8 Reasons Why You Need to Establish Authority on Google+ Google+ Local Bible for SMBs. If you're a small local business, having a Google+ Local profile is imperative to putting your brand – quite literally – on the map.
Google Places was recently replaced with Google+ Local – a merging of Places and Plus that serves up your Google+ Local listing in Search and Maps results on mobile devices and traditional browsers. Whereas Places was a static listing, Local is dynamic and social. A well-optimized Google+ Local page can benefit your digital marketing strategy in the following ways: Outrank your competitors in local search.Build the authority of your brand through +1's and user reviews.Drive traffic to your website.Convert more visitors into leads and clientele.
Quick stats about local mobile use: 50 percent of mobile search is local.61 percent of local searches result in purchases.50 percent of smartphone shoppers use a GPS/mapping app to find a retail location.Only 33 percent of advertisers have a mobile optimized website (Read more mobile statistics for local business). 1. How to Use Google+ Local to Get New Customers. Google+ Local is a powerful tool for small businesses targeting local customers because it combines customer reviews and local search into one platform.
Yet, many small businesses still aren’t sure how to take advantage of Google+ Local. Let's take a look at two key ways small businesses can use Google+ Local right now to get new customers. Use Google+ Local to Increase Local Search Visibility According to Google, 20 percent of all Google searches have local intent and 40 percent of Google mobile searches have local intent. Combined with the fact that 97 percent of consumers search online for local businesses, it's easy to see why it's essential for small businesses to have high local search visibility. The Ultimate Guide for Businesses. Readers Tip: If you have a specific question about Google+ that isn’t answered in this ultimate guide or if you’d just like to keep up to date with some of the latest Google+ and digital marketing developments, we’d recommend adding the author of this guide, +Paul Goldston, to your Google+ circles: UPDATE #3 – Jun 20, 2013 - While most of the strategies and tactics in this article will not really change too much over time, the actual Google+ interface has already been re-imagined three times since the original version of this article was written.
This update works to reflect the most recent interface changes. Furthermore, this particular blog update includes any functionality changes that are relevant to businesses using Google Plus. These include: 3 Google+ Power Users Reveal their Secrets. I recently wrote an article about Google+ vs Facebook and a tribe turned up from Google+ and became rather engaged!
The question that had been posed was whether Google+ was a ghost town. I received an answer. What was revealed was a vibrant city bustling with passion and people that were happy to point out the real value of Google+ The post to date has received 440 comments with some in depth contributions on how Google+ should be used. The Disqus comment system I have installed on this blog almost had a meltdown with over 300 comments arriving in just 1 hour. Google+ Adds Content Recommendations For Mobile Websites. Website owners with a Google+ page will soon be able to add content recommendations to the user experience on their mobile websites.
Google just announced the new feature today, which blends both Google+ activity (such as +1s and shares) and search authorship to determine the best related content to show to users as they browse mobile website content. Authorship. 8 Reasons Why You Need to Establish Authority on Google+ How to Increase Your Google+ Followers. Bloggers and marketers are always aiming to weave magic by placing their brand in front of as many people as possible without having to show up. That is why I like video marketing and blogging because after you have recorded or written it and then uploaded it, your presence whether it is on video or in the written word continues to be read or viewed while you sleep all around this social and intriguing web world.
The online videos educate while you snooze and the blog articles inform while you nap… that is what I call efficiency and leverage! Social Networks such as Facebook and the fast rising Google+ (which is projected to reach 20 million users by this weekend) provide platforms to leverage your content and spread your brand. Syncing Your Google Plus and +Local Pages: Plusses and Minuses. MIHMORANDUM NO. 1577 | September 17th, 2012 I’m not necessarily saying anyone should do this right now, as the implications of syncing / switching over completely to a Google +Local page are still unclear.
But, since I have virtually stopped taking on new clients for my consulting business in order to focus the vast majority of my time on GetListed, I decided to experiment with the new verification process for David Mihm Web Design / Local SEO. So, for those of you still on the fence, perhaps the following before-and-after walkthrough will help you decide whether it’s right for your business to sync yet. Please note, as Mike Blumenthal pointed out in his version of this post: - If you do not have a +Business page then you can’t start this process until you create one.- If you have a +Business Page which doesn’t have a page category of Local, it cannot be upgraded. Homepage - Who to follow on Google Plus? Google+ Suggested Users. Badge - Google+ Platform. Page Badge Tag The Google+ badge allows visitors to engage with your brand directly from the badge itself.
The minimum code required to render a Google+ badge on your website is one JavaScript include and a badge tag. You can also use an HTML5-valid badge tag by setting the class attribute to g-page, and prefixing any badge attributes with data-. Example badge sizes Tag attributes for the pages badge These parameters control settings for each badge.
Direct Connect. Www.jeffbullas.com/2012/06/20/5-google-insights-resources-and-tips-for-business-plus-infographic/ Social networks are evolving before our eyes.
The changes are often subtle and hidden. Facebook is still the defacto social network with over 900 million users. To make money though, it has no other option but to monetize the stream called the Timeline. This puts a lot of clutter onto the screen. Facebook has also admitted that it hasn’t got its mobile strategy and platforms positioned to take advantage of the explosion in mobile from iPads to Androids and the recently announced Microsoft mobile tablet “Surface“.
This gap in their plans was seen more clearly when they paid a premium price of $1 billion for the mobile photo app Instagram to secure a mobile online asset as a beach head. Facebook and Apple have also announced a close integration of Facebook for mobile in Apple’s new mobile operating system iOS6. Local SEO with Google+
It’s not exactly surprising that Google recently made the widely-expected announcement that it plans to convert all existing Google Places pages into Google+ Local pages.
