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8 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Site With Google+

March 21, 2012 / Marc Pitman / No comments

Would you like to drive more traffic to your website?

With new enhancements from Google+, you can more easily accomplish just that!

One of the biggest changes recently rolled out by Google might even be called a seismic shift in search.

Google is somewhat clumsily calling it “Search, plus Your World.” You see, Google has years of experience in the search engine business. And they are so good because they aim to deliver what people are looking for, not just what they actually enter into the search window. They have to figure out if your search on “porter” is supposed to show a lot of beer websites or websites focusing on people who carry luggage.

Part of what they’ve learned is that people want to see results based on their own personal history and social profile.

Google’s Search, Plus Your World

Google search is still search, but now they are tailoring a person’s search to include results based on their social media profile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z9TTBxarbs

In short, Google is now including Google+ updates and people’s +1s (“+1″ is Google’s version of Facebook’s “like”) in Google search. The “Your World” parts are indicated by a blue figure of a person’s head and shoulders.

This blue icon in a Google search lets you know you or someone you know posted this.

Powerful Social Proof for Businesses

Now when you search, you may see a post from someone you know or someone who knows someone you know. These will show up as people’s faces with search results.

Any student of influence knows that this form of “social proof”—seeing faces of people you recognize—will significantly increase the likelihood you’ll click on a link.

Don’t Miss Out on This Opportunity to Get More Traffic

Google has said it would like to include other sites in Search, plus Your World results, but sites like Facebook and Twitter block Google from searching or indexing people’s public posts. While information from Quora and Flickr does surface, most of the social information is from Google+ posts.

Here are 8 ways to help Google drive traffic to your site with Google+.

#1: Use “Their” Keywords, Not Just Yours

Most of us have our industry-specific dialect. So we naturally try to use those words and phrases when we’re being intentional about our keywords. The problem is that most of our customers don’t use those terms or phrases.

For example, here in Maine, the State Park employees may optimize their site to be found when people search for “Ft. Williams Park.” But 99% of prospective visitors will actually be searching on “Portland Headlight” so it behooves them to rank high for that term too.

Put these keywords in the “about” section of both your page and your profile. And remember to use them when you’re posting updates and sharing images.

You might call your place "Fort Williams Park," but if your customers call it "Portland Headlight," you need to optimize your SEO for that too.

#2: Size Matters

In most social media training, we stress quality of engagement over number of followers or size of fan base. Usually, it’s better to have 8,000 engaged followers than 80,000 followers who ignore you. But current results indicate that a bigger Google+ following is better.

Kristi Hines did an interesting experiment on Google SEO a few days before Search, plus Your World was released. She showed that more followers affected her search rank even when people weren’t signed into their Google account.

More followers means better ranking in Google’s search. To grow your followers:

Let people know you have a Google+ page. Put a badge on your website. Tell customers to put you in their circles. Include your link, or a prettier version of your link, in your email and print communications.
Share your brand page posts through your personal profile. Brand pages are only allowed to follow people who have first followed them. So pushing your brand posts out through your personal profile helps your page posts receive more exposure.
Make sure your employees have their own Google+ profiles and follow your brand page. Encourage them to share your page posts and then “+1″ those posts.

If you need help setting up your profile, check out 6 Steps to Getting Started With Google+.

#3: Train the Google Machine

Google search is constantly categorizing and indexing information. Now, in addition to search results, Google is sometimes posting “People and Pages on Google+ related to [your search term]” as a box on the right side of the page.

Not all searches have this feature yet. But the benefit of being listed there is obvious. So train Google to know how to categorize your page by keeping posts on topic and using consistent keywords.

Google says that as you post on the same topic, you’ll be conditioning Google to promote your page in that search.

Not all searches have a "People and Pages on Google+ related to…" box yet, but repeatedly posting on the same topic will help your page be listed here when Google expands this feature.

#4: Author Authority

Last summer, Google started supporting an authorship markup. Basically, you can tag your work in a way that shows Google your writings across the web. It also allows Google to pull them together when people search for you.

This step is bit more advanced, but can be well worth the effort. Kristi Hines gives detailed directions on how to implement the authorship feature.

#5: Web Links Both Ways

Another important way to help Google know how to categorize you is to include links between your business website or blog on your profile and brand page.

It seems Google recognizes some features, like authorship, if you include a link to your Google+ profile or brand page on your business website or blog. One way to do that is to use Google’s own badge creator or one like WidgetsPlus that offers more design flexibility.

Google+ gives you lots of options for sharing links to your other websites, your social media profiles and your brand pages.

#6: Engage and be Engaging

Google says one of the top three things to do to appear in results is to post and engage with posts.

