Digital Influence - Identity - Claim your online profile

Claiming your online identity should be one of your first steps to building your digital brand.
Your identity is fundamental to your ability to be found, to connect with people and to assert influence in the online world

In a recent Digital Influence webinar on identity I shared some of the simple steps you can take today to claim your online.

Digital Influence - Identity Webinar - Claim your online identity

Some of the areas where you need to research and claim your online identity are:

• Domains
• Email addresses
• Online Identity Profiles
• Social Media / Networking Profiles
• Passwords and Security Systems

Domains for Identity and Influence

Most people are aware of the importance of having a domain name to represent yourself, your business or your brand online.

In some cases, the best domain for your business is obvious, but in others it can be a challenge.

For organic search ranking it is attractive to choose domains based on keywords that your customers use to search for your products and services, but when it comes to claiming your online identity you should focus on domains that represent your name (for personal brands), business name, brand name, product name or event name.

For example, I use these domains to protect my personal and business identity online:

• dallasmcmillan.com.au (I'm located in Australia, the .com is already taken or I'd use that too)
• influential.com.au and influentialdigital.com.au (My business name is Influential Digital - my brand is influential)
• DigitalInfluence.com.au is my product brand

As well as providing a location for your website, your identity based domain names also provide the opportunity to have email addresses that clearly establish who you are or what you do.