Silver Square

In their neverending quest to catalog every piece of information on earth and make it searchable, Google has recently added profiles to their search results.  By signing up for a Google account, you can create a profile of your self.  The format of the profile is pretty vanilla, but the good news there is they don’t take much time to set up.

When someone does a search for your name, the normal search results that we’re all accustomed to still show up, but at the bottom of the page will be a link to your profile (including an image of your bright, smiling face).

The information collected is geared towards returning better search results when someone looks up your name.  How does that work?  Your profile can include links to websites that you’re involved in: company website, Facebook page, your blog, etc.  You get to say to Google these are the sites I’m really involved with.  Although Google doesn’t make public how they sort search results, it seems safe to assume that those sites will now rank just a little bit higher when someone searches for your name.

Presumably the same logic applies when you include in your profile places you have lived.  If you once lived in San Diego, then an article that appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune might just be about you.  The web page with that article climbs a few steps higher in the search results.

As of right now, the profiles seemed to be geared towards individuals only (not organizations).  If you need to increase your business or organizations visibility on Google, check out the local business center.

Profiles can also clear up some confusion when people search for you if you have a common name.  Silver Square’s own Angela James is not the only Angela James that shows up on the first page of Google.  So when you read Angela James is an executive editor of a publishing company, you may be wondering is that the same person you met at a networking event or went to hight school with?  At the bottom of the page you can check out her profile.  Put a face with the name, read a quick bio, and look at where she’s lived.