One way to measure the engagement of your updates is through a Google+ tool called “Ripples.” This cool pictorial tool gives you an idea of who is sharing your posts and who the key influencers are. The more you share with the influencers, the more engagement your posts should get. If Google is reporting on this engagement, they’re tracking it. If they’re tracking it, you know it’s influencing search.

So be engaging. +1 other people’s posts. And experiment with posts until you find ones that consistently get shared. On Google+, two of the best ways to get shared are:

Share something incredibly practical and helpful to your niche.
Share something really funny.

People on Google+ tend to respond well to both types of posts.

Google is tracking the level of engagement for posts and letting you see it in a tool called "Ripples" which you can access as shown above.

Ripples allows you to see who shares your updates.

#7: Use +1 Buttons

In most Google searches, you can now see an option to “+1″ a result. Google is specifically using these +1 results in search rank. On December 10, 2011, at the Mediapost Search Insider Summit, Google’s Laura Kelley said that +1 and Google+ pages for brands will become a significant ranking factor for Google searches.

#8: Use Pictures and Videos

You’ve probably noticed people click on pictures more than on text links. And many Google searches now include a prominent display for image search. So use images on your Google+ profiles and brand page. And make sure to use keywords in the “alt” field of all pictures on your own website.

Using images can help you rank higher in Google searches with Search, plus Your World. A quick search on "fundraising coach" not only shows my website, but also images of me speaking and images from my blog posts.

Google+ updates are showing up in normal Google searches. This is an added incentive to regularly post and grow engagement with your posts!

Google Search, plus Your World means that people can now see recommendations from their connections right in their Google search results. This is great for your business. People want to see social proof—proof that people like them do whatever it is they’re about to do. Google is offering that.

This makes Google+ more important than ever for your business. Even if you don’t think your customers are yet active on Google+, you need to get on it for the SEO value. By doing some simple steps like consistently post on the same topics and grow your Google+ followers, you help Google drive even more customers to your site.

What do you think? What other ways are you finding that Google+ helps with SEO? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.

Category: authorship, badge, badge creator, circles, google, google profile, Google Search, google+ page, How To, marc pitman, people and pages, ripples, Search Plus Your World, SEO, Social Proof, tag, Traffic, widgetsplus /

Why Major Marketers Are Moving to Google+

March 16, 2012 / Michael Stelzner / No comments

You have likely heard the buzz about Google+ for some time.

Perhaps you’re wondering why so many marketing professionals are focusing heavily on the new social network.

In this article, I sit down with Guy Kawasaki, the original Macintosh evangelist. You’ll discover why 99% of his efforts are now focused on Google+.

Guy reveals his Google+ strategy and talks about his new book, What the Plus! Google+ for the Rest of Us. And it’s very different than his other books. It reveals extensive details about how to benefit from Google+.

Mike: Guy, why should businesses consider Google+? What are the major advantages?

Guy: Businesses should jump on Google+ because it’s the Wild West, so you can stake your claim, as opposed to breaking through the noise on Twitter and Facebook.

Also, Google owns the river called search traffic. It can point this river any way that it wants.

When Google introduced the concept of “social search,” it turned SEO upside down. Now when people search on Google, they see the actions of their friends on Google+. That’s huge.

Here’s an example of social search (note the little avatar of a person’s head indicating a social search result)

It means 1) you want people to circle you so that when they search, they see your posts and 2) you should post about what you want your followers to know you for.

If I were running a business, I would be thinking, “Why wait until I have to buy real estate in Manhattan? I should get in now and grab all of the followers I can before Google+ hits the mainstream.”

Mike: You have been a huge proponent of Twitter for some time, and later Facebook. Where does Google+ fit in for you with the other social networks and why?

Guy: I fell in love with Google+ because of the ability to edit posts, the more elegant user interface and the quality of comments.

Today, 99% of my social media effort is on Google+.

Admittedly, this might not be rational or optimal, but when is love rational or optimal?

In many ways, Google+ was like the second coming of Macintosh for me. It was that profound a discovery for me.

I’ve only written two product-oriented books, 25 years apart: The Macintosh Way and What the Plus! What does that tell you?

Mike: What the Plus! seems very different from your previous books. Can you explain why you wrote the book, who it is for and what makes it unique from the others that are out there?

Guy: I wrote What the Plus! Google+ for the Rest of Us because it pains me that people aren’t “getting” Google+.

I think it’s a better social networking platform than the competition—just like Macintosh was better than other operating systems.

I can’t stand it when people aren’t using the best tool, especially when they’re taking the advice of so-called experts. I fought the same kind of “expert” advice with Macintosh during the 80s.

I kind of enjoy this sort of fight. Actually, I’ve made a career of it. Google+ is my latest “cause.”

Mike: Have you self-published this book?

