Add Me To Search: How To Create Your Google People Card

In today’s digital-centric world, establishing a notable online presence for your personal branding has become more crucial than ever.

The fastest and easiest way to gain a presence on Google is by typing the query: Add Me to Search.

• Update: Since Google’s ‘Add Me to Search’ functionality has been removed, we’ve kept this article for historical reference purposes. Check out our guide on personal branding for tips on building your online presence.

All you need is a mobile device with internet access, a personal Google account, and Web & App Activity turned on in your account settings.

Think of a People Card as your virtual business card, visible on Google whenever someone searches for your name.

The Google People Card is only available to users in the following countries:

• India.
• Kenya.
• Nigeria.
• South Africa.

However, there is a workaround you can apply to bypass this limitation and add yourself to Google Search.

In this article, we’ll guide you through the easy steps to secure your spot on Google within minutes, complete with your own personalized People Card.

How To Create A People Card

Step 1

Enter the query “add me to search” and you’ll see the option to create a people card at the top of the screen.

Screenshot by author, April 2022

Tap on “Get started” to begin creating your card.

Step 2

Fill out your information. Tap the button to get started. You’ll see the following screen:

Screenshot by author, April 2022

The required fields appear first, which are:

• Name.
• Location.
• About.
• Job.

Below the required fields, you’ll see a section of additional information you can include if you want to.

The fields shown in the screenshot below are all optional. You add as many or as few as you wish.

Screenshot by author

Google will let you add links to the following social profiles:

• Twitter.
• Facebook.
• Instagram.
• LinkedIn.
• Pinterest.
• SoundCloud.
• YouTube.

For the most part, you will be able to enter all information manually. There are two exceptions – email and phone number.

Google automatically populates the email and phone number fields with the information in your Google account. You can’t change the email or phone number on your people card without changing it in your Google account.

Of course, you could choose not to display those fields at all if you’d prefer not to reveal your personal email or phone number.

Step 3

After you fill out the fields in step two, the only thing left to do is preview the card before it goes live.

Once you’re satisfied with how your card looks, save it, and it will be immediately indexed in search results.

To see what it looks like in search results after it goes live, just look up your name.

Screenshot by author

That’s all there is to it. Keep in mind Google’s people cards will only be visible to searchers in India, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Google hasn’t indicated whether this feature will make its way to other countries. But if you set one up now, you’ll be ready for a wider rollout.

Not located in India?

People located outside of India have managed to set up their own people cards through the use of a VPN.

Aleyda Solis shared a screenshot on Twitter of her people card being successfully added to search results:

Got my People Card on Google… funnily, when specifying my social presence in Twitter or Facebook I got an error saying to try something more specific 😅 pic.twitter.com/1QGkyggdtb

— Aleyda Solis 🕊️ (@aleyda) August 11, 2020

Solis notes that she was able to do this by visiting the mobile version of Google through a VPN.

What Are Google People Cards?

Gaining a presence in search results as an individual can prove to be challenging, especially for those who aren’t famous or share the same name with many other people.

For searchers, it can be challenging to find information about specific people if they don’t have a strong online presence.

Google aims to address these challenges with people cards:

“… we are solving these challenges with a new feature called people cards. It’s like a virtual visiting card, where you can highlight your existing website or social profiles you want people to visit, plus other information about yourself that you want others to know.”

People cards are designed for business professionals, performers, influencers, entrepreneurs, job hunters, freelancers, or anyone looking to grow their presence online.

A people card can include a website link, links to social profiles, and any other information you want people to know about you.

When you search for someone’s name and they have a people card, you’ll see a module with their name, profession, and location. The module can be tapped on to see the full card.

General Guidelines For Google People Cards

Once your people card is created, keeping it up to date is necessary in order for Google to continue showing it in search results.

Google may stop showing your card if a long time has passed since the card was updated or verified.

You can edit and change what’s shared in your people card at any time from your Google Search contributions page, or by searching for “edit my people card.”

It generally takes up to a few hours for your people card to be shown in search results. However, Google doesn’t guarantee everyone’s cards will be shown.

The more info you provide, the more likely it is your card will be shown in search results. So, if it hasn’t shown up after a few hours, try editing it to include more details.

More Resources:

• 4 Key Areas Of International SEO Focus For Entering A New Market
• Getting Started In International SEO: A Quick Reference Guide

Featured Image: alexdndz/Shutterstock