Personal SEO Archives - The Voice of Job Seekers

5 Ways to Improve Your LinkedIn SEO and Reach More Employers by Mark Anthony Dyson

Job seekers who want to take charge of their online job searches need to start applying search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to their social media profiles – especially LinkedIn. Employers are using Google to vet you. When they enter your name, there’s no telling what they might find. The negative comments others have made about you could derail your job search.

If you want to increase the quality of your job prospects and ensure a smoother job search, you must take control of your online image.

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Proactive SEO efforts may produce short- and long-term positive results in the way employers view your job candidacy. If you don’t have an online presence, you can’t compete in today’s job market. Even more important than just having a presence, however, is having the right strategy for your presence. The impression you create on LinkedIn and other sites can either help or harm your candidacy, depending on the steps you take.

Listen to LinkedIn SEO with Susan P Joyce

So, how can you use SEO to ensure employers find you – in a positive light, no less – on Google?

Susan P. Joyce is the founder of Job-Hunt.org and owns WorkCoachCafe.com. She is a personal SEO researcher and writer. I talked to Joyce to glean some insights on using SEO in your job search:

1. Google Yourself

Joyce states there are several reasons to Google yourself, including:

– To ensure your name is not associated with any unsavory acts, such as crimes (Even if you haven’t run afoul of the law yourself, someone with the same name could have.)
– To ensure there is no negative information about you in the search results
– To decide how you want your name to appear to employers
– To plan how you will distinguish yourself from competitors

If you have a common name, you may need to add a middle initial or middle name to distinguish your professional presence.

“Find one version of your name that’s relatively clean on Google, and use that version of your name for all of your online professional visibility, badges at meetings, and business cards,” Joyce says. She also recommends using this version of your name on job applications and resumes.

2. Use Several Different Browsers and Search Engines

Joyce recommends searching your name using a few different browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc.) and a few different search engines (Bing, Yahoo, Google, DuckDuckGo, etc.). Different browsers and search engines may return slightly different results, so you will get a fuller picture of your online footprint by running multiple searches. The goal is to ensure your LinkedIn profile is the first result no matter what engine or browser a prospective employer uses.

Listen to Defensive Googling and The Obsolete 40-Hour Work Week

3. Conduct a Private Search

For best results, Joyce recommends using incognito mode – or “private browsing,” as it is called on Firefox – to conduct your searches. This private mode prevents your cookies and browsing history from impacting your search results. In essence, your SEO research will be purer – but not perfect. Joyce says it is beneficial to conduct such a search once a week.

4. Update Your Terminology

If you have degrees or certifications from years ago, they may make you appear irrelevant if they contain outdated terms. For example, Joyce mentions “management information systems” (MIS), which has largely been replaced today by “information technology” (IT).

If you’re still using “MIS,” you have “1999″ written all over yourself. Find out what terms employers are using to describe your position, certifications, and skills. Use these terms on your LinkedIn profile and elsewhere. You may want to try several searches with alternative terms to see which is best for SEO purposes.

5. Effectively Use the Headline and Summary Spaces of Your LinkedIn Profile

Joyce notes many people don’t make full use of their LinkedIn headlines, which she describes as “a billboard on a superhighway that’s empty.”

Simply listing your title is a waste of space, and it won’t distinguish you from the competition. Instead, use this space as valuable SEO real estate.

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Use terms associated with your profession that will help you appear in employers’ Google searches.

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Improve your LinkedIn and social media SEO by using the steps highlighted above. Employers will have an easier time finding you, and the information they find will be positive. This, in turn, translates to an easier job search for you.

And one more thing: Make sure you have professional profile photos for each of your social media profiles. Profiles without photos are a little off-putting.

This article was previously published on Fox Business News!

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

Defensive Googling and The Obsolete 40-Hour Work Week

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Still conflicted with building your brand online. Have you tried defensive googling, yet? Concerned the data or the lack of data about you on Google it’s vital to your job search? Did you know the 40-hour work week is obsolete? We address all three of these questions in today’s episode.

We have two segments today I hope will improve your career. You’ll learn more about finding yourself and strengths can guide you to positive career outcomes. You should also stop looking for a 40-hour job. More on this in the show. Finally, You’ll also learn practical steps in using Google to correct, protect, and build your online presence to make yourself attracted to employers.

Join in on the conversation. Here’s how:

Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number
Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message
Send email feedback to [email protected]

Susan is the founder and a pioneer in the online job advice space. She is the founder of job-hunt.org and is an online job search expert. Susan also owns WorkCoachCafe.com. Both are Forbes 100 Best Career Sites. She is also a Personal SEO Researcher and Writer and writes for the Huffington Post and Forbes. I want you to hear what Susan Joyce and I talked about Defensive Googling. I invite you to listen to the conversation, then go practice what we discussed. It could be the difference between knowing your value as a job candidate and not knowing why you’re getting rejected.

Here are some of the advice Susan gives about defensive googling:

Good bad and ugly of Googling or defensive Googling
People used to call it vanity Googling or ego-surfing for your name
Everyone should practice defensive googling once a week
100% of employers and recruiters when considering potential candidates
Lack of information or misinformation on Google can ruin your reputation
Lack of knowledge to employers means irrelevance, or you’re hiding something
How often should you Google yourself? Once a week is best
Do a private search – Chrome is best – Use the “New Incognito Window” using the dots top right and choose – Google will ignore your preference through this window
You want to see what the world sees
Do the other browsers: Bing, Yahoo, Duck Duck Go – Find the “Private Window” choice (See Safari browser)
Include searches on your position

The second conversation is with Diane Phillips who is the co-author of The Job Book: Find Yourself and a Job in 30 Days. She has more than three decades of experience spanning the globe that includes working with Fortune 100 executives and corporations, Nobel Prize winners, radio and TV programming and production, school curriculum development and author. Expert in personal and professional development of executive leaders and their teams, driving impactful outcomes and systematic solutions.

Here are some of the highlights from Diane about finding yourself and the 40-hour work week:

The forty hour work week is obsolete and the ideal workplace
Good work often results in more action the following weeks
Companies and employees would benefit most when everyone works during their most productive times of day
Ideally getting paid for the chance to complete work (speed), and not for clocked in hours is the best
Diane explains how we find the best culture for us
Find our unique traits, original and inspired ideas–find yourself and identifying your strengths will help you find the opportunity
Diane shares the ideal work traits for herself as an example to create an environment to achieve quick solutions
Young people are breaking the “…this is how it always was done…” narrative
Diane explains how people can find themselves–through honesty, respecting each other’s unique qualities in how we work best

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