It was late 2012. There I was on my desk at my office in Surulere doing some research for a story that needed to be published urgently. I can’t remember the exact thing that happened but I know the thought came to my head; “What will you find when you Google yourelf?” All my research always started with Google and because I was a staff writer for a youth-focused platform, I googled a lot of people on a daily basis.
Of course I couldn’t drop the work I was doing to go and google myself! I waited until work was officially over. It was with great excitement that I typed ‘Doyin Jaiyesimi’ in the search box, eager to see the results it would come out with. That excitement was dashed as page one of the search results appeared in seconds. There was a ‘Doyin Jaiyesimi’ who made the headlines quite alright but that person just wasn’t me. What made it even more annoying was that it was a man!
I wish I can tell you this is where the matter ended. But, no. Overzealous me just had to find myelf on Google. So I clicked page two, page three….nothing about me still. I kept on until I reached page six. Finally, there was one search result that was related to me. But (yes there is a but) it had nothing to do with me in the present moment. It was about an award I had won as part of the School of Law Legal Clinic at the University of Leeds. That happened two years before.
And so I continued, until I saw another link to an article I had written on YNaija with my byline on page seven. As disappointing as the search results were, I knew I just had to do something about it. I knew the importance of being visible online, especially on Google. At this point, Facebook and Twitter were the trending social media platforms so I had to rely on good old SEO.
This incident happened almost five years ago. Today, I am happy to let you know that I own the Google search for my name in two variations, ‘Adedoyin Jaiyesimi’ and ‘Doyin Jaiyesimi’. Somebody praise the Lord!
I’m sure by now you know the importance of having a strong digital footprint. If you don’t, I just might do a separate post for you. This post, however, is to give you some practical things you can do if you are not happy with the way your digital footprint is presently. I achieved complete SEO visibility in about a year. If you are consistent, you can achieve it in less time.
Are you ready to learn how?
Action One – Create a blog or website
This is always my first advice to people who want to make their digital footprint stronger. If you are not popular yet, to the point that media platforms will be writing news about you, you just have to create your own content. The best way to do this is to write and post on a blog or website. You will also need to add your name as you want people to search for your name on Google to the tags and within the body of your posts as discreetly as possible. I created my first blog in 2014 and I posted on it every day for one year. Yes, one year. The impact was out of this world!
What will you write about, you ask? I’ll share in a separate post.
Action Two – Find platforms you can contribute to
Since this is the field I currently work in, I can tell you for free that there are several platforms that are looking for guest writers and contributors with diverse expertise. Aside from posting on your blog, distribute your content to other platforms, both online and offline. While I had my old blog, I wrote for Y! Africa, Connect Nigeria, 234Finance consistenly and there were other platforms like Pride Magazine Nigeria where I did one-off contributions. For all these platforms, I ensured that I sent in a good profile of myself and used my name as a keyword in places where I could.
Where will you find these platforms? You’ll need to do some research.
Action Three – Follow and engage with other experts in your industry
Let me tell you one fact about the digital world – engagement pays. When I first started out in my career, I wanted to build my personal brand as a writer. So I searched for the top writing blogs and experts in the field and I would devour their content on a daily basis and leave comments too. One day while googling myself, the website of one of these experts came up on page two with the comment I had left on one of their posts! I was in awe. Google tracks all of your activity online; that is why it is called your digital footprint. So leave comments wisely and engage on the right websites and blog to boost your visibility.
Action Four – Share a signature content on social media
While it is not impossible to build a strong digital footprint without using the popular social media platforms, they make it easier for you to do so. Now, I know many of you struggle with handling 3-4 social media platforms and posting content regularly there and some of you don’t want to be out there. The key to this is to select at least one platform where you want to be very active and share signature content there. This is content that will be linked to you and will provide top of mind awareness in the mind of your audience. This content can be quotes, tips, hacks for your chosen field, insudtry insights or news etc. You determine what it should be but make sure you are consistent with it.
Action Five – Track, Track, Track
Don’t just do actions 1-4 and then you call it a day. You need to track. Set up Google Alert for your name. No, you are not being vain. And also ensure that you Google yourself at least once a week and track the results. Sometimes, a platform can reshare content from your blog on their website or someone mentions you on their platform which may come out in the search results. You won’t know if you don’t track. Tracking also allows you to stay on top of any negative news that may come out and you can address it quickly.
When you do these five things consistently, I can assure you that your digital footprint will be stronger.
Have you built a strong digital footprint, what steps did you take? How long did it take you to achieve visibility?
If you want to learn more, please follow my blog and my social media platforms! Let’s connect.
5 Responses
Thanks a lot. This was really helpful.
You’re welcome! Thank you for reading.
Thanks for throwing more light on this. Insightful post you have here.
Good article. Simple and instructive…..
This one is awesome. I once googled myself, and I saw my name come up as one of the admins in one of my dad’s school. Interesting. Thanks Doyin