The authors of Career Distinction: Stand Out By Building Your Brand, William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson created an Online Identity Calculator to help professionals evaluate their current Google search saturation and relevance. They also tell you how to improve the results of your ego-search if you don’t like what you see.
I scored an 8 out of 10. That, folks, means I’m digitally distinct.
Out of 2,500 executives, most C-level types had scores of 6.37 and VP’s had scores aroud 5.79. That means I beat them all – my question is…where’s the additional income to prove it?
Here’s the other bit of flattery that the calculator heaped on me: “This is the nirvana of online identity. Keep up the good work, and remember that your Google results can change as fast as the weather in New England. So, regularly monitor your online identity.”
And, it’s no surprise that C-level women (6.59) averaged better than men (6.33).
Although women had less search volume (number of results returned), they did have more relevance in their results (the number of results that were about them and their brand specifically). And, we all know that quality trumps quantity any day. 
Women are social by nature (save the negative comments, please) and as we start to toot our horns more and more – we can expect that our collective GQ scores will hit the digital stratosphere.
Bottomline: I think the GQ scores are relevant but don’t place too much emphasis on your score if it’s not what you expected. Focus on making the results better so that when someone Googles you, you show up how *you* want. This is an active way to positively impact your personal and professional brand.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 9:32 pm and is filed under The Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.4 Responses to “What’s Your GQ – Google Quotient?”
Leave a Reply
October 1st, 2007 at 8:06 am
Hey Lena – Cool calculator. I tried it two ways: with my middle initial and without. With my initial — which is what I use for books, articles and anything I can control professionally — had many, many more hits so I scored a 9. Without the initial I scored an 8. While everything was relevant on either search, I liked the ones with my middle initial.
Diane
p.s. Do you know Kirsten? I’ve been trying to reach her for some time.
October 1st, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Hi Diane:
Thanks for chiming in and sharing your results.
Getting results that are 8’s and 9’s is great. As long as I stay in that area, I’m not going to work on my GQ. This is something that I’ll delegate to my assistant to keep tabs on.
-Lena
October 10th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Lena (& Diane):
Harvard Business Review’s case study “We Googled You” may also be of interest, in particular since conventional wisdom (and tools) only factor in the first three pages of results. So…what’s on page 9 of your Google results?
October 23rd, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Nina:
That’s an excellent point!
In fact, I’ve had my VA search through all the pages to see what’s being said for at least 2 years now. That and a Google Alert works wonders!
Thanks for the idea!
-Lena