Schedule (Ranked Teams)and#13;and#13;*San Jose State vs. No. ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: The White Paper Overview

Pundits still say they are a great way to develop credibility for your business easy to distribute in their popular current PDF format and also, if done right,

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

Small Business <b>News</b>: Franchise Fantasies

Starting a franchise is not for everyone, but among the possible paths to small business ownership it is certainly one route. There are many reasons a.

College Football <b>News</b> | <b>News</b> Media Generation - GenMedia.Info

College Football Returns; Today's TV Schedule | News One: and#13;and#13;College Football schedule.and#13;and#13;Saturday Games of Note on College Football Schedule (Ranked Teams)and#13;and#13;*San Jose State vs. No. ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: The White Paper Overview

Pundits still say they are a great way to develop credibility for your business easy to distribute in their popular current PDF format and also, if done right,

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

Small Business <b>News</b>: Franchise Fantasies

Starting a franchise is not for everyone, but among the possible paths to small business ownership it is certainly one route. There are many reasons a.

College Football <b>News</b> | <b>News</b> Media Generation - GenMedia.Info

College Football Returns; Today's TV Schedule | News One: and#13;and#13;College Football schedule.and#13;and#13;Saturday Games of Note on College Football Schedule (Ranked Teams)and#13;and#13;*San Jose State vs. No. ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: The White Paper Overview

Pundits still say they are a great way to develop credibility for your business easy to distribute in their popular current PDF format and also, if done right,

bench craft company rip off