Salutations,
I was featured in a BLOG yesterday. I am not sure if I should be concerned or flattered. However, he did provide a link to my website so I do really appreciate that. In one section of the article the writer uses me as an example. I excerpted this section of the article in blue type below. After reading his points, I have to say, I agree with all of them and I am well aware of the psychiatrist and pro bowler referenced (yes, I have googled searched my name in the past).
I like to create music. I am less interested/capable in the area of marketing and "SEO". I am sure this problem is not unique to me. SEO (and I never remember what the acronym stands for) is a mystery to me and when I lean in closer to investigate, I found the amount of time, energy and investment it takes to do it right usually sinks me. His sharing of techniques to do this smartly are appreciated. I do believe that any band or solo artist could learn something of value if they read the advice carefully. Implementing the advice is another matter entirely. Here is the excerpt.
"Solo artists with common names
Unless you have a really unusual name, chances are someone else somewhere has the same name as you. So if you’re a solo musician using your own real name, you might end up competing in search engines with someone else, and they might not even be a musician.
Bandzoogle member David Husted, for example, has this problem. A quick Google search for his name shows the scope of what he’s up against.
There is a different David Husted—a psychiatrist—who occupies most spots on the first pages of search results, as well as the large “knowledge panel” on the right side of the page.
To make things even more challenging, there is another notable David Husted who is a retired professional ten-pin bowler.
David Husted the musician is nowhere to be seen unless you click through to the second page of results in Google.
We’ll get more into this topic in future posts, but the gist of this problem is that—when it comes to the names of "notable people"—the most famous person wins the search results.
The thing is—this is kind of inconvenient for people who are looking for David Husted the musician. Those people might decide to modify or refine their search term to be more specific, such as in this example:
Now with this refined search we get the ideal full page of results for David Husted the musician, with their website homepage at the top and the correct knowledge panel on the right.
So if you're an artist using your own name, this is something you'll need to be aware of when you're researching your keywords. You might want to look up search volumes for those modified or refined keywords as well.
For the record, this problem applies to yours truly—I share the same name and Google search results with a retired NFL football player"
So, as you can see, I am not on the first page that comes up when you search my name on Google. I think he was being kind when he said the second too. I'll blame that on my SEO techniques and not the quality of my music ; )
Word of the Day: SEO
V/r
Dave “not Psychiatrist and/or Pro Bowler” Husted
The quoted excerpt in blue type was written by Wes Walls a Music, Marketing and Promotion writer for Bandzoogle.
The article can be found here if your interested: SEO Keyword Research for Musicians
Photograph: Pixabay