Social Media 101: Tactics and Tips to DevelopYour Business Online

Chapter 64. Develop a Strong Personal Brand Online: Part 2

THE TECHNOLOGY OF BRANDS

My friend and interactive media strategist Adam Broitman^[225] calls Google a "reputation management system." I love it. Essentially, Google knows what's true, as far as the uneducated are concerned. How does Google come to accept you as the authority on something? Here's how:

• Inbound links from other sources. If someone is linking to your web site, you must have information of value, especially if the person who's doing the linking is important.

• Outbound links to quality material. This is actually more for human love, but it certainly helps prove that you're a lively presence.

• Readable, searchable pages. If Google can tell what you're talking about at your web site, you are probably trying to offer something to the world.

• Constantly updated content. Google values freshness over staleness. (Don't we all?)

• Listed in directories. Google wants to know that you've submitted your site for inclusion in the more prominent search engines and web site directories.

• Mechanical quality. Google has a lot of other things it values, like well-written web sites that follow standards, and it takes a little bit of learning to understand them all. Hubspot makes a free Website Grader tool that would help you understand a bit.

That's what Google cares about, and that's how a lot of people are searching for you. But we do this for humans, because humans make the decisions. Let's look into what counts for your strong personal brand ...