Google+ can no longer be ignored if you wish to establish yourself as an authority, especially in the office supplies industry. There are already over 67 million users on Google+ and the numbers are only going to increase. Google is doing its best to make Google+ a necessity.
Here is what you need to know to make your Google+ page stand out from the crowd.
Use Your Other Social Networks
If you are new to Google+, the easiest way to gain a following is to advertise your news on social platforms you already engage in. Also, if you do write a blog, publish a blog about your new profile and tell your followers you would like to join their circles.
Content is Still King
If the content you are sharing is not relevant and useful to your readers, your Google+ experiment will sputter to a stop and die. Only content that people find interesting, useful, timely or humorous is going to get shared and christened with a +1. Adding your own opinion to your content adds to the social element and improves the social data Google collects from its users.
Liking Your Content
We are used to hearing the term ‘like’ due to Facebook’s system, but now the focus is on +1s. This is the way you can like something on Google+. Make sure the +1 button is highly visible on your page so visitors can easily click it if they like what they see. Google will share search results based on how popular a certain article is and how many times it has been liked and shared so this is an invaluable tool if you want to rank high.
Using the Author and Bio Tag
To be an authority source, Google has to determine that you are, indeed, the author. This will hopefully decrease the likeliness of unscrupulous marketers stealing content or plagiarizing. You can use the author tag on your original article to link it back to you, as well as linking it to your Google+ profile. Google explains how to do this in depth, but suffice it to say it’s a great way to establish that you are the original author.
Comment Marketing
When you comment on someone else’s post, or respond to comments on your own blog, you are participating in comment marketing. This is a great way to build relationships with potential customers. Simply by adding your voice to the clamor, you will be seen as a leader in the field.
Instead of only linking to your site’s homepage, include a link to your Google+ page as well. This shows your clients that you want to build a relationship with them. If readers find your comments relevant and useful, they will be more likely to add you to their circles.
Use SEO on Your Profile and Pages
SEO is not dead by any means and neither will it ever be. The old ways of keyword stuffing are, of course, long gone, but you can still optimise your content for search engines. Your tagline is basically your page’s meta description, so including high profile keywords here will enhance your click through rate and attract people to your page. You will also want to make sure your posts can be publicly viewed and they are allowed to show up on search results.
Continually Promote Your Google+ Page
Every time you publish content, include a link back to your Google+ profile. If you guest blog or post a video on YouTube, always make sure to link back. If the content you are providing is high quality, you will definitely get links back and +1s.
Be Social
The entire point of social media is to be, well, social. Don’t think you can establish your Google+ profile, link to it a bunch of times, and be done. You need to be engaged with your followers and in the circles that you are in. Comment on things they have shared, or respond to their comments. If you like something they have written, comment on it and give them a +1. The saying is true that what goes around comes around. By sharing and being social, people will be more likely to share your content and give you those +1s.
Check Out Ripples
Ripples are an innovative way to see who is sharing what with whom. Basically, you can see who has shared a specific piece of content. Get in the habit of checking these out to collect data about your audience’s sharing behavior. This will help you narrow down a target market.
Increase Your Google+ Activity
There are so many things you can do on Google+, from tagging people in your comments to having ‘Hangouts’. Learn about the different ways to promote your brand, and use the ones that are interesting and relevant to you.
Some content strategists are worried that eventually, Google won’t even rank you at all if you are not engaged in the Google+ platform. It’s hard to predict their behaviour exactly, but that’s definitely a step we might see in the future.
To ensure that you are not left in the dust, create a Google+ profile and keep it active. It certainly will not hurt your business and could be the one thing you have been waiting for to take your online presence to the next level.
What are your thoughts about ‘Construct Your Office Supplies Authority and Influence in Google+’ Which ones to you choose to buy?
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