It's likely that every single person visiting SocialMediaToday.com maintains social media profiles, and each of you works hard to make sure your presence represents who you are.  You spend time filling it with interesting information about what you like and what you're up to.  In fact, you could argue your social media presence is the most accurate, relevant, and up-to-date source of information about you on the entire web. The problem is, despite the time and effort you've expended, your profiles are frequently nowhere to be found when you are Googled. 

Why your rank matters

 Today, if someone wants to know more about you, they Google you.  That means they end up judging you based off what they find – 75% of HR departments are required to Google candidates before making decisions, and over 80% of young adults say they Google a first date.  If your social media profiles aren't showing up, and instead your search results are filled with irrelevant or negative results (or worse, results referring to other people), you are losing a huge opportunity.

 If you have a strong social media presence, you should make sure your profiles show up at the top of your search results.  The good news is that if you have this problem, you aren't helpless.  Through the process of search engine optimization, you can make sure your profiles are as search engine-friendly as possible, which will make sure they rank highly on searches for your name.

How does SEO work?

 Search engines analyze hundreds of factors to rank links.  For example, when someone Googles "Sarah Smith," search engines use complex algorithms to process millions of results from across the web to make sure they rank the most accurate, relevant results possible.  Search engines pull keywords, locations, and a variety of other factors when ranking these results. 

Using these factors, you can make links search engine-friendly.  This process is known as "white-hat SEO," and search engines actually encourage you to understand these factors so you can make sure your links aren't ranked incorrectly or overlooked – and rank as highly as possible.  It's an easy way to point search engines to the links they're looking for when someone searches your name. .

How to apply SEO principles to your profile

While there are hundreds of factors, here are some basic tips you can apply to any social media profile to help its ranking:

• Make sure it's clean before you optimize: Before you start promoting a social network, it's important to remember that everything you post is public and can be seen by everyone.  For example, if you use your Facebook profile to post wild photos or political comments, you might not be putting your best foot forward.  Some people opt to keep their profiles private, but keep in mind, nothing is really private.  Updates can still find their way into search results – and into the wrong hands. Keep your profiles professional.
• Make sure you use your actual name: Search engines look at a link and try to figure out what's the most important keyword on the page so they know what to rank it for.  If you want your Twitter profile to show up high for "Patrick Ambron," make sure your username is "PatrickAmbron," not "Chilldude33."  (I refer you back to the first point about keeping your profile professional.) This reinforces your name as an important keyword.  Tip: If your username is already taken, simply use a variation, like "PRPatrickAmbron" or "Patrick_Ambron.
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• Fill out your profile completely: Don't skip over parts of your profile, for two reasons.  First, search engines consider profiles that are completely filled out more credible than profiles that have several missing fields.  LinkedIn is a great example of this – people and search engines are statistically more likely to look at a complete LinkedIn profile.  Second, the more places you can include information about yourself (and include the keyword "Your Name"), the more search engines will realize your name is an important "keyword' on the page and  rank it accordingly.
• Link to all your other profiles/websites and make sure they link back: Make sure you include a link back to your website and as many other profiles as they'll let you include.  Links are an important factor in search engine rankings.  The higher the number of credible pages your site links to (and vice versa), the higher each one will rank for your name.

You spend a lot of time managing your social media profiles.  Don't let that work go to waste.  Your exposure will increase exponentially if you follow these tips, and you can control the message of that exposure.

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