If you think your prospects won’t Google you, you’re wrong.
Having content available online for them to see is better than not finding anything. You don’t choose a restaurant without researching it online, so why would someone give you a million dollars to manage without first finding out everything they can about you?
If I were to Google most advisors, I will probably only find a LinkedIn profile and their website. That’s fine. But just what else can show up in the Google search for your name?
Create YouTube videos – a search results page will typically show one or two videos.
Create a personal website – yourfirstnameyourlastname.com – if this domain is available, get it. Have a web designer create a simple website with one to three pages. Don’t spend too much money or effort on this. You can find someone on Fiverr.com who can build it for $100.
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook – If it’s a personal profile, being active on social media will help you appear relatable, but be careful with what you post and “like”.
Send out a press releases – It’s good to have one or two press releases, but Google typically will not rank any more than that.
Post images and photos – Often images will rank above copy or articles in the organic ranking websites.
Join a Board of Directors – Is there a charity you admire with an open board seat? If so, they typically will add you to their website. These pages often rank for your name. If this isn’t feasible, think about other organizations with websites that you could apply your efforts and add your name to.
Write a book – Have a ghostwriter write a book for you. Get it self-published and make it available on Amazon.
Post on review sites – Yelp, Foursquare, Google reviews – be sure to follow any Finra/SEC requirements when posting or hosting reviews.
Use a Microsite – Create profiles on sites such as Crunchbase for ranking purposes.
Start a blog – Create a site to host blogs and articles that you author.
There are a lot of ways to control your Google search results. When people search for you, it’s crucial to have results that indicate you are a good person, with professional, approachable, and charitable qualities.
Start by searching yourself. What do you see? Better yet, what do you not see? Google’s algorithm is constantly changing, but over time, good, quality, and real content will always rank.
This tip isn’t going to necessarily get you more meetings, but it could improve your conversion/close rate. If your close rate improves by 5% to 10%, how many more assets will that add? What kind of revenue does that look like?
Take control of your brand now and start closing more deals.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Your prospects are Googling you and assuming that what they see is what they are going to get. There are many ways you can take control of online search results and assure that you and your services are presented in the best light possible.