I have a good friend who thinks Google is going to take over the world, and not in a good way. Whenever she brings up the subject my mind quickly fills with images from the Terminator movies. Machines take control and mankind as we know it is doomed. I know where she’s coming from, regarding privacy, etc…  but I have nothing to hide, so I’m not afraid of Google. In fact, I’m pro-Google. I use gmail, Google docs, and I LOVE having a Google profile.

Google Profiles are relatively new, but I’ve had mine since last year when I first discovered the beta feature while browsing around my google account. In fact, when I first created mine I was really frustrated because it wasn’t even googlable yet. But that all changed this past spring when Google freed the search engines robots, Googlebots, so they could read and access google profiles.

What I recommend is that you purchase a domain of your name, or something close, and have it forward to your Google profile. For example, on my business card I list just one url: SueRostvold.com. It’s perfect because it directs people to all my links, as well as a brief description of the services I offer. Instead of trying to tell someone what your twitter handle is or to look you up on Linkedin, just send them to yourname.com!

Create your own Google profile now.

Use my Google profile as a guide.

Just like your Linkedin profile, your Google profile will show up on the first page when someone does a search of your name. Not only is it empowering to take control of how you are viewed online, it can also raise the ranking of your blog and other social networking channels. And finally, having a complete and impressive Google profile is a great way to show off your technical and social media savviness to your clients or perspective employers.