So instead of boring you with further details on this transition, I want to jump into the meat of the issue: how this shift affects local SEO best practices. But first, I want to make a few clarifications since some of the terminology surrounding this change can be confusing. In the past, you had two options for promoting your business through Google: A Google Places page, which was essentially a directory style listing that showcased your basic business information, pictures, and reviews as part of the “Places” listings.
Replay: Google plus Training. PLUS Local Ranking Factors You Need to Know. Shortly after writing about Why Small Businesses Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Google+ Local, which focused on “best practices” that are still highly relevant in light of the new +Local/Places merger, I began to wonder what other helpful Local ranking tips the average local businessman is missing out on. When I say average, I simply mean those who don’t have time to worry about changes in an algorithm because they’re focused (and rightfully so) on their clients. To find these tips, I decided to dive deep into the most recent Local Search Ranking Factors. This annual report is compiled by David Mihm and a handful of the best and brightest Local marketers. It shows what the experts deem to be the most important Local ranking factors, and it also provides comments to support their ideas.
I wanted to emphasize some factors, old and new, that give a great boost to your efforts in Local visibility. Let’s get rolling, shall we? 40+ Tips on How to Become a Social Media Rock Star on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ There are a several kinds of people in social media.
There are the people that enjoy a nice, quiet existence with their family and close friends. There are the bots. There are the people that have a massive following on one network, but you really don’t see them anywhere else. And then there are the people that no matter where you find them, they have (or are currently building) a massive audience. The latter are social media rock stars. Chances are, if you are promoting a blog, building a business, or simply want to share your thoughts with the masses, you want to be a social media rock star. Why I Love Google+ The following article is based on an excerpt from the author's recently published e-book, What the Plus! Google+ for the Rest of US (Version 2.0). The e-book is free to the first 600 MarketingProfs readers who download it by July 12. Yet Another Social Media Platform More than 850,000 people follow me on Twitter, and 171,000 people subscribe to my Facebook account, so I'm not a newbie to social media. Like many people, I need another social media service like I need more email... or my dog to throw up on my carpet.
Figure 1. How To Get Started With Google+ Hangouts On Air. Google has announced today that Hangouts On Air are going worldwide. That means any Google+ user who wants to stream live video to the whole world can do so. Hangouts have always been the killer app for Google+, and this announcement makes them into a truly new broadcast medium.
Here's how to get started. Google's announcement says that the rollout will happen "gradually, over the next few weeks," so if you don't have it yet, be patient. Once you've got Hangouts On Air, here's how to start one. To start a Hangout On Air, click the normal Hangout button on the right sidebar. On the splash screen for Hangouts, there's a new checkbox that says Enable Hangouts On Air. When you click "Okay, got it! " After you agree to the terms, you're in the Hangout, but it isn't recording or broadcasting yet. Once everybody is settled, you click the "Start Broadcast" button in the top right.
Once you click "Okay," the red button starts a 10-second countdown, and then you're live. Section 1: Getting Started. 4 Ways to Boost Your SEO With Google+ If you use Google regularly — and who doesn't? — you've probably noticed that the company has been using various ways to coerce you to join Google+, its incipient social network. The plugs have been pretty overt and include a call-to-action on Google's homepage and automatic G+ registration for new Gmail accounts. For businesses, the sell has been more subtle.
10 Productive Tasks You Should Be Doing On Google+ Right Now. How to Create an Effective Google+ SEO Content Strategy. I’ve recommended from the beginning that businesses should use Google+, but with the launch of Search Plus Your World, the web marketer’s game has changed… Real-Life Examples Of How Google's "Search Plus" Pushes Google+ Over Relevancy. How To Implement Rel=Author. Overshadowed by the Google+ launch was the implementation of the rel=author markup in search results. Once implemented, authors are given a very prominent treatment on search results. It doesn't reorder the results (yet) but it certainly highlights that result and likely drives a much higher click through rate. I was already interested in rel=author, but this was enough to get me off the proverbial couch and try it out myself. Unfortunately the authorship directions provided by Google, while probably comprehensive, are confusing.
11 Ways To Build A Community Around Your Google+ Page. This is a guest post by Jon Cooper of Point Blank SEO. How To Implement Rel=Author. Overshadowed by the Google+ launch was the implementation of the rel=author markup in search results. Once implemented, authors are given a very prominent treatment on search results. It doesn't reorder the results (yet) but it certainly highlights that result and likely drives a much higher click through rate. I was already interested in rel=author, but this was enough to get me off the proverbial couch and try it out myself.
Unfortunately the authorship directions provided by Google, while probably comprehensive, are confusing. How to Hold a Google+ Hangout and Why You Should. SEO for Google+ Profiles and Pages. Link your Google+ page to your site - Google+ Platform. Google+ Pages Can Now Be Managed With Third-Party Apps. Google has launched a pilot program that will let owners of Google+ Pages manage their accounts via third-party apps such as HootSuite, Involver and Buddy Media.
The program will grant six companies early access to the Google+ API for the specific purpose of letting business owners manage their Pages. How Google+ Could One-Up Facebook’s Brand Pages. Guy Kawasaki & Chris Brogan Talk Google Plus For Business @guykawasaki @chris brogan #BWELA. Get closer to your customers with Google+ Five Things Small Businesses Should Know About Google+ SEO Tip: Rank Higher by Linking Your Google Profile.