Google Profiles to make vanity searches more informative

Last week Google rolled out the ability for users to create custom URLs for their Google Profile information sot hat you could use a URL with your name or nickname instead of a random string of characters. And today we know why. Google is starting to add profile information to search results for names.

Right now when you search Google or other search engines for friends, colleagues, or that girl you had a crush on in third grade by name, you can find a lot of information. And the people you're searching for don't have a lot of control over what pops up.

But if you create a Google Profile for your name, you can include a picture, links to your web sites, a brief bio, and other information. And while this may not protect you from all the embarrassing links that pop up, it does at least give you a chance to let the world know how you want to represent yourself.

In addition to showing links to Google Profiles, Google is adding links to search for the same names on other sites including Facebook and LinkedIn.

The profile results don't appear to be available for every search yet. But Google is just starting to roll out this feature.

Tags: google-profiles, vanity search, VanitySearch