Stop Googling Yourself
Yes, please stop Googling yourself, scouring like a desperate rat to see your name virtually dropped. Don't you know that's what Google Alerts are for? Get the instant updates instead to curb those ego kicks.
Some of you might be self-googling to simply check your rankings. Obviously, you'll want your name attached to the best search results possible. At the very least, with the inclusion of your official site. Here are a few tips you can follow to help improve your rankings.
1. Vanity Domain - Although a bit egotistical, having a vanity domain is the best first step you can take. Google ranks sites with the search times directly in them very well. Make this domain the focus of your SEO (or EGO-SEO) efforts. On a vanity domain, you also get full control over the content of this site and its optimization. For aesthetics try and register your first and last name with no dashes, in my case seanpercival.com. If this is not available, try adding a middle initial and if you must a combination of dashes or alternative spellings.
2. Incoming Links - As with standard SEO work, you want tons of incoming high-quality links that use the anchor text of "Your Name" in the link code. First, create a text link with your name on any web property you own. Start talking to friends in your networks and set up blog roll links. Make sure each of your social network profiles links back to your domain. This takes some time and effort but is well worth the effort.
3. Unique Names: If you are lucky enough to have a unique name, there is no reason you can't completely dominate the first page of results. Use your vanity name to link out to all of your profiles (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc), and include your full name in the anchor text each time. Create high-quality content across several well-ranked sites (blogs, social networks, user-generated sites) with your name attached. In my case, there was only one other Sean Percival with any type of Google presence. It took about a year, but I've now pushed him back a few pages and taken over page 1 completely. After creating content across so many sites, I actually dominated the first ten or so pages.
4. Common Names: If your name happens to be somewhat common, you may find it tough just to break into page 1. Using a vanity domain with good keyword rich (ie, your name) content will give you the best chance here. You probably won't be able to dominate page one, but over time you can get high placement.
