February 15th, 2012
Using Google+ To Capture Your Target Niche
SEO nowadays is more social, just look at Google Places and Yelp listings, they all have user-generated content in the form of comments and recommendations. The world is now more social and having a clear understanding of Social SEO will give you the edge over competitors. Google+ will be a big boost to small and medium business if they know how to use it right.
1.) Register and Set Up a Google+ Page
If you already have a Google+ profile, creating a G+ page for your business is a breeze. It’s better to register your business through Google+ Direct Connect. This will enable customers to reach a local business. Always include the “+” symbol before your business’ name. Register your business with Google+ Direct Connect on the section called Direct Connect on Google’s Developer Page. Everything else is turnkey and allows multiple admins for better page management.
2.) Use Relevant Keyword But Keep it Organic
Google+ is a social network backed by the world’s most- used search engine, so it’s a no-brainer that for people to find your G+ page they would use terms like “pest control service” or “dog grooming services.” So better come up with a set of keywords you’ll use whenever you post and feed content to your Circles. Aside from that, use call-to-action in every post to keep the conversation personal and real. Always remember that people search for your service/product in real-time so you have to engage with them in real-time as well.
3.) Feed Your Circles Relevant and Quality Content
We live in a world of instant which means your customers are always ready to be fed with content through mobile phones. Always update your Google+ feed with the latest promotions and deals that you offer, but just don’t announced it! Get those creative juices flowing and post those deals together with a custom banner, photos, and videos! This will make people notice your content more and entice them to take a look at what you’re selling. Always keep in mind that your content reflects your product, so feed your followers compelling yet interesting posts.
4.) Leverage the +1 Button
Sure the +1 button isn’t as popular as Facebook’s Like button, but the +1 button is a great SEO tool. The +1 button is the linchpin of the Google+ initiative, if you get tons of +1′s your business will be more visible and relevant to search queries. For personal G+ profiles, the more you +1′d articles or images that are relevant to your industry the more you’ll be visible in search as well. It’s possible to increase your click-through rates by leveraging the +1 button as well. So while a successful SEO campaign with Google+ hasn’t emerged yet, the +1 button intends to enhance SEO strategies and make it more social.
July 19th, 2011
User Engagement: Can Google+ Take It to the Next Level?
Google plans to unveil the bigger picture when Google+ integrates with Google Offers and Google Wallet soon. But before that happens, Google+ is already showing a lot of promise, user engagement and content syndication has been increasing. One of its functions, Hangouts, is already being considered as the next big killer application. But how exactly can businesses benefit from Google Hangouts?
While most people view photos on Facebook, and browse for news on their Twitter feeds, Google+ is seemingly combining both features, but only better with Hangouts. Mashable started a particular discussion on Facebook and Google+; the discussion posted was about a study that 34% of iPhone users think they have 4G. The Facebook post had 57 likes and 40 comments; on the other hand, the Google+ post garnered 183 +1′s and 116 comments. Now, imagine if those comments are drawn from actual video chat. Real-time video chat. Wouldn’t that be great?
Those results are surprising, but Google+ has just been launched weeks ago so most early adopters are very active on Google’s latest social platform. It’s not proof that people are about to abandon their current social graphs yet. And Facebook did answer with their Skype integration weeks ago. But hey, Google+ isn’t the new Facebook; it’s supposed to be more “open” and better than Facebook. Google has always been all about business and enhancing how people do business. High-level of user engagement can lead to ROI, when companies speak rather than advertise, people listen and turn into potential customers.
But let’s face it, people nowadays want to watch more than read, while conventional content like blog entries and syndicated articles are SEO fuel, businesses are entering the age of social where videos are deemed “content” as well. User-generated content like videos begets user engagement. Every response to a tweet or post is a simple yet direct means to increase user engagement, but video chat makes it more personal. Even Michael Dell thinks it’s the future of customer service. Why use a telephone if the customer is online? Google Hangouts is the catalyst that could make business capitalize on Google+ and enhance user engagement for them. Wait until Google materialize from its big integration soon and everyone will see the bigger picture.
