385-600-5428

Google’s top spam fighter Matt Cutts recently released a video answering the question, “What social signals matter for your business?” Surprisingly, according to Cutts, Google doesn’t currently measure Facebook or Twitter shares or followers in its algorithm. While this could change, it underscores an important point: Google+ is the major social network that the search engine giant uses to extract social signals from.

Since Google launched the social platform in 2011, there’s been significant speculation about its relevancy for business and SEO. From a user perspective, there’s no question that the platform has become a powerhouse among networks. Google+ has grown to over 540 million active users. While it’s no Facebook yet, it’s gaining on the social networking giant with one billion total users. But the question remains: Is an active presence on Google+ important for your business? Here’s a closer look at how Google + can help you achieve your business and visibility goals.

Getting started

Establishing your business’ presence on Google+ is the first step to taking advantage of the network’s reach. The process is simple. Visit Google’s Google+ for business page, and select the “Get Your Page” button

be locally seo google plus

 

 

You’ll be prompted to pick a category that’s right to describe your business.

be locally seo google plus2

 

You’ll then be asked to select the appropriate subcategory that describes your business.

be locally seo google plus3

 

The next screen will request that you provide some basic information.

be locally seo google plus4

 

The information will include:

be locally seo google plus5

 

You’ll then be able to customize your profile, with information such as:

And more. This basic tutorial will get you started enough to take advantage of the benefits that are offered by Google+. On the other hand, if you have a reputable SEO firm working with you, they should be able to prepare your Google+ page with you. The benefits of engaging in Google+ include:

Broadening Your Reach
With over 540 million active users, it’s clear that some of your customers are on Google+. Whether you’re a local business owner who wants to connect with potential customers or an entrepreneur interested in reaching a global audience, an active presence on Google+ can help you broaden your reach.

If you’re at a loss on how to get started, create your page and take a look at the data you’ve already collected for your customers. Your existing email list for your business can be paired with Google+’s email search feature to connect with your existing customers. The next step is creating an active presence. Updating your page regularly is important, with high value content to appeal to your customers. You can also create an experience that’s only available to Google+ users by taking advantage of some of the robust features the platform offers. For example, you can host Q&As on Hangouts or create your own community and connect with other groups.

Building Your Reputation As an Influencer
According to a recent report in Search Engine Journal, over 70% of businesses now have a presence on Google+ Not only does this represent a tremendous opportunity for B2B companies, it also means you can easily connect with influencers in your space to build your business’ reputation. Create a list of individuals and brands in your industry that you admire and start following their updates on Google+. Comment on their posts, get involved with their communities and hangouts, and +1 valuable blog posts and websites that they share. Building connections with influencers can help improve your business’ reputation in your industry, and in turn these individuals will begin to support your efforts.

Search Engine Optimization
It’s increasingly apparent that an active presence on Google+ is an integral part of any strong SEO strategy. Google’s major goal is to improve their user experience by providing the most relevant search results when a particular query is entered. Each time a Google+ user “+1s” something, it sends a message to the search giant that that piece of information is relevant and important to the person. This increases the likelihood that related information will rank higher when that particular user searches for related keywords. On a larger scale, content that receives significant +1 ratings are seen to have been vetted by human beings and marked as valuable. That is likely to affect general, as well as personalized, search results.

From an SEO perspective, Google+ may also be useful for increasing your business website’s page rank. Unlike some of the other major social networks, all links added to Google+ pages are tagged as do-follow. There are two major benefits to linking up here. Not only does adding links to your Google+ page help you increase relevant traffic to your website, it may also help to improve your site’s page rank over time.

If you aren’t already using Google+ for your business, it’s time to take the plunge. Whether your goal is to reach new customers, improve your reputation among others in your industry, or build your SEO strategy, an active presence on Google+ can help. Claim your page and start building your presence today. You won’t regret it!

Have a website for your business? Fantastic—but that’s just the bare bones you need, whether you’re a business owner, freelancer or trying to make a name for yourself as anything from a model to a guru. You’ve probably noticed there are quite a few other websites out there, too. How does yours stack up? Are your potential clients even seeing it? There’s a lot of competition out there, even if you consider yourself in a niche field, and it takes more than a website to stand out.

First, you need to make sure your website is alluring, attractive and easy to navigate. That’s easy, right? Well, unless you have a web designer who stays on top of design best be locally seo websitepractices, responsive design and is committed to updating your site on a regular basis, your online presence is outdated already. However, that’s still just keeping up with the basics. You need to make sure your stunner of a website is getting seen by all the right eyes and that search engine optimization (SEO) and maybe even local search engine optimization (LSEO) is in good hands.

Look at Me!

They say it takes seven seconds to make a first impression (“they” being researchers at NYU), and that’s in person. It takes much less to make a first impression online, and that’s assuming your future clients and customers find you at all. You are the proverbial needle in the haystack when it comes to having your website get some love online, and attention mongering in the virtual world takes skill that only a professional can provide. Let’s start with optimizing that .com, .org or whichever “dot” you own.

Quality matters—a lot—which means the content you provide, from the written text on every single landing page to the photographs used have to be prime. This calls for the skill set of a writer who has a background in SEO. Maybe you or someone on your team has some strong writing chops. They may have even published a few blogs online or a short story. Remember that online content writing with an SEO angle is worlds away from other types of writing, and requires unique knowledge and skill. Forget apples vs. oranges; you’re comparing a decadent lava cake to berries as a dessert here (and everyone knows there’s no comparison).

The Weakest Link

SEO isn’t just about the content. Remember that your website needs to have the right keywords and phrases updated regularly, to ensure that your website is on the first page be locally seo website2of Google search results when your customers-to-be query “collision repair in Salt Lