Dear Reader,
I can probably be blamed for many things, but my name isn’t one of them. I wasn’t around to choose it at the time. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against it – I’m quite happy with it in fact. And that’s the problem.
You see a lot of other people are happy with it as well, and as a result, insist on using my name for their own purposes. For the record, I am not…
- John Harrison the clockmaker who solved the longitude problem.
- John Harrison the baddie in the latest Star Trek movie, Into Darkness, played by Benedict Cumberbatch.
- John Harrison, the Radio Hallam Disc Jockey.
- John Harrison, the Peugeot dealer.
- John Harrison the exclusive clothing retailer (That’s my business partners brother by the way.)
Or any of the other charlatans masquerading as me on line.
Now I know what you’re thinking. Some of these people had the name before me, but that’s not the point. It’s my name now, and I want exclusive use of it!
Why?
Because with all these other people using it, it makes it very difficult for me to stand out on an Internet search.
Who do you think is likely to get prominence on Google, if you type in the name John Harrison…the inventor of the marine chronometer, a long-sought device in solving the problem of establishing the East-West longitude of a ship at sea, thus revolutionising and extending the possibility of safe long distance sea travel…or a bloke from Rotherham with a business to promote?
Now I said at the start that I couldn’t be blamed for my name, but there’s something that perhaps I can be blamed for – using it! If you want to stand out online, and take advantage of the undoubted free attention and traffic which Google natural searches can bring you, an unusual, unique or offbeat name can certainly help.
The aforementioned Benedict Cumberbatch is unlikely to experience the John Harrison problem. Tap his name into Google and you’re not going to get an accountant from Worksop or a miniature lion keeper from Snowdonia (two other impostors who appear before me on a Google search). To steal a popular football chant…
There’s only One Benedict Cumberbatch!
Well there is now. Cumberbatch started out his career as plain Ben Carlton, and I suspect would have faced a lot more competition for search engine attention had things stayed that way.
And it’s the same story for a lot of household names. David Jones would have battled for a lot more attention from plumbers than David Bowie has, Reg Dwight would have got lost in a sea of Greengrocers whereas Elton John didn’t, and Richard Hall would have been swamped by lawyers, but Moby wasn’t.
Having a unique or unusual name was important for TV, film and music personalities before the internet. But today it’s important for everyone. When someone types your name into Google, you want them to find you straight away – not some funeral director from Fulham or a cobbler from Cardiff.
What this means is that you need to give some careful thought to the name or names you’re using to front your business or enterprise. Depending on the business you’re in, that may mean the name you use personally or what you call your business. And you certainly need to give it more thought than I did – which was none!
To jump to my own defence for a moment, I’m so old that there was no internet, let alone any Google, when I was making these decisions for the first time. But you might not have that excuse, particularly if you’re in the early stages of a new venture or business.
So let me ask you this? When people type your ‘name’ into Google, what will they find? The answer will reveal what changes (if any) it would be wise to make.
* My latest book ‘Why Didn’t They Tell Me? – 99 Shameless Success Secrets They Don’t Teach You At Eton, Harrow Or Even The Classiest Comprehensive’ is now published. Go to www.streetwisenews.com/why for full details.
My problem used to be the opposite of yours John.
OK, now I am the only Roy Aylmer on the internet and folk can write or click my name at will.
However, when I started my business in 1984 the main problem with my name was that nobody could remember or pronounce it and I had to spell it every time I made a transaction. This was made worse when I was the Technical Rep’ for a company called Ruberiod and I had to call on Architects and factory owners in Dudley and the rest of The Black Country.
When I announced my self to the front desk as, “Aylmer from Ruberoid”
The receptionist would look at me, look at my card; give me funny looks, sometimes screw her face up into a sort of grimace; then pick up the phone to her boss and announce, “there’s a rep in reception, do you want to see him?”
Aylmer is a fine name, but I’m not sure I like the sound of Ruberoid. You don’t sit in school dreaming of working for Ruberoid do you? Sounds like some kind of massage treatment for piles.
Well, John! I can only tell you that I had a hang-up about my name as well. At one time I wanted to Hyphonate Baker with my Mother’s maiden name of Hopkins, but didn’t bother. What I did do, when changing jobs, was to cease being Peter and become John, my third name. Well, who wants to be called a ‘Charley’? At the end of the first day one of the people in the office asked me if I was hard of hearing because he had been calling ‘John’ and I had not replied. I gave in and confessed. From then I have been resigned to share my name with my son, grandson, a journalist, a golfer, an M.P. (who I disowned from the Baker Family) and a few others. At the end of the day you are who YOU are. Do Not try to be a ‘celebrity’. What could be worse than that?