Who decides what Google sees?

What Google finds when someone searches for your name, or for your book, is key to your reputation and credibility. So who decides what Google sees? There's an article in the Technology section of Newsweek.com called "Google Yourself—And Enjoy It" that talks about how such companies as ReputationHawk, ReputationDefender, and International Reputation Management provide damage control when your online image is compromised.

But those companies don't do anything we can't do ourselves. The most important point the Newsweek.com article makes is that, to control what Google sees, just keep creating content. The more positive the content you create, the more positive your online reputation will be -- and the more positive an impression you'll make when others Google you. Keep writing articles and press releases, and keep creating blog entries. The positive will soon outweigh the negative -- or, at least -- the negative will be pushed off the front page of Google's results.

Online book promotion is a lot like online personal promotion. Sure, everything that's posted on the Net about your book won't read just the way it would if you'd written it yourself. But there's one way to cure that problem: get your keyboard going, and start typing. Google sees what you tell it to see. That's the good news. Take advantage of it!