Using the social networking widgets on your DROIDX home screen

Yahoo Profiles.

In previous posts, Google Profiles – Creating Your Social Networking Spiderweb – Tip 08, we covered setting up Google and Microsoft Live Profiles and why they are such a great idea.  This is a continuation on that theme, only this time we are covering Yahoo Profiles and why you should set one up to promote yourself.

And here is an example of what my Yahoo Profile looks like http://profiles.yahoo.com/markvschwartz

Live – Bing Profiles.

In a previous post, Google Profiles – Creating Your Social Networking Spiderweb – Tip 08, we covered setting up a Google Profile and why it is such a great idea.  This is a continuation on that theme, only this time we are covering Microsoft’s Live (Bing) Profiles and why you should set one up to promote yourself.

And here is an example of what my Live Profile looks like – http://cid-76eddf7545e67454.profile.live.com/

“Google Profiles” are a great way to promote yourself, your brand and get your name out on the web.

Google Profiles are being given very good placement in the search engine results, so it is worth it for you to set one up.

A Google profile is exactly what it sounds like: A personal profile that appears when someone does a Google search of your name — it lets you display to others more about who you are and what you’re all about. My advice: Create one now to make sure you’re properly represented on the Web.  Creating a Google profile is a great “low cost seo” tactic used by many “seo experts”.

Once you set up your Google profile it will (soon) be available in other Google web applications.   For example, when you are in Google Maps there is a link to your profile at the top of the page.

Profiles are public and contain basic information about yourself: a nickname (the real name is displayed only to your contacts), your occupation, your location, a list of your links to other sites, a photo and a short description.

To begin with, you can upload a photo of yourself so people that have met you will know you are the person they are looking for. A profile also lets visitors send you messages (but doesn’t give them your e-mail address — nice bit of privacy protection there), read your bio, get contact information (whatever you care to provide), and see any links you care to share. And, Google now lists name-search results in a Profile section at the bottom of the query page. By creating a profile, you can stake a claim to that section and, hopefully, steer searchers to the real you.

Creating a Google Profile is easy:

1. Go to Google Profiles (http://www.google.com/profiles) and click ‘Create my profile’.
2. If you already have a Google username, sign in. If not, you’ll need to create one before you can proceed.
3. Enter information like your name, where you grew up, where you live, where you work, where you went to school. The more information you enter the more interesting you will be to people viewing your profile.
4. Profile Photo – The key to a good profile is a good photo of yourself so people know who they’re reading about when they get to your profile. So add a photo of yourself because everyone wants to see a photo when they’re reading a profile.
5. Create a short bio about yourself (and your business).  Make it engaging, yet professional. Remember, potential employers may look at your profile so be careful what you say.
6. What you Offer – Do you have a home based or personal business? If you offer some sort of product or service, your Google profile is a great place to promote it.
7. Keywords – What do you like to do and who are you? Those are your keywords. Are you a network marketer? Enter keywords into your Bio, your Super Power etc
8. Custom Links – Google Profiles allows you to enter all your important links. If you have a business website, blogs, or social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter, you can include all of them in your Google profile. Including links to your other sites on your Google profile is also good for the other sites because it will give them a search engine boost.
9. Photos – In this section you can have your pictures from Picasa display.  If you have a business this is a good place to show pictures of your products (if for example you sell art or website designs, etc.).
10. Contact Info – I think this is self explanatory.
11. Profile URL – You can choose your own URL for your Google profile at the “Create a Profile URL” (at the bottom of the profile page) — otherwise, your profile will look like http://www.google.com/profiles/109806878684291553078. Use a name instead so your profile will look like http://www.google.com/profiles/markvschwartz, which is much nicer (and better for search). Be careful to choose a name that suits you (like your name or the name of your business). This will be what people see at the top of your browser bar and also what they see in search engines. You can copy your Google profile’s URL and add a link to it from your other websites so people can come and read all about you.
12. Click on “Create a Google profile”.

Setting up a Google profile provides an easy opportunity for you to promote your business.  Your Google profile is one more tool you have to network, connect online and improve how people find you on the Internet.  Ultimately, you have everything to gain by setting up your own Google profile as part of your “social networking spiderweb” and Internet marketing strategy.