It is safe to say that nearly every aspect of life is connected to the Internet these days. The term ‘Google It’ has become the most efficient way to gather information on any desired topic. Now you may be asking yourself what does this have to do with a personal website, and the answer is simple, it puts you in control of your own digital footprint.
This post will break down what we at KriXis Consulting consider to be the top 2 reasons an executive should have a personal website: reputation management and name ownership; followed by a step-by-step guide on beginning this self-marketing process.
Top 2 Reasons
After carefully thinking about how in-depth we can go into making the decision to brand oneself as a business owner, all roads pointed back to two major topics. So we are going to be brief and to the point.
Control Reputation
This is the section that we have found our clients most interested in. Digital reputation management puts you in control when people search you via online. Most business owners are familiar with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) at this point; everyone wants to have their business and services appear when being searched. However, when was the last time that you searched your own name? Or even the name of a future hire?
This search engine-marketing tactic can and should also be applied to oneself. You are a leader in business and as the face of your company you should make sure that you are in control. Below I’ve screenshot what appears when searching for myself.
The typical social media profiles appear, but below that my personal website appears in the query. This is also where I am given the opportunity to showcase myself as well as set myself apart from the competition.
As you can see my personal website appears on the first page of Google, and anyone seeking to find out more about my business and me is likely to search my name, especially before entering into a marketing agreement.
(Matthew Borza’s Personal Website)
Even if your name isn’t being searched frequently, the business cards you hand out can always be a great way to promote your personal website. Who wouldn’t get curious if the frequently disposed of cardstock had in large font ‘YourName.com’ and you instructed the individual to check out your website. You now stand out, and that is exactly what you need to do in the digital era.
While on this topic we also wanted to touch on controlling your images, which goes hand-in-hand with reputation control.
Images
Everyone has had pictures taken that are less than flattering. Or perhaps you have some pictures that appear in the search results that you wish would just go away. Having pictures optimized on your personal website will appear higher in the search engine rankings over time as long as they are properly optimized. This is another aspect of controlling your digital footprint. Image strategies can be put in place specifically for this as well, but that is another topic for another time; however, below I have provided an example of controlling images that appear for your name.
Domain Ownership
I am a firm believer that everyone should own his or her own name. Even if you do not build a personal website, ownership should never be placed into the hands of another. If you have a common name such as “John Smith” this may not be possible; however, alternatives such as “JohnAbeSmith.com” may still be available.
The cost of owning your name is under $20.00 per year, so there should be no hesitation on pulling the trigger for this investment. The following portion of this post will walk you through the buying process as well as how to get started in creating a standout personal website.
Step-By-Step Guide | Personal Website
We at KriXis Consulting have broken this portion of the blog into three phases: domain purchase, website content, and hosting options/creation.
Domain Purchase
This is relatively simple to do. First head to GoDaddy.com, there are other websites to purchase a domain from but due to this company’s reputation and quick reliable customer service we suggest going here. Upon arriving to their website you will see a screen that looks like the screenshot below:
Once here simply type in your name, click search, and the available options will appear (SEE example below).
From this point all you will need to do is add the desired domain to your cart, create an account, then make the payment. It’s very simple and can be done in less than 10-minutes.
Content And Purpose Brainstorming
Now that you have ownership of your domain, the next step will be to figure out what you want on your website. Skipping this step and jumping into building something before organizing your ideas will lead to a site that appears unprofessional and cluttered. We have created a checklist to efficiently put together the best layout for your personal website.
- Decide the purpose of your website
- About you, drive business, lead people to your business, etc.
- Starting with the end goal work backwards in laying out sections
- I want contact information: tell about self -> inform who you wish to connect with -> how I can help those connections -> contact form
- Create content and select images specifically for your goals and sections
- Be sure to avoid unnecessary info, less is more online
Hosting Options And Creation
Domains and hosting can be confusing. The best way to understand this is to consider your domain (“YourName.com”) as an arrow that points people to where all your website information is (hosting).
To keep things simple, we suggest using GoDaddy as a hosting provider, as well as using what is called “Managed WordPress,” you only need to cheapest option.
As for creation, you can build something yourself using GoDaddy’s Website Builder; however, for something that stands out and provides the SEO benefits mentioned above we would suggest going with a professional. We are offering executive website services and you can view our offer by clicking the button below.
Conclusion
We want to thank you for taking the time to read our post. If you have any questions regarding reasons to build a personal website or how-to get started we are more than happy to answer them either by commenting on this post or calling us directly at – (855) 4-KriXis | (855) 457-4947.
We also encourage you to check out the following posts and sharing them with fellow executives and friends:
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