How do I get my name to the top of Google’s search results? Jack Schofield

An academic shares his name with a notorious drug dealer. Here's how he can raise his profile so his name appears first

I'm a researcher at a major university. Unfortunately, I happen to share my name and middle initial with an unrelated drug dealer who has been in and out of prison. My name is sufficiently rare that I'm worried that confusion might arise, because a cursory Google search tends to give prominence to negative news stories that feature him.

The standard advice online seems to be to open as many social media accounts as possible. I also have my own domain, but none of these has displaced the negative news stories in the search rankings. What should I do? Name withheld

How to get the top spot in Google's search engine results has been a hot topic for years. It's still vitally important to all types of business, to consultants and other professionals, bands and musicians, authors and journalists, politicians and many others. For those who can justify the fees, personal branding and "reputation management" companies do it for a living.