Brands, companies, and individuals in the public eye closely watch and manage their image. By doing so, organizations control, or at least manage to their best ability, their reputation to the public. This maintenance is branding, and you too can do this. Branding yourself online allows you to take control over your image and how the world sees you.

Why is branding yourself online essential to all professionals? A look at Under Cover Recruiter’s statistics shows just how central your online presence is – 78% of recruiters google you and 63% look into your social media profiles. These statistics shouldn’t alarm you. Instead, see it as an opportunity to put your best face on. Branding yourself online is empowering.

In a recent post, entrepreneur and author Ceren Cubukcu discussed tactics for empowering yourself and your brand on the web, which has grown increasingly central to displaying and building your brand. Here are her four key points of advice for managing your online presence.

1. Give it a Google

That’s right, google yourself. What you find is what others will find when they google your name too. More than likely your LinkedIn, social media, blogs, websites, images, and other ancient relics of the internet will appear. So will people who share your name. Consider adding a middle initial to differentiate yourself from others. If you’re not appearing as much as you’d like, become more active in your websites and profiles by updating them regularly.

2. Clean it up

Does your online presence wholly represent you and your brand? If not, take some action. Remove what you can from old posts on your websites and social media accounts. For the pages and photos to which you have no direct access, ask the webmaster to remove the unsavory content. You can also take advantage of Google’s

3. Build your brand

While you will never have total control over what’s online, what you can do is outweigh the bad with the good. Amp up your LinkedIn profile to boost its visibility. If aren’t creating content, such as a blog or webinars, consider this the time to begin, as creating content was recognized as one of the best branding techniques for 2014. Posting your own information regularly will keep you visible and build your brand.

4. Get a webpage

Cubukcu’s final and most essential piece of advice is to seek out your own website in your own name. While seemingly simple, this necessity can hurt your brand when overlooked. Owning web content in your own name strengthens your online presence and takes your brand to the next level, and it’s easy to do on Squarespace. For around the same price as Netflix each month, you could be solidifying your brand, your future, and your professional wellbeing. Talk about a good investment.

What do you think of Cubukcu’s tips for branding yourself online? Have you found more success using other techniques? Let us know and leave a comment below.