You searched “add me to search,” found a dozen blogs promising easy steps to create a Google People Card, followed them—and got nothing.
No “Get started” button. No card when you search your name. You are not doing it wrong. The guides are stale: Google discontinued People Cards on 7 April 2024.
But you are here for a real reason—you want your name to show up when someone Googles you. That goal is still achievable in 2026, just not through the old feature. Let’s fix the actual problem.
First: does “Add Me to Search” still work at all?
No—not as a Google People Card.
Google’s People Cards discontinuation notice set 7 April 2024 as the end date and gave users until 7 May 2024 to save their content before deletion. That shutdown was not limited to one country.
If Add Me to Search is not showing: it is not an account problem, a mobile-versus-desktop problem or a setting you missed. A VPN, a different browser and repeated searches will not reopen a discontinued feature.
This is why 2026 tutorials still promising a live “Get started” button waste your time. They describe how People Cards used to work, not a path that exists today.
What actually puts your name on Google in 2026
“Add Me to Search” was never the real goal. The goal was: when someone searches my name, they find the real me. The methods below create evidence Google can discover and connect to you without depending on one temporary feature.
1. Google Business Profile—if you are eligible
For an eligible storefront or service-area business, a free Business Profile can put your business information in Google Search and Maps with hours, contact details, photos, a website and reviews. Google confirms it is available at no charge.
The eligibility line matters: Business Profiles are for businesses that meet customers in person at a location or within a service area. They are not for an online-only personal identity. If that describes your work, add or claim your profile, verify it and keep the information complete and current.
2. A simple “about” page you own
A People Card lived entirely on Google’s terms. A page on your own site lives on yours—and gives search engines a clear, permanent source about you.
- Fastest starting point: complete your LinkedIn profile using the name people actually search.
- Strongest long-term asset: publish a personal website or a dedicated about page with your full name in the title and main heading.
- Useful supporting pages: a credible industry profile, author page, portfolio, Medium profile or another public platform relevant to your work.
Keep the page useful: include a recognisable photo, what you do, where you work, proof of your work and links to your verified profiles. If you need the owned foundation built properly, see our website design and development service.
3. Consistent profiles across the web
Search engines gain confidence when the same person appears consistently across credible sources. Align your full name, headshot, role, location where appropriate and primary website across LinkedIn, relevant social accounts and industry directories.
Consistency does not mean copying the same biography everywhere. It means removing identity conflicts: different spellings, abandoned profiles, unrelated usernames and old job details that make it difficult to tell which result is you.
4. Give Google something worth ranking
If nothing about you appears in search, often there is very little public material for a search engine to find. Publish a useful article, case study, portfolio item, talk, interview or professional post with your name attached.
Then link those assets together naturally. Your website can link to your LinkedIn; your author profile can link back to your site; credible organisations can mention work you actually did. This builds a real identity footprint, not a collection of empty accounts.
Your practical 30-minute checklist
- Search your full name in quotes and note which results already appear.
- Choose one primary version of your name and use it consistently.
- Complete your LinkedIn headline, photo, location and website link.
- Create or improve a page whose title and heading contain your full name.
- Link the profiles you control to that primary page.
- If you run an eligible local business, create and verify a Business Profile.
- Publish one useful, attributable piece of work instead of creating ten empty profiles.
If your page exists but Google still cannot find it, use our real Search Console case study to diagnose why your website is not showing up on Google.
Questions we get a lot
Is Add Me to Search discontinued?
Yes. Google discontinued People Cards on 7 April 2024. New cards can no longer be created, and Google deleted the stored card information after the backup window ended in May 2024.
Why is my People Card not showing up?
People Cards no longer appear because Google discontinued the feature. It is not an account, device or location error, and a VPN or repeated searches will not restore it.
How do I add myself to Google Search without a People Card?
Create a clear page about yourself with your full name in its title and heading, complete credible professional profiles, publish useful work under the same name and, if you run an eligible storefront or service-area business, claim a Google Business Profile.
How long until my name shows up on Google?
There is no guaranteed timetable. Established professional profiles may appear within days or weeks, while a new personal website can take longer to be discovered and indexed. Common names and limited supporting information make the process slower.
Is Google Business Profile free?
Yes. Eligible businesses can create and manage a Business Profile at no charge. It is intended for businesses that meet customers in person at a storefront or within a service area; online-only individuals and businesses are not eligible.