Guy: I did, working with the folks at Libboo, mostly Halley Suitt Tucker, and an independent consultant named Shawn Welch.

I self-published because I wanted to hit a low price point—”less than a Starbucks grande latte” to be exact—and I wanted total flexibility to do any kind of licensing, sponsoring and whatever-strikes-my-fancy deals.

For example, Samsung is sponsoring 6,000 copies. Can you imagine trying to get that through a traditional publisher? Tim Cook (current Apple CEO) will retire before that will happen.

Also, Google says that it introduces one new feature a day, so I have to be able to revise this book all the time.

Plus, do the math. I make 70% of $2.99 on an ebook, so about $2. I have to sell two copies of What the Plus! to make about the same amount on one copy of Enchantment. I think it’s easier to sell two copies of What the Plus! than one copy of Enchantment. And the time to market from the time I finished the book was less than a week.

Ebook self-publishing is very compelling if—and it’s a big if—the author can also market the book. I can let you know in a few months how this experiment has worked out, but it sure is fun.

Mike: What is your daily routine on Google+?

Guy: At night, I lay in bed with my Samsung Galaxy 7.7 and check several sites: autos.alltop.com, gadgets.alltop.com, NPR.alltop.com, tech.alltop.com and photography.alltop.com.

Guy uses Alltop to help him discover interesting content to share on Google+

They help me find stories to post the next morning.

I’ve created a circle with only me in it.

Using Opera, I share these stories with my circle—this means no one sees it but me.

Then in the morning, I use these shares to post stories to Google+.

I also look at the posts shared by the members of #sciencesunday for stories.

Then I post throughout the day, and use the Gmail notifications of +mentions to respond to people.

I try to respond to every comment that +mentions me. I also spend a fair amount of time “nuking” spam, etc., using the Chrome extension called Nuke Comments.

Nuke Comments helps block spammers from commenting on your Google+ page

Mike: Should businesses focus on their personal profile or company pages when it comes to Google+ and why?

Guy: This is a tough question.

The answer is clearest when the entity is a sole proprietorship or individual brand.

If the entity is likely to live longer than the person, then it should be a company page.

But a good company page should act like a living, breathing person, not some hoity-toity “brand.”

I have found it difficult to maintain more than one presence on Google+. It’s like trying to keep two Macintoshes current, happy and up to date… if you know what I mean.

Mike: Can you share some tips that businesses should consider when setting up a Google+ account?

Guy: Sure.

Tip #1 I just mentioned: Make sure that people feel like they’re interacting with a person, even if your Google+ page represents a company.

Imagine, for example, if when you called your friend on her cell phone, she had a voicemail tree that you had to step through: “For English, press 1. For Spanish, press 2. If this is a call about a date, press 3. If you are canceling a date, press 4.”

Tip #2 is to adopt what I call the NPR model. NPR provides great content 365 days a year. The content is so great that we tolerate the telethons and fundraisers.

The content you share on Google+ should provide value: information, analysis and assistance. Your content should be so great that you earn the right also to promote your product or service every once in a while, like 5% of the time.

For example, if I were running VirginAmerica’s Google+ page, I would be constantly posting pictures of the cities that we serve, food from those cities and celebrations from those cities.

I would link to Real Simple when I ran a story about how to pack properly. I would link to a Lonely Planet article about the ten best outdoor adventures in south Florida. I would link to Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods coverage of food in Texas. Maybe even when Mike Rowe has a “Dirty Job” in New York.

In other words, the content would be all about how to travel, whether for fun or business. Then because people circled our page to keep seeing all the good stuff, we would have earned the right to talk about our new routes and new fares.

If companies just do these two things, they’ll be fine.

Mike: Where can folks get a copy of your book?

Guy: The best place to start is WhatthePlus.com because this is where the special promotions and such will be provided.

But trust me when I tell you that my goal is to make bumping into What the Plus! unavoidable if you’re on Google+ in the next few weeks.

Mike: What’s next for Guy Kawasaki?

Guy: I have no idea. If I sell enough copies of What the Plus!, I’ll dedicate my life to my family and playing hockey. That’s all I really want to do.

What do you think? Have you started focusing on Google+? If so, how has it helped you? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.

Category: alltop, Expert Interviews, google circles, google plus, google profile, google+ company page, guy kawasaki, liboo, Mentions, michael stelzner, npr, Reviews, Search Traffic, what the plus /

3 Ways Google Social Search Should Change Your Marketing

March 12, 2012 / Sarah Lokitis / No comments

Since the introduction of Google+, Google has been redefining how it can provide more relevant search results.

Recently Google introduced Search, Plus Your World, something I’ll call Google social search.

This new enhancement has made it essential to have a Google+ profile and/or Google+ business page.

