Is your name googeable?

I've just finished reading Linchpin. Are you indispensable?, by Seth Godin. The book is about the importance of not being like the rest of the people, but being your own brand, an unique brand. The author states our goal should be becoming irreplaceable.

Ok, that's the goal but, how can we achieve it? Godin says there aren't any stablished rules, nor scripts to follow, nor maps,... that everyone must find his or hers own way; not of much help. But he gives a basic start point: are you on Google's first page of search results? and, what does it appear when you type your name in the search box and click "Search" button? Is it good or bad?

I made the test and, to be honest, I am quite satisfied with the result. I never cared about it before and my name populates the two first pages (here's a tip: double-quote your full name). If you search my name (it's below the blog's title) you'll see my LinkedIn profile and questions and comments I made in programming forums. Now, I'm more interested in improving my what people can find about me, my "web presence".

Today, I was telling a workmate about all of these and he said "You're lucky. For me, it's much more difficult, my name is too common". I hadn't think about it, but it's true. My second surname (Sánchez de la Blanca) is long and rare. However, his full name is quite common, at least here in Spain and, I'm afraid, in Latin America too. We searched his name and there were really a bunch of results including his name, but none of them was about him.

How many "Juan García"s (not his real name) or "John Smith"s do exist? -- at least we, Spanish, have it easier than in another countries, we have two surnames--. How will people with very common names solve this problem? Nicknames?