How to choose an SEO-friendly job title that clients can find on Google
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
By Sarah Raanan, content marketing strategist and business coach helping established experts become findable online.
Key takeaways
A creative job title can hide you from search if nobody types those words into Google.
Pick the plain phrase your ideal client already uses, and lead with it in your bio and profile.
Save your personality for your copy, your stories, and your point of view.
A searchable title earns the click. The work earns the trust.
I once saw someone describe themselves as a "business astrologer" in their Instagram bio, and I spent far too long trying to work out what in the flat-earth they did. I never figured it out, and I was too embarrassed to ask.
That bio sent me down a rabbit hole. So I started collecting the job titles people are giving themselves, and the list got long fast.
The titles people are actually using
Here are a few real-life examples I have spotted recently:
Book shepherd
Alignment alchemist
Wealth activator
Life architect
Space holder
Soul guide
Embodied movement coach
Growth hacker
Business astrologer
Lovely. Intriguing. Slightly baffling. Completely unsearchable.
The husband test
I decided to run an experiment. I asked my muggle husband to guess the sensible version of each one. The words a normal person types into Google when they need help.
He got exactly one. "Life architect." And even then, if he were looking for a life coach, "life architect" is not the phrase he would reach for.
So if the person who lives with me cannot decode these, your future client standing in their kitchen at the end of a long day has no chance.
Should your job title be creative or searchable?
Searchable. Every time. When someone needs help, they do not type "transformation alchemist" or "wealth activator" into the search bar. They type the words their brain already uses. "Business coach." "Therapist." "Fitness instructor." Plain language that does what it says on the packet.
Your title is the one place where being clever works against you. It is the doorway, and a doorway only does its job if people can see it.
How to choose a job title clients can find on Google
Work through these in order:
Write down the exact phrase your ideal client would type when they need you. Not your aspiration for the work, the words in their head.
Lead with that recognisable term so it sits at the front of your bio and your profile.
Add one flavour word only if it earns its place. "Leadership coach for introverts" works. "Soul-aligned visionary catalyst" sends people back to Google.
Sense-check it on someone outside your industry. If they cannot tell you what you do in one breath, simplify.
Save the rest of your personality for everywhere else.
Where your creativity belongs
Be inventive across your copy, your stories, your approach, and your point of view. That is where someone falls for the way you think and decides you are their person. If that side of things needs work, my post on how to build your personal brand digs into it.
Your title has a different job. It makes you findable. Save the wordplay for the work itself.
A quick self-check
Take a moment and ask yourself how you are describing what you do. Can your ideal client find you on a Google search, or have you tucked yourself behind a mystical title that sounds impressive and tells them nothing?
Because if they cannot find you, your best work goes unseen. The goal is to make it easy for someone to say "yes, that is exactly what I need," instead of squinting at your bio and wondering what in the world you do for a living.
Frequently asked questions
Do creative job titles hurt my SEO?
Yes. Search engines and the people using them match plain-language terms. If nobody searches the phrase in your title, that title brings you no traffic and no enquiries.
What makes a job title searchable?
Use the words your ideal client would type when they need you. Think "social media manager," "leadership coach," or "nutritionist," rather than an invented metaphor only you understand.
Can I keep some personality in my title?
You can, once the searchable core is in place. Lead with the recognisable term, then add a flavor word if you must. "Leadership coach for introverts" works. "Soul-aligned visionary catalyst" sends people back to Google.
Where should I show my personality instead?
In your bio, body text, your captions, your emails, and your stories. That is where voice earns trust. The title earns the click.
If you read your own bio and felt a small flicker of "ah," that flicker is worth following. When you want a second pair of eyes on how findable your positioning is, take a look at how I help clients close the visibility gap, or book a call with me at sarahraanan.com/book-a-call, and we will make sure the people who need you can find you.
