When he set out to find a new job, Memphis resident Robert Miller wanted to get a cyberspace edge.

So he went to Ziggs.com, a company that specializes in helping job seekers beef up their online presence. Ziggs arranged for Miller's name to be displayed prominently on search engines. That ensured he would get plenty of hits when prospective employers sought him out on the Internet.

"It has made me incredibly easy to find online," said Miller, a former global marketing executive for a digital map company. Standing out is particularly important to Miller, since he has such a common name - in Memphis alone, there are about 100 Robert Millers. But all prospective job seekers should be aware of their online image, experts say. The first thing many would-be bosses do is use Google to research a potential employee.

Boston-based Ziggs helps job seekers get more exposure in a number of ways. It makes sure its customers' names pop up on search engines near the top of the results page - "above the fold," says company spokeswoman Julia Bradley, using an old newspaper term. The Ziggs site also manages profiles of its customers - some 3 million in total, Bradley says. These bios aren't just for job searches, they're also useful in day-to-day business encounters. You can refer people to your bio as a part of a "virtual introduction," Bradley says. Ziggs serves another handy purpose: It notifies users when they're the object of a search. They get e-mails stating the origin and time of the search, as well as key words and the search engine used. The name of the seeker is not given, because of Internet privacy restrictions. But the notices can still be useful, Miller says. If he sends a resume to San Francisco and gets word that a search on him was done from there, he can assume it was the potential employer doing the searching, he says. Ziggs has a free basic service, which lets you build a profile and place a listing in the site's index. For $4.95 a month, you also get the search engine placement and e-mail alerts. Chief Executive Tim DeMello, a former stockbroker, launched the site in 2004. He sees it as part of a bigger trend. "We're moving into a world of personal brand management, and most of our professional introductions are starting onl ine," DeMello said. "What people really need to know is how they are found and how they are represented on the Internet." Ziggs' corporate Web site bios are a great thing for job seekers, says Susan Joyce, president of Netability, a Web consulting firm in Marlborough, Mass. But users should watch what they say in their profiles, she says. "Often in these profiles people provide too much information," said Joyce, who's also editor of job-hunt.org, a career information site. Posting a photo is another concern, she says. Applicants don't want to be eliminated too early over something that shouldn't be relevant, such as age or ethnic background, Joyce says. Although increased personal information is becoming the norm, online job seekers should keep in mind what they're making public. They shouldn't post phone numbers or addresses, for example, she says. "The privacy aspects of that give me the willies," Joyce said. There are other ways to look online for a job. Some sites take advantage of social, educational and employment networks to match job seekers with employers. This approach seems promising, says Brent Zupp, a 42-year-old job seeker in the San Francisco Bay Area. After five years, Zupp left Seattle-based Internet consultants Avenue A/Razorfish in October. He saw plenty of people come and go, and helped interview prospective employees on occasion. "From being on both sides of it, I think that sort of social networking model could be a strong one," he said. "I see that's probably where I'll have to focus." Networking sites are probably more effective than others because most jobs are found through connections, Zupp says. The fewer degrees of separation, the better. "It basically comes down to knowing someone," he said. As for Miller, he didn't end up finding a job through Ziggs. He put aside his job search in November and founded a startup.