Yes, you are being Googled 👀 

It’s 2024 and time to face the fact that if you have any kind of public-facing role (and university faculty do) you are being Googled on a regular basis. Search engines play a major role in how we get to know each other. There’re many ways you can be found through a search engine, but here are two big ones:

1. Someone has your name and they search for you to learn something about you.

2. Someone needs an expert in your geographic and/or your subject area and they search for terms that describe you.

There is no master directory of university faculty, funder points of contact, or government employees. In fact, I cannot think of one meeting in which people were discussing how they identify people for opportunities where Google did not come up.

So, the bad news is that there is no sophisticated or ‘inside’ way to find subject-matter experts. But, the good news is that there’s actually a fairly level playing field when it comes to being found.

However, most PIs don’t want to spend time on their online presence, or they are not comfortable putting themselves out there, so they ignore the reality of how important this is. This is a mistake. Here’s why: Below are common scenarios that result in searches being performed for your name + institution:

• An evaluator opens your proposal or manuscript.

• A funder or potential collaborator receives an email from you.

• Someone recommends you as a subject-matter expert; perhaps you are on a short list for invited speakers.

The first step is to take control of what people find when they search for you. I recommend starting with LinkedIn because it’s quick to set up a profile, and LinkedIn profiles index well on search engines.

Over time, you want to develop enough of an online presence that your name will show up for search terms like ‘subject matter + city’ or ‘subject matter + institution’. However, if a search for your name doesn’t bring up your profile, there’s no point worrying about further search engine optimization. Also, search engine optimization is a longer-term project, because it takes time for search engines to index.

This week, I want to offer you a baby step that you can take towards building an online presence. It’s even easier than completing your LinkedIn profile:

Upload a headshot (a.k.a. profile picture) and a brief bio anywhere you can.

This week I was searching for a subject-matter expert for a career-advancing, low-time-commitment opportunity with a generous honorarium. I started with an organization directory. Dozens of profiles came up; that’s a lot to go through.

To narrow it down, I clicked on profiles with photos because it seemed reasonable to assume that members with profile photos are more active. Unfortunately, most of the members had empty bios. From there, I Googled some names. Some had LinkedIn profiles and some did not.

If just one person had a bio and a LinkedIn page providing details on their experience, if it fit what I was looking for, they would have been offered the opportunity right there. There would be no reason to search further because they are clearly setting themselves apart from other options.

Make it easy for people to find you; make it easy for people to give you opportunities; make it easy for people to send money your way as well!

Thinking about an online presence uplevel?

If what I said above resonated and you want to dig deeper into this topic, check out my video on getting started on social media and overcoming the psychological blocks we all face when putting ourselves out there.

When you are ready, here’s how we can help

Need to get your research funded, this year? Check out our 10-week program to get you there.

Want a done-for-you website that highlights your research impact? Let us do that for you. (We even write all the content for you!)

Ready to book a call to discuss our training, websites, or to have Dr. Barzyk provide training at your institution? Let’s chat!