Personal Brand Audit

Most personal brands grow by accident: an old profile here, a conference bio there, a website written three roles ago. An audit gathers all of it, looks at it the way a stranger would, and compares it with what the person wants to be known for. It is the usual first step of a serious engagement, and many practices sell it as a fixed project before any ongoing work.

What a Thorough Audit Covers

• Search: the first page of results for the person's name, plus images and news.
• Presence: every profile, listing, speaker page and publication, and which are active, abandoned or inaccessible.
• Consistency: whether name, handle, title, bio and headshot match from one place to the next.
• Message: whether the person can be summed up in one specific sentence, and whether that sentence appears anywhere.
• Proof: press, talks, published work, credentials, reviews and client results, and where they are shown.
• Reputation: what others say, in reviews, comments and articles.
• Fit: how all of the above lines up with the person's goals.

Why It Matters When Hiring

People are rarely good judges of their own presence. A 2011 study in the Journal of Interactive Marketing ran digital brand audits on twelve people and found that they were trying to brand themselves online, but that their efforts were often misdirected or insufficient. The gaps were hardest to manage during a life change, such as a new career, and for people speaking to several audiences at once. An outside audit catches what the person has stopped seeing.

What You Should Get Back

• Written findings for each area, with examples and screenshots.
• A short list of the most important problems, ranked by impact and effort.
• Quick fixes you can make yourself.
• Longer projects, in a sensible order.
• A plain statement of what the practice would do next, and what you could do without them.

Be wary of an audit that ends in a single score and a sales pitch. A score without findings gives you nothing to act on.

Sources

Each source was read at its publisher, its DOI record or an official index such as PubMed. Findings are summarized in plain words; see how sources are chosen.

1. Labrecque, L. I., Markos, E., and Milne, G. R. (2011). Online Personal Branding: Processes, Challenges, and Implications (opens in a new tab). Journal of Interactive Marketing, 25(1), 37-50.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a personal brand audit?

A structured review of how you appear publicly, covering search results, profiles, website, consistency, message, proof and reputation, measured against your goals and ending in written findings and a ranked list of fixes.

How long does a personal brand audit take?

A rough self audit can take under an hour. A professional audit usually takes from several days to a few weeks, depending on how much there is to review and whether it includes interviews.

Can I audit my own personal brand?

Roughly, yes. Search your name in a private browser window, list every profile you have, and read your bios side by side. A professional audit adds an outside view and a plan, which is hard to give yourself.

What should I ask before paying for an audit?

Ask which areas it covers, what form the findings arrive in, whether it includes a ranked plan, and whether you can act on the findings without hiring the practice for further work.

Related: Personal Branding, Brand Consistency, Discovery Phase, Baseline Measurement, Positioning · In the Wiki: What a Personal Brand Audit Includes, Before Your First Call With a Personal Branding Agency, Setting Goals and Measuring Personal Branding Results