How would you rate your online presence currently?  When was the last time you Googled "your name" and were you satisfied with the results? Do you dominate the first two pages of Google?  Let’s face it, prospective customers, referrals, other agents and clients are “Googling” you!  We all "Google" ourselves and others, right?

To manage your online reputation, your brand and the message you want consumers to see when they Google you, it is imperative to have complete and compelling profiles on the sites listed below. These sites also allow the consumer to rate, review or provide a recommendation and show up on the first pages of Google when someone searches “your name.”

• Zillow.com
• Realtor.com  http://dashboard.realtor.com 
• LinkedIn
• Yelp.com  https://biz.yelp.com/
• Business Facebook Page
• Google My Business https://www.google.com/business/
• Homes.com  https://profile.homes.com/

Other strategies to show up on the first pages of Google for your name include setting up accounts on these sites: Note: Don't set up an account if you are NOT going to actually post and use the site!

• Register YourName.com and set up a blog or website using this domain
• Google+
• Twitter.com
• About.me
• Using video in your business?  Setup and optimize a YouTube Channel
• ActiveRain.com

Wanderers Club Members have access to video tutorials and detailed strategies and tips on using the above sites in the member area. Not a member yet?  Join today and unlock all the valuable training and tutorials for only $199/year

Download this document for a list of courses and training workshops currently available in the Wanderers Club  

Profile Tips

Follow these tips when you create your profiles on the various platforms.

• Be consistent with your User Name
  • The best choice is your actual name! If your name is not available, then add something to the end of your name and be consistent with that across the profiles.  For example: janobrienlv, janobriencoach
  • You can find out what user names are taken or available still by using a site like Namechk
• Use a professional photo (head shot)
• For Listing Portals – use the same email you use for MLS so your listings will synch properly with the platform
• Create a Word Doc with all the common profile content (use your completed LinkedIn profile)
• Complete all available areas of your profile
• Get testimonials and recommendations

For real estate professionals, it is critical to have reviews on the primary listing portals like Zillow.com (your reviews from Zillow will also be displayed on trulia.com), Realtor.com and Homes.com.  Realtor.com’s agent profile includes ratings and unfiltered reviews, but unlike profiles for rival Zillow, only those consumers who have completed a transaction with you can rate or review you on Realtor.com. You can opt out of ratings and reviews and displaying your transaction histories on an all-or-nothing basis.  On Homes.com, agents are listed by the most endorsements first.

Recommendations on LinkedIn are also important for all business professionals. Consumers can also rate and review you on Yelp, Google and your Facebook page.  Client testimonials should be added to your website, blog or other online site. You can also leverage testimonials in your other marketing efforts. For example, including a sheet with client recommendations in your pre-listing package is a great idea.

This graphic below shows the most popular real estate websites (July 2017) derived from eBizMBA Rank which is a continually updated average of each website's Alexa Global Traffic Rank, and U.S. Traffic Rank from both Compete and Quantcast.  Bottom line, consumers are visiting these sites by the millions!

Set up and/or OPTIMIZE your profiles ASAP!