With more and more people turning to the Internet to find products, services, and information, it’s important to position yourself in a way that gets results. Part of this process is paying attention to how you are branding yourself online. You want to have a strong online brand, and you want to make sure that your brand is consistent and personable.

CanadianFinanceBlogBioIn some cases, this means that you need to add an image of yourself so that people have a face to put with a brand. Recently, I updated all of my profile pics on social media and Gravatar, as well as my “about” page images. The idea was to make sure that people can see that I’m a real person. Searchers are more likely to attribute reliability and trust to someone that seems “real” to them. You need to brand yourself online with that in mind.

While you want to include your company logo, and make sure that your company is branded on the web, you can’t forget about yourself as a person, and the members of your team. Searchers and customers like to know that they are dealing with people who can be trusted, and they like to see images of those they deal with.

Google Plus Authorship and Expertise

It’s not enough just to put a consistent and recognizable image out there. You also need to show your expertise. One way to do this is with the help of G+ authorship. If you have a blog, or if you write regularly for another blog and have an author page, you need to add it to your Google Plus profile. You need to let others know where they can find you, and let them see that you really know what you are talking about.

Google-Plus-Authorship

Establishing yourself as an expert in your subject area is an important branding tactic that can help you move up in the search rankings. And having Google recognize you as an expert is especially helpful. Add your picture to your G+ profile, and it will appear by the articles you write. People are more likely to click on a result with an image, and especially likely if they recognize the person in the image. If they know you, and your picture pops up next to something, they will go with the face of a trusted and known person over a plain result.

Consistent Branding

Tom-Drake-LinkedInAs you overhaul your online brand image, make sure you are consistent. Use the same personal profile pic so that visitors and searchers can quickly identify you. The same is true of logos that you use to define your brand. Make sure that your profile descriptions and keywords are also consistent. You want to present the same online face across about pages and social media outlets. While you don’t need to use the exact same wording, your personality should come through when you’re branding yourself online, and others should recognize it as consistent.

A consistent brand is more powerful and trustworthy, and can help you build up a loyal fan base that will keep you successful for years to come.