You've worked hard to get your business found online, what what about *you*? For many small businesses, the owner/founder is the business. So it's crucial to make sure you can be found online.




What got me started on this post was an item today on Web Worker Daily checking out so-called People Search Engines (more on those below). I went "un-found" in most of them...not particularly surprising but a bit alarming anyway.

As a writer/editor/one-man-shop, I've spent far too many hours producing way too many words in print and on the Web; I've also spent far too few hours actively trying to enhance my online profile.

I'm sure this is a familiar small business/sole-proprietor story: doing work rather than doing networking. But that's no excuse. Building your profile and reputation online is crucial to the success of your small business.

So-called "ego-surfing" may seem just that -- egotistical. But if your small business relies on your good name, and it most certainly does, then there's much to be gained by improving that good name online.

So below are a few tips to get started in improving your online profile. I'll also detail how I fare today when it comes to ego-surfing.

In a few weeks, and after applying some of my own tips, I'll follow up and report if I've been able to improve my rankings. Hopefully I'll score some more tips along the way that I can share.

And by the way: Do *you* have any better ideas or approaches? Please do let me know in the comments section at the end of this story.

Click to the next page to see Tip #1: Google Yourself

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