Agencies know how important Google is for growth.
It might seem like ranking on your name is some impossible task that can only be accomplished by paying some agency thousands of dollars.
Here’s the ironic part:
Google wants you to rank.
Why?
Simple – because Google wants to increase visibility and trust of people who do what they say they do.
For background – I’m not an influencer. I’m a search engine engineer.
As such, I know the ins and outs of how search engines work better than most so-called “SEO Agencies”.
Yesterday I tested a new search engine called yep.
Since I already have a knowledge panel on Google, it’s unsurprising I ranked number 1 on myself.
If you’re a business owner or digital marketer, it’s worth your time to see how you’re being shown.
My friend Brady Sticker owns a marketing agency, Churchcandy.com that runs paid ads for churches.
If you search Brady Sticker, you’ll see hilariously that the AI thinks he is a church marketing agency founded by his brother Tom Brady.
Consider that Brady is a person, not an agency.
But because most of the information about Brady is on his company’s about page, the AI is confused. Thus, we’ve put his personal entity information on his personal brand website.
How can we change that?
If you’re a small player without much information about you online, the odds are that Google, ChatGPT, Yep, Anthropic, and everyone else is confused about who you are and what your company does.
Here’s the good news:
Remember – search engines prioritize making sure you are who you say you are.
So naturally, the easiest way to tell Google “Yes, this is me!” is by posting authentic content and stories on your socials and website.
The same is true for marketing agencies, like Church Candy.
This is not an issue which requires an SEO agency to fix – this is a strategy issue which can be solved by using the phone in your pocket to record content.
And the more authentic stories you produce with your name – the more likely you are to start listing on search engines.
Take my own site, Dennisyu.com for example.
At the time of writing this, I have a DR score of 43.
The DR Score is from 0 – 100 and it’s the gauge Google uses to determine how trustworthy a site is.
So when I link to Brady or any other website, they get a boost.
Was this some magic SEO wizardry?
No!
It’s by posting authentic stories, content, and blogs like this one with my name I simply confirmed to Google I am who I say I am.
In conclusion:
- Ideally, have a website with your name as URL (ex. Dennisyu.com).
- Post authentic stories to your site and socials under your own name.
- Leverage the social proof of other trustworthy figures.
- Be good at what you do and have evidence which proves that.
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is co-author of the #1 best-selling book on Amazon in social media, The Definitive Guide to TikTok Ads. He has spent a billion dollars on Facebook ads across his agencies and agencies he advises. Mr. Yu is the "million jobs" guy-- on a mission to create one million jobs via hands-on social media training, partnering with universities and professional organizations.You can find him quoted in major publications and on television such as CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, and LA Times. Clients have included Nike, Red Bull, the Golden State Warriors, Ashley Furniture, Quiznos-- down to local service businesses like real estate agents and dentists. He's spoken at over 750 conferences in 20 countries, having flown over 6 million miles in the last 30 years to train up young adults and business owners. He speaks for free as long as the organization believes in the job-creation mission and covers business class travel.You can find him hiking tall mountains, eating chicken wings, and taking Kaqun oxygen baths-- likely in a city near you.