Google your name

One of the things that has helped me a lot when deciding which domain names and sites to use to drive traffic to my sites, was to Google my own name.

Now remember: If you have a domain name you REALLY like, your focus should be to build traffic there, brand it. But you can use other sources to help get traffic and get the ball rolling.

I get about 70k results for my name. First result is my domain name with my name in it, no surprise there.

Then there is my old blogspot blog. Then my facebook profile and also my Google knol.

You really should not spend too much time on those other networks. Unless of course you like it.

I am hooked on Facebook, and it does help at the same time, but I don’t go there with the intention to drive traffic to my sites, even though it is always in the back of my mind.

Linked in and Squidoo are always up there. And a couple of forums are ranking my profile and then of course there are some individual pages added from my sites and blogs.

Overall I would recommend googling your own name once in a while to get an idea which of your sites have a lot of power. Then you should add a little bit of content here and there. See if you get more traffic from that. But never forget that branding is what will keep you going when the algos change.

Make sure your main site is functional and providing something people like and have your banner appear on all your online resources.