Back in December, I fulfilled a lifelong goal. After years of laboring day and night over my keyboard, blogging and tweeting until my fingers cramped up into strange claw-like shapes, I finally reached the point where Google auto-filled my name. It was a triumphant day for me, filled with tears of joy and celebratory showers of champagne, but in my heart I knew it was only the beginning.

Yes, Google did auto-fill my name, but only when I typed in “Rob Frap.” A win, certainly, but a small one. Never content to rest on my laurels, I vowed to keep working on my Google presence until I was able to appear in Google’s auto-complete for “Rob Fra” as well. And from there, of course, I would work for “Rob Fr” and, finally, “Rob F.” About a week ago, my hard work paid off and I achieved this last goal, joining the ranks of the many fine Rob F’s on Google.

As you can see from the picture at the top of the post, I’m just below “Rob Fantasy Factory” and just above “Rob Figliulo” — some rather esteemed company, if I do say so myself! Obviously, my next goal is to have my name suggested after typing in “Rob,” but that’s another level of Internet fame entirely.

Do I have what it takes? Will I someday be able to join the ranks of Rob Zombie, Rob Lowe, Rob Thomas, and Rob Pattinson? Only time will tell. In the meanwhile, I will bask in Google’s glow and the two or three extra visitors that will make it to this blog thanks to auto-complete.

(In case you couldn’t sense it, this post was written with tongue firmly in cheek. While I am happy that I’m gaining some gravitas on Google, and I definitely think you should spend time working to build a strong personal brand online, I’m really not this self-absorbed.)

Friends, today is a special day for me. Why, you ask? Because today, Google, that glorious fount of all knowledge, acknowledged my existence. Forgive me…I’m a little choked up.

You see, when I started blogging back in 2006 for Experience.com, I had a handful of goals. There were the obvious ones: share my opinions with the world, make a name for myself as a young marketing professional, meet other cool people in my industry and learn from them, etc. And then there was one that was not so obvious: get to a point in life where Google autofills my name.

Now, that might sound silly to some, and I’ll admit, it even seemed a little silly to me at first, but goals are goals dammit and I wasn’t about to give up. I wanted to share something with the big shots like Seth Godin (type in “Seth” and he’s number four, now that’s impressive). If someone goes to look up your name online and Google helps them fill it in, it’s like getting your name on the VIP List of a club. “Don’t worry…I’m with Google.”

So, with that goal in mind, I began to expand my social sphere. I joined Twitter, I beefed up my LinkedIn profile, and along the way I began blogging for my company (ReptuationDefender), for two marketing blogs (Digital Pivot and Beyond Madison Avenue), and even for an entertainment news website (Screen Rant). Through all of these efforts, I began to see my professional network grow, and, more importantly, my stock with Google began to rise.

Suddenly, after months of daily vanity searches, the day finally came. Yesterday, for the first time in my life, when I started to type in my name, Google did the rest. Granted, it wasn’t perfect. As shown in the picture at the beginning of this post, I had gotten all the way to “Rob Frap” before Google showed my name, but that’s okay. Now, I just have some new goals to work toward. Next on the list: Get an autofill for “Rob Fra.”

I always hear people say that first impressions are the most important, but I don’t often hear the same advice being proffered about the internet. In the digital age, isn’t Google where we make all of our first impressions anyway? Taking a proactive stance in managing and controlling how you appear online is a vital part of ensuring your professional credibility. You may not care if Google autofills your name, but you should care what shows up in your Google results. If you’re name is associated with a drunken party picture or an inane comment on a decade old forum, you could be hurting your chances of finding a job, getting into school, or even meeting a romantic partner. Don’t let Google control you, learn how you can control Google and begin proactively building your personal brand.