Google Yourself Right Now — Here's What to Fix

The first result when someone Googles your name is your digital first impression. Ideally it's your own website or a polished LinkedIn profile. If it's an old company bio, a random directory listing, or someone else with your name — that's a problem worth solving.

When I left corporate and launched My Polished Profile, I had to do for myself exactly what I now do for clients. I had 17+ years of experience, an MBA, a psychology degree, and a career I was proud of — and my online presence said almost none of it. My LinkedIn was built around a role I no longer held. I didn't own my own domain. I had no personal website. And when I Googled myself? Another woman with my name came up first. Same name, completely different person, completely different profession. Anyone searching for me could have easily landed on her and walked away with the wrong impression entirely. What I did have was a trail of LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter posts scattered across nearly 20 years — none of it telling a cohesive story, none of it saying anything intentional about who I am or what I do. I had to rebuild my entire digital story from scratch — and that process taught me more about personal branding than any article I'd ever read. Because I felt firsthand how vulnerable and important it is to control what people find when they search your name.

LinkedIn is usually the first or second result when someone Googles a professional's name. That means your LinkedIn headline, photo, and About section are essentially your homepage — and most people treat them like an afterthought.

A headline that just says your job title and company is a missed opportunity. Your About section shouldn't read like a resume bullet list. And that headshot from your cousin's wedding in 2015 is not doing you any favors.

Here's something my psychology degree confirmed that most of us already know deep down — opinions are formed immediately. The moment you walk into a room, people are already judging. Not because they're cruel or closed-minded, but because it's human nature. We are wired to assess our environment constantly, and people are part of that environment. The person with a tattoo or a body piercing gets sized up before they say a word. The quiet one in the corner gets written off as someone who doesn't have answers — when really they might be the smartest person in the room. We've all done it. We've all been on the receiving end of it too. The internet is no different. When someone Googles you, they're doing the same thing — scanning, assessing, forming an opinion in seconds. The only difference is you're not in the room to course correct. You can't flash a smile, offer a firm handshake, or say something brilliant that changes the narrative. All they have is what they find. That's why what they find has to do the work for you.

Google cross-references everything. If your LinkedIn says one thing, your website says another, and your bio on a professional association site says something else entirely — the inconsistency creates doubt. Not consciously, necessarily. But doubt nonetheless.

In my years working in analytics, I saw firsthand what inconsistent data can do. I watched a major misinterpretation of data — rooted in nothing more than inconsistency across sources — cost a company millions of dollars. Not because anyone was careless. But because when different data points tell different stories, people make decisions based on incomplete or conflicting information. Your personal brand works exactly the same way. When your LinkedIn says one thing, your website says another, and your old company bio says something else entirely, you're creating inconsistent data about yourself. And the person Googling you — a potential client, a hiring manager, a business partner — is trying to make a decision. Inconsistent information doesn't just confuse people. It makes them hesitate. And in my experience, hesitation almost always means no.

Here's the question most people skip: if a stranger landed on your LinkedIn or your website right now, could they tell within ten seconds who you are, what you do, and why it matters?

If the answer is "probably not" or "I'd have to read a lot to figure it out" — that's your biggest opportunity.

One of the most important things my psychology degree taught me is something most people don't want to admit: we don't take the time to truly understand where someone comes from, what they've experienced, or what shaped them into who they are. I learned this the hard way. Early in my career I interviewed someone who was soft-spoken and clearly uncomfortable selling themselves. My gut said they wouldn't survive in our fast-paced environment that demanded strong communication skills. I almost passed. We took a chance and hired them anyway — and they turned out to be one of the best hires we ever made. Hard worker, easy to get along with, beloved by the team. They were just shy. That experience never left me. It's a big reason why I believe so strongly in giving people the tools to tell their own story — because not everyone is naturally wired to walk into a room and command attention. But everyone deserves to be seen accurately. Your online presence is your chance to give people something real to work with, before they start filling in the blanks themselves.

Someone found you. They liked what they saw. Now what?

If there's no clear way to reach you, no contact information, no booking link, no call to action — they close the tab and move on. You'll never know they were there.

This one surprises almost every client I work with. They'll say "but I'm on LinkedIn, I'm on Instagram, I'm on Facebook" — and they're right. But here's what most people don't realize: social media contact is for people who already know you. Your followers, your connections, your friends. It's not designed for a stranger who just Googled your name and wants to reach out cold. That person needs a direct, simple, obvious way to contact you — an email address, a contact form, a booking link — somewhere neutral and professional that doesn't require them to send a Facebook friend request or a LinkedIn connection message to a stranger. The moment someone has to work to find how to reach you, most of them won't bother. Make it effortless.