The universal adoption of social networking means that like it or not our life story is now just an internet search away. Therefore in a world where standing out from the crowd is an advantage, is it time to consider SEO when naming your children?
A name has always had the capacity to be memorable however now it really can help someone stand out and be found.
Finding A Common Name On The Internet – A Cautionary Tale
Think about it, you go networking and you meet Christopher Smith a business consultant from London. You build a rapport with Chris and think there is potential of working together, you swap business cards and promise to follow up quickly.
On the way home you lose your jacket and the card, you think that you may have lost the opportunity to work with Chris. However you have a blast of inspiration and remember the invention of the internet and LinkedIn the most popular professional network.
You type in Christopher Smith in and get more than 10,000 results worldwide, you filter down by location and find there are still 279 Chris Smith’s to wade through before you find the one you are looking for.
You remember they are in financial services and this narrows your search to 15 and with a little bit of detective work you are able to track Chris down and keep your promise.
Now imagine that you have not met Chris and have just heard that Christopher Smith is a brilliant Independent Financial Adviser in London, how are you going to find him without these tools at your disposal?
The Advantage if you Consider SEO When Naming Your Children
On the flip side whilst networking you meet me and decide that you may want to keep in contact, you remember my name and decide to search for me. At this point we should be thanking my parents, as you will find me in no time.
I have hit the SEO jackpot, not only did my parents have the foresight to give me and uncommon name, but they chose to give it the even less common Northern European spelling with a K. That is convenient I hear you cry.
Yet wait it gets better, they hit yet more SEO gold. Not only did they give me an uncommon first name, but an uncommon surname as well. This means that if you search Kristian Downer on any search engine and I appear right at the top. When you search LinkedIn you are confronted with one, just one result.
If we meet networking and you promise to follow up, you will literally have no excuse, so if you meet me on your travels through your business life then keep that in mind.
Get A HeadStart – Consider SEO When Naming Your Children
When people have children they always want what is best for them, so now when going through the book of baby names we should get out a keyword planner and consider SEO when naming your children.
We Already Make Judgements Based On A Name
This may all seem a little farfetched but there is evidence we may already make judgements about people based on their names. Reality TV C lister Katie Hopkins hit the news when she made outrageous claims on the judgements she makes based on names.
The interview below went viral and created a significant backlash, however a follow up Guardian poll revealed that more than 1 in 5 people are prone to making judgements based purely on a person’s name.
Is it just me or did having children just get even more complicated?
I sort of agree. My surname is New, so any google alerts or SEO I set up directs people to “New” news/alerts/videos/pictures of “Nicole” Kidman, Richie, Scherzinger…. etc. Even when including my middle name. It is tricky, however I am not sure whether I would want to optimise my children’s names. The internet wasn’t a widely used technology when I was born, and now look at it, so who is to say that SEO won’t evolve?
Hi Nicola
Good point, I think rather than “optimise” just be aware the implications of using popular names, particularly if you have a very common last name. I agree you cannot think 20 years+ into the future but worth a tongue in cheek look 🙂
I would also change my name to one that is more than one letter different to other names as I also spend my life correcting people :S I am NicolE not NicolA haha
oh sorry Nicole! Also what is your twitter your name does ring a bell to us
Naming your children so they will be more easily accessible via the internet??
Crazy!!
That’s like changing your name to Mr N332 XBY so you can say you have a personalized number plate.
Any way, at the rate technology is advancing who knows what criteria will be used to search for people online by the time our children have grown up?
Right, rant over. I’m off to change my name to Kristian Downer so I can knock the original from the number 1 spot!