Navigating the Unique Challenges of Building an Online Identity with the Last Name 'Grad

I was leaving a meeting with a potential client the other day when my last name came up at the end of the conversation. They assumed "Grad" indicated my recent college graduation. Indeed, it does, however it also happens to be my last name. Here’s the story of how having a last name like Grad is great but also complicated when trying to develop your online identity.

It's always amusing to have my last name as Grad because I'm all over celebration balloons, and it's nice to have an easy-to-spell last name. However, when I first started my freelance business, it was challenging to rank as "Caitlyn Grad" due to the abundance of differently spelled Caitlyns who are graduates. Competing against school celebrations and photography websites, I didn't exist on the World Wide Web for a long time.

In one of my capstone classes, Dr. Elaine Young my professor at Champlain College inspired me to create a portfolio website and work on my personal SEO. After many months, even after the class was finally over, now when you type my name, my professional identity is at the top. However, to this day, I still have to compete with other Caitlyns who have just graduated. It's a unique challenge I've had to overcome, but it speaks to my determination and the skills I've developed in SEO.