Individuals need to protect and cultivate their own personal brands, the same way in which big-name companies do. I learned this lesson the hard way.

The year was 2003, and I was off to the Hollywood Bowl for what I thought was a Neil Young/Crazy Horse reunion concert. (Yes, I'm old and musically irrelevant.) Psyched to hear distortion-laden classics like "Cinnamon Girl" live, I'd shelled out $150 for mediocre seats for me and my girlfriend. When it turned out that 95 percent of the evening was devoted to playing -- and acting out (there were "actors" onstage performing to the music) -- Young's new concept album, "Greendale," I was peeved... so peeved that I posted a scathing review on a message board, using language that would've earned me a mouthful of lather as a child. Little did I suspect this profane-laced post would follow me for years, popping up as one of the top search results every time someone Googled my name.

My sour-grapes post (I've since acknowledged Neil's right to experiment musically; however, in my defense, the concert was advertised as a Crazy Horse reunion show) taught me a valuable lesson about the need to protect and cultivate my personal brand. This is especially true online, where doing a perfunctory background check is as easy as typing a name into a search-engine field. And don't fool yourself, prospective clients and employers are searching your name, especially in today's tough economy and ultra-competitive job market.

So, in the interest of helping you better manage your personal brand, here are a few tips from industry experts on how to exercise more control over what's turning up when someone does a search of your name.