Why You Should Never Say “Just Google Me”

Has this ever happened to you?  You’re talking with someone—a fellow “professional” perhaps?—and when you ask them for their contact information or web address, they say (usually with an air of undeserved confidence), “Just Google me.”  Well, I’m here to tell you why that’s a terrible way to market yourself…

Just one of many Lauren Tharps on Google

That’s Not Me, I Swear!

The girl I depicted above is a different “Lauren Tharp” my guy found on Google.  Now, I thought her picture was hilarious.  But that’s because I thought she was being sassy and satirical on an almost Sarah Silverman level of comedic trolling.  A budding comedienne, if you will!  Her online profile said that she was “somewhere out of Texas” and she was fulfilling every cartoonish stereotype for the region.  I figured she was making an artistic statement.  Brilliant!

Then again, she might be serious!  I have no way of knowing for sure.

More importantly, if she were in any sort of business (I don’t know if she is!), her clients would have no way of knowing.  And they might be seriously offended.

So what does this have to do with your business?

Well, for example, if I had told someone to “just Google me,” they may have seen her picture and thought it was me!  Here’s a few reasons why:

• Most of the people I do business with have never met me in person.  Unless I give them a direct link to what I look like, they could Google image search my name and assume any one of those other Lauren Tharps is me.

• Even if I do meet someone in person, my face isn’t as memorable as I like to think it is (and neither is yours; I’m sorry!).  Assuming that, after meeting you once, a potential client is going to remember your face and click on the right website is a very bad idea.

• Unless you’re really really confident in your SEO/web presence—as in you know for sure that your name/website is going to be the first thing that pops up on Google—then you’re going to be making your client dig through several other people’s pages before they get to yours.  (Unless you’re the only person in the entire world with your name… But even then you’d have to have some pretty good SEO).

• Even if you are the first person that pops up on Google when someone searches for your name, are you confident that what shows up in the search is what you want a potential client to see?  Sure, it was funny when your friend drew that ketchup swastika on your stomach—in context!—but to someone who doesn’t know you/your friend’s wacky sense of humor that could be viewed as very offensive!  (Losing you valuable business).

Taking the Time to Do It Right

Do you really not have time to scribble your contact information down on a scrap of paper?  Come on.

And that’s doing things the “old school” way.  Might I also suggest…

• Business Cards.  It’s the grown-up version of handing out your name/e-mail/web address on a scrap of paper!  You can get some great ones, for reasonable prices, at Overnight Prints or Moo.

• Using an E-mail Signature.  Still think you’re too cool to write it out each time?  Try putting your website’s address in your e-mail signature!

• Just Tell Them.  Unless you have a ridiculously long web address, chances are you can just tell them.  LittleZotz.com is short enough that most people can remember it.  However, this is a last resort.  I’d say only 1 or 2 out of every 10 people you tell your website address to via talking (versus writing it down) will actually remember it long enough to visit.  Risky.

I know it sounds crazy awesome to tell someone to “just Google me” (like you’re so important that you don’t have the time to be bothered with handing them a business card) but, trust me, it’s worth it to take the time and do things right.  Plus, your potential client will appreciate that you valued their time and respected them enough to treat them like they were someone special.

You never want to be too casual when it comes to your budding business.

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