What happens when someone “Googles” you? This process of personal identity research may seem harmless or even comical at times. But in reality, how you are ranked, represented, and positioned online is becoming more important than you might think.

Online branding has traditionally been a concern for companies, celebrities, music groups, and other established entities. But with the explosion of social networking and the sprawl of personal publishing opportunities online, how and where you appear in search returns can have a significant impact on both your personal and your career situations.

Your personal brand online may currently be disorganized or even damaging. It’s important to recognize that your name is being searched more often than you think, and what comes back in those searches can make or break personal relationships or even business opportunities.

So how do you start managing your own brand online?

The first step is to do an assessment of your online presence, keeping in mind that personal brand control and management online is either an act of offense or defense.

If you have little personal presence online in search returns, or what does return is simply not polished, you may want to go on the offensive and position yourself with more substantive content that matches your status while engaging with prospective opportunities. If search returns are bringing back negative or “past life” content that does not positively reflect who you are or what you do, then execute a defensive online brand strategy that overshadows the negative content.

The key point is that you need to start controlling your brand in search returns within the first page or two. When you control your “name space,” your brand value will improve -- and so will the perceptions of those that view you online.

Here are some steps you can take to rapidly increase your online brand value:

1) Get a personal domain. Having a personal domain is the most effective way to control your brand. Even having a one-page bio, resumé, blog, or simply links that connect viewers to find out more about you will make a huge difference. A personal domain can be optimized to be the top return when your name is searched -- pushing other content further down the ranks.

2) Control your profiles on social sites. If you have personal social sites, be sure they are turned off to outside access unless you use them specifically for personal marketing. It’s enjoyable to network socially online with friends and relatives; but be sure that content is sealed up in a closed and protected environment. Opening up means exposure.

3) Build online profiles in the right places. There are many sites that now offer legitimate profiles that aim to make your presence official online. Use them wisely and spend the time or resources to have them done right. Some examples of profile sites include Google Profiles, Wikipedia, Naymz, and AboutUs. If built properly, these profiles will rank high in search returns for your name.

4) Clean up the past. You may be surprised when content from many years ago is still lingering online and representing your name. If there is content about you that does not reflect your current situation, then try to have it removed from the site source.

5) Use video. It may seem a bit over-the-top, but using video to represent who you are and what you do is the most effective way of having your audience connect with you online. Video is a great offensive strategy to control how you are perceived and project the opportunities you are capable of handling.

By taking these steps, you can begin to increase the brand value of your name and open yourself to new opportunities.

Of course, managing your online personal brand does take work and a commitment of time and even resources, should you decide to outsource the effort. The important part is that you recognize that no matter who you are, your personal presence online matters, and you do have direct influence on what is being projected about you to others around the world.