Personal branding: this is how Google shows who you really are [step-by-step plan]

[jrineakter]

Nowadays we subject everything and everyone to what I call the 'Google test'. We give Google searches and judge the search results in the blink of an eye. Often we have already formed an opinion about someone, before we have even met that person. Even if there is nothing to be found or, even worse, if there are things to be found that are not true. In this article you will discover which 'test' Google itself performs to judge the quality of a website.


I also describe in this article the similarities this test shows with how people judge each other online. But also what you can do to positively influence your search results in Google.

Without you even realizing it, search results can paint a picture that is different from who you really are. That is why it is better to make sure that you know exactly what can be found about you online. And that the search results are a reflection of your true personality. The good news is that there is a simple step-by-step plan that will ensure that you pass this Google test with flying colors.

Just google it
Suppose you want to have a new website made and are looking for a good web designer. What do you do? Usually you ask colleagues, friends, acquaintances and family if they can recommend someone. Friend A, acquaintance B and family member C all recommend someone to you. In most cases they will give you the first and last name of the person.

And what do you do next? You immediately Google him or her to gather information. What you see there, including the recommendation of your acquaintance, will ultimately australia telegram number list be decisive in whether or not to invite this person to submit a quote.

Google finds nothing on the recommendation of friend A. The recommendation of acquaintance B gives unclear information. On the internet you can find that this person takes photographs, writes texts, gives painting workshops and occasionally designs websites. Is this person a good web designer? Then you just google that third person (it's that easy). A clear LinkedIn profile appears. This person is located nearby, specializes in SEO and mainly creates websites for companies in the creative industry, which also look slick. That's exactly what you're looking for! So you see, the Google test can make or break you.

Google's own quality test
Google has also developed a test that they use to assess the quality of websites. They have written down this test in the Google Quality Rating Guidelines. This is the Google manual that trains people to assess how well Google's algorithm succeeds in assessing the quality of websites. Google wants people to focus on three important quality requirements: expertise, authority and reliability (trustworthiness), together also called EAT.

Expertise: People want to do business with people who know what they are talking about.
Authority: expertise at a higher level. You can be an expert in a certain field and still be a voice crying in the wilderness. But if people listen to you, recommend you and share what you say, you have officially passed as an authority.
Trustworthiness: Trusting someone takes time, so just like in the offline world, it has to be earned online. That’s why it’s so important to take the time to build an online personal brand, so that there’s a logical development. Once you’ve earned someone’s trust, you’ll be on their shortlist faster. Then the need to replace you with someone else is a lot smaller.
Features of high quality websites
According to Google, high-quality websites have a number of distinguishing characteristics : they answer readers' questions, provide useful advice, contain links to and from reliable sources, and have an engaged readership.

So what Google does to determine the quality of websites comes pretty close to the way we decide in real life whether to do business with someone.

google test

How to pass the Google test
But how do you make sure that you pass the Google test yourself? For that, you can fall back on an old sales law . This law consists of the steps 'know, like, trust' and assumes that only when people know, like and trust you, they are open to what you have to offer. The image above shows this fantastically in my opinion. If you look closely, these are exactly the questions we ask ourselves (unconsciously) when we assess someone's search results.