Google plus is like the white elephant in the room, so noticeable but many marketers and business owners would rather not mention it. Many individuals have just got their head around how to use Facebook and Twitter for marketing purposes and share key messages about their brand but would rather not get into Google+, as they feel it is another place to start from scratch and lose hours building a new following. However, when the penny drops about the fact that it’s Google’s baby, they can reap the benefits through SEO to their website.
Startups in business will find it hard to get seen on Google and may spend a lot of their advertising budget getting themselves on the first page. SEO keywords behind every page of your website is important for Google to find but using social media can organically increase your ranking. If you create good content, that is interesting, topical and shareable, Google will reward you with visitors and ranking. Therefore using their own social network will obviously put you in their good books.
It may take a little time to get your head around how the profile is set up and how to connect but you will soon see that it is very similar to Facebook. After all that is the most popular network so it makes sense for Google to copy it but their extra benefit is that they have merged their network with ‘search’.
Circles & Communities
Google+ helps you keep organised with the people you are following. Simply put them into circles and then you don’t have to post your content to the whole world, simply choose a group who it is most relevant for and more likely to engage with it.
Joining communities is a great way of connecting with like-minded people and sharing relevant content. You can even start your own and keep it as small or as big as you want.
Hangouts
Hangouts makes it easy to do video conferencing with a group of people and can be great for chatting to potential business partners or customers. A good way of holding a question and answer session. It can also be good if your business involves teaching face to face and speaking to people. You can save money on travel, venues and equipment by simply connecting with people in this way.
Authorship
Google authorship is a hidden gem that can drive traffic to your website or blog. If you regularly post content, you can put a little bit of code behind the article or page to effectively tell Google that it is you who has written it and they will associate your Google+ page with the content. When people then search for your keywords, they will see a face next to the link and be more inclined to click it.
Google+ may seem like a whole new project but as Google gets to know more about us in every way and take on new technology like ‘Google glass’, it is important to start working on your profile now. The more active in the network you are, the better your profile and message will get seen.
Social Ant can give you a head start with Google Plus and help you understand how it works and why it is essential for your business. If you want to boost your visitors further, try creating Adwords campaigns, which link through to your Google Plus profile.
Find out more and email me: jon@socialant.co.uk.
Jon Exton
Twitter: @thesocialant