Why? Google is highlighting Google+ content in search results.

This article will share three tips you need to know to benefit from Google social search.

By the way, if you haven’t already done so, create a Google+ page for your business. Fill out all the sections with images and top focus keywords you want to rank for in search.

Once the page is created, engage with people and other businesses, share great content and post publicly every day.

What Is Google Social Search?

When logged into Google+ and searching on Google, Google social search defaults to Show Personal Results. Google has always shown personalized results based on browsing history and location. Now content that’s been shared with you through the Google+ social network is incorporated into results.

You’ll know that personalized results are appearing when you see the signs below:

The Google personalized results are identified by the highlighted areas.

The box on the top left points to a message that, in this example, says that there are “60 personal results and 5,810,000 other results” that have been found. Some of the 60 personal results will be blended into the first page shown. Personal results are identified by the blue person icon in the left hand margin as shown above.

The box on the top right indicates that personal results are being displayed. You can select the globe or public icon on the right to switch to non-personalized results.

When I search "social media," the personal result count is highlighted as a link.

Clicking on the “170 personal results” link as shown above, switches the results page to only display the personal results.

Google’s aim is to provide hyper-personalized—and therefore more relevant—results to users. Within public search results, weighted social search signals may come into play, corresponding with the growth of the +1 button.

People and pages you have circled are likely to show in Google social search results, so it’s important to build your audience on Google+. Another way to catch the eye of Google users is to appear in Google’s Related People and Pages based on the user’s search query.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Get Circled With Related People and Pages

Promoting your Google+ page is important to grow reach and build a large following. To appear prominently in Google social search, you need to be circled already or market yourself to be circled. One of the best ways to expand the number of users who have circled you is by appearing in Google’s Related People and Pages.

Google says to appear in Related People and Pages, all you need to do is:

fill out your profile,
post about your favorite topics and
appear in search results.

Keywords for Related People and Pages on Google+ are highlighted within the Google+ profiles.

According to Ian Lurie, “Google’s far more likely to show a plus box for broad concepts with low commercial intent versus niche terms with high commercial intent.” You can test this by searching social media versus social media for nonprofits or fashion versus women’s clothing.

In his Google Plus Box Ranking Factors Report, Lurie examines the different Plus Box ranking factors and concludes that reach and follower count are very important. The number of +1s matter, in addition to the frequency of updates. In his study, pages or people who haven’t posted within 72 hours did not appear in the Google Plus Box.

Google will continue to adjust the Google social search algorithm, as well as the Plus Box results. However, “it now matters who has you in their social circles, and who has THEM in their social circles,” states Chris Brogan.

2. Build Authority: It Matters

Due to Google’s emphasis on +1s and reach, it’s important to build your company as an authority in your industry. As with all of your work, focus on gaining the attention of people on Google+ with quality content.

The +1 has a lot of power, so create good content and post regularly to encourage users to +1 your material. Google will see the signal from other Google+ users that you are a quality and relevant business. You may see a boost in your ranking due to your efforts.

Use keywords relevant to your industry and expertise on your Google+ page. The description for your page in the Google Plus Box can be pulled from a number of sources, ranging from page posts to the introduction as shown below.

The phrase "social media" is found within the introduction, tagline, occupation or posts.

3. Note: Secure Search Limits Analytics

While Google is providing this new opportunity for exposure, Google is also limiting something important to businesses.

Google rolled out Secure Search for signed-in Google users in November 2011 in preparation for Google’s social search. Danny Sullivan interviewed Amit Singal, who oversees Google’s ranking algorithms, and learned that Google has been working on the encryption to protect personal results for at least a year. If results for Google social search were not secure, content that was shared on Google+ privately could be revealed publicly within searches.

All Google social search results are hidden behind https:// and no keywords will be linked to your search in any analytics programs. Many users always remain logged into Google, which limits the keyword data found in analytics software. Marketers have seen an increase in the excluded keyword data.

For one company, 12.4% of total organic traffic data was encrypted in November and rose to 16.9% in January when Google social search was released.

The encryption that Secure Search provides means that any private material mixed in with your regular results is protected, seen only by your browser and Google. While a user’s privacy is protected, marketers focused on organic data are losing valuable information. Organic keyword data will be limited, so it may be harder to determine user intent based on search queries.

What do you think? Are your search results more relevant and has your business seen Google+ growth since the advent of Google social search? Please let me know your experience so far and additional tips you would like to share! Leave your questions and comments in the box below.

Category: google, google circles, google follower, google plus, google plus box, google profile, google reach, google related pages, google related people, google search results, google secure search, google social search, Google+ for business, google+ page, Reviews, sarah lokitis, Search Plus Your World, spyw /

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