5 Reasons to Make Google+ Your #1 Priority
Out of all of the social networks, Google+ should be every blogger’s top priority for 2014. With Google having its hands all over so many products including Google Search and YouTube, it is a good idea to make it easier for people to find you. Here are five reasons to make Google+ your #1 priority.
5 Reasons to Make Google+ Your #1 Priority
1. Google Integration and Ease of Use: Google+ allows you to easily posts status updates, links, pictures, and video that you can share with specific circles, or groups of friends. These circles are often broken down to interest groups such as business contacts, friends and family, and even bacon lovers. The ease of Google+ integration cannot be ignored as they make it very easy to share and manage content across all Google services and platforms.
2. Popularity and SEO Ranking for +1: When someone gives your business page a +1, Google uses the number of +1s to determine your popularity on certain topics and is a ranking signal to Google to put your business up higher in Google searches.
3. Google Authorship: Just like how +1s can give authority to businesses, Google Authorship does the same for individuals. Authorships allow you to link all the content you create across the net letting Google index it accordingly. The more your quality content is shared and +1, the more Google looks at you as a positive influencer and boosts your Author Rank. An example of how this works in your favor is when you are logged into Google and you do a search, your friends that have written on certain topics will come up first compared to if you searched the same topic without being logged in. You will see their icon on the top left, along with the article title and how many people that have circled them.
4. Communities: Google+ Communities exist for everything from networking to talking about your favorite pet. You can create or be a participant in any topic that interests you. Many companies have communities to increase their brand awareness which in turn creates trust and allows customers to give you direct feedback.
5. Google Places: Google Places are separate business listings that help brick and mortar local businesses to be found easier in searches. They allow the business to show photos, reviews of their products or services, and key information on the business such as contact info and business hours. The best part is the fully integrated Google location map which is indexed for SEO as well. When logged into Google+, you will see places that your friends have reviewed and +1.
These are just 5 of the reasons to make Google+ your #1 priority this year, but there are quite a few more. Make sure you start by creating a Google+ profile for yourself and then for your business. The more time and effort you put into this platform, the easier it is for Google to reward you with organic SEO traffic. That’s pretty awesome all on its own!
Hello from another Steph (good name),
One of my recent blogging goals has been to learn more about G+. I’ve been seeing a few conflicting suggestions as far as business vs personal pages go. A few other bloggers have said to just have a personal page because Google ranks those higher in searches and you need it to verify authorship. Having both can split the likes and +1’s. Can you possibly elaborate on your suggestion to have both? And how you might target content differently to each?
Right now I do the bare minimum just for SEO. Thanks for the reminder to do more!
I’m a huge lover of Google +!
I’m still trying to REMEMBER to use it . . . BUT, I think you’re right, especially with all the screwy changes that Facebook is making that lessen visibility and overall engagement.
I know this. I really do. But, it’s been so hard to remember to get over there! Thanks for the push!!
I’m launching a new blog and hope to use G+ much more! How can you be sure you have google authorship? I’ll be heading over today to make new circles that pertain to my new blog. I’m still learning a lot about SEO but I know that G+ is a big help!
I have had such a hard time getting into google+. I think it’s because there are so many other social networks that it feels like just one more to me. I definitely feel like I need to start pushing it more after reading your article.
I am finding that I like Google+ more and more. Even if it was begrudgingly. 🙂
Great tips. I am starting to use G+ more and getting to really like it.
I guess I should start using Google+ more. I tend to gravitate more to Twitter. Oops.
After only using G+ for the bare minimum for a long time and trying my hardest to stay away, I’m finally starting to jump on the “I like it” bandwagon. Especially since Facebook is being such a pain lately!
This year I finally made the switch over to google for email and I have been a lot more G+ friendly!
I have to figure this out! I am pinning this for later! Thank you for your tips!
I’m trying to use it, I really am but I just can’t get into Google+.
Thanks!! This is a great reminder for me to do more with Google + — I haven’t done a lot with it and I really need to get on the ball with it.
I really need to spend more time figuring out google+!
You made great points for sure! I’m doing several of your suggestions but having a hard time finding engagement there. I’m sticking with it and hoping to see an increase soon!