Do you know what people find when they Google your name? Do they find you? Do they find out that deep, dark secret you’ve tried to keep hidden all those years? (We know what you did; we still love you.)
Or do they find someone with a similar name to yours? Maybe they’re in the same line of work, maybe they’re well-known in their own field, or maybe they’ve got their own deep, dark secret they’ve been trying to keep hidden.
Or do they find absolutely nothing at all?
Last year, I told you what to do if you shared your name with someone else who’s got a big presence on Google, like someone who’s more famous, or a felon. But how do you know whether you’re outranking them or they’re outranking you?
To truly know, it’s important to understand how Google works.
The Psychology of Google
First, you need to know that Google wants you to have a great experience using the search engine. They want you to like it so much that you use it again later when you need to make another search. So they try to give you the very best search results they possibly can.
Google looks at a number of different factors, such as your proximity to the thing you’re searching for. And your relationship with that thing. And whether any of your friends like that thing. And if you’ve searched for other things like it before.
Take local searches for example. If you were to search for a bookstore, the results would show you the closest bookstores to your location, and not the bookstore with the best optimized website, but is 500 miles away.
That’s because Google knows where you are, and they figure you’re looking for a nearby bookstore. It works that way if you’re searching for restaurants, plumbers, lawyers, auto dealers, and so on.
Google also knows who you are. Do you use Gmail or YouTube and log in with your own Gmail address? When you log in to any Google properties — Gmail, Google Drive, YouTube — Google already knows it’s you.
That means they know your search history, they know the kinds of things you like and don’t like, and this information gets run through their algorithms, so they can base your search results on all of your personal preferences, any social media sharing you’ve done or engaged with, and your location.
And the results they show you are the ones they think you want to see, because deep down, they really just want you to be happy.
So What Happens When You Search for You?
That means when you search for your name, Google is going to show you the results you most likely want to see — your Twitter page, your LinkedIn profile, your blog or website, and any guest articles you’ve posted elsewhere. But even if you appear at the top of the search results, that does not mean you’re winning Google.
It means that Google thinks you’re looking for someone nearby who has the same name and does the same things that you do. As they check their maps, and your past searches and relationships, and run it through their great big algorithm machine, the person they find is YOU!
They just did the same thing for the person who shares your name in Portland, Oregon.
How to See the Real Results on Google
If you want to see what other people who don’t live nearby are likely to see if they Google your name, you basically have to trick Google. You have to hide who and where you are. You can do that with these two steps.
1. Set up an Incognito or Private search
Remember how Google knows when you’re logged into one of their properties? Don’t log out, do an anonymous search instead. In your web browser, under the File menu, there should be a command for Incognito (Chrome users) or Private (Firefox and Safari). (If you’re still using Internet Explorer, go to Google.com/chrome and download a copy of Chrome. Join us here in the 21st century.)
Now, for any search you do, Google will show you results that are not related to you. You get a better idea of what other people who are not you will see when they do this search. But we still have the problem of proximity. Google will still you show you people with your name who are nearby (i.e. still you), so you need to hide your location.
2. Use a VPN to mask your location.
Google knows where you are, whether it’s on your mobile phone, tablet, or laptop. That’s why it can to show you nearby restaurants and bookstores. But you can hide your location with a virtual private network (VPN).
A VPN works by funneling all your web pages run through a remote server in another location. For example, if you log into a VPN in Springfield, Illinois, it appears to all websites that you’re actually in Springfield. Some people may even use VPNs to make it look like they’re in, say, Vancouver, British Columbia or Manchester, England, so they can watch their favorite TV shows on the CBC or BBC websites. (Not that I’m advocating this sort of behavior, mind you. I’m just saying some people might do that to catch Murdoch Mysteries and Doctor Who.)
So if you set your VPN for a far-off city and do an Incognito search. Google will believe that some unknown person in that far-off city is performing that search. They’ll return results that are closer to the “real” Google rankings, rather than the results that have been specially tailored just for you.
And once you know what Google really knows, and get an idea of what strangers might see when they search for you, you can start working on boosting your Google rank through blog articles, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, and publishing guest articles and stories on other websites.
