Tweet
How to Ungoogle Yourself
Do unflattering photos or embarrassing blog postings pop up when someone Googles your name? Or are you concerned about your privacy in this new digital age? With Google's excellent indexing of the Internet, the reality is that friends, family members and employers can find out more information about you than you potentially want them to, just by "Googling" your full name. Here are a few ways of getting out of this situation.
Stop using your full name. The best way to "ungoogle" yourself is to not offer your full name or abbreviate your last name when signing up for online accounts, posting from your blog, or attaching yourself to any content that's published on the Internet. You can also create an online pen name or a screen name to go by.
Google yourself to find out what other people are seeing when they search your name. If you have a common name, it's possible that you'll be buried in the search results with all the other "Sarah Smiths" or "Chris Johnsons" in the world. Don't forget to search your name with quotation marks around it, as well as variations that include your middle name or initial.
Make changes to the content that's already been indexed by Google with your name on it. Change your name on public profiles that contain your name, such as blogs or social website accounts. Delete any accounts you might no longer use or might contain compromising or personal information.
Consider using the "robots" HTML meta tag in your content if you want to continue publishing information under your name but don't want it appearing in Google search results: <meta name="robots" value="noindex,nofollow" /> This only applies if you have your own website and access to the underlying code, as it stops most search engines from indexing (cataloging) your page or following the links on it. The <meta> tag must go in the <head> section of a document in order to work. If you like, you can leave out the "nofollow" bit, which allows the search engines to follow the links, but not index the page. The reverse is also possible.
E-mail the person responsible for a site that you don't directly control and politely ask either to have the content removed or your name changed or obscured. Politely explain your situation, and don't make empty threats about legal action. Just be nice and it shouldn't be a problem.
Bury the content you don't want to be found by adding new content or moving existing websites higher up in search results for your name. Most Internet users don't continue browsing past the first 50 search results, so join a mailing list that's frequently indexed in Google or sign up for some websites that will eventually index your name.
Learn to view the search results with your name through the eyes of a potential employer. It's been observed that the majority of executive recruiters routinely look into candidates by searching the Internet (according to a survey by ExecuNet, source).
If someone else has the same name as you do and you worry about it tarnishing your reputation, or you weren't successful in removing embarrassing links to your name, you may want to consider using a middle initial or including your full middle name, both when you're active online and on your resume.
In addition to not using your full name online, you should also not use the same e-mail address that you do professionally. Recruiters may search for your e-mail address right after searching for your name.
There are also services, some free and some paid, which will help clear your name in search results for you (e.g. Ziki, LinkedIn).
Meta tags don't always work. Try not to rely on them too much.
Stop using your full name. The best way to "ungoogle" yourself is to not offer your full name or abbreviate your last name when signing up for online accounts, posting from your blog, or attaching yourself to any content that's published on the Internet. You can also create an online pen name or a screen name to go by.
Google yourself to find out what other people are seeing when they search your name. If you have a common name, it's possible that you'll be buried in the search results with all the other "Sarah Smiths" or "Chris Johnsons" in the world. Don't forget to search your name with quotation marks around it, as well as variations that include your middle name or initial.
Make changes to the content that's already been indexed by Google with your name on it. Change your name on public profiles that contain your name, such as blogs or social website accounts. Delete any accounts you might no longer use or might contain compromising or personal information.
Consider using the "robots" HTML meta tag in your content if you want to continue publishing information under your name but don't want it appearing in Google search results: <meta name="robots" value="noindex,nofollow" /> This only applies if you have your own website and access to the underlying code, as it stops most search engines from indexing (cataloging) your page or following the links on it. The <meta> tag must go in the <head> section of a document in order to work. If you like, you can leave out the "nofollow" bit, which allows the search engines to follow the links, but not index the page. The reverse is also possible.
E-mail the person responsible for a site that you don't directly control and politely ask either to have the content removed or your name changed or obscured. Politely explain your situation, and don't make empty threats about legal action. Just be nice and it shouldn't be a problem.
Bury the content you don't want to be found by adding new content or moving existing websites higher up in search results for your name. Most Internet users don't continue browsing past the first 50 search results, so join a mailing list that's frequently indexed in Google or sign up for some websites that will eventually index your name.
Learn to view the search results with your name through the eyes of a potential employer. It's been observed that the majority of executive recruiters routinely look into candidates by searching the Internet (according to a survey by ExecuNet, source).
If someone else has the same name as you do and you worry about it tarnishing your reputation, or you weren't successful in removing embarrassing links to your name, you may want to consider using a middle initial or including your full middle name, both when you're active online and on your resume.
In addition to not using your full name online, you should also not use the same e-mail address that you do professionally. Recruiters may search for your e-mail address right after searching for your name.
There are also services, some free and some paid, which will help clear your name in search results for you (e.g. Ziki, LinkedIn).
Meta tags don't always work. Try not to rely on them too much.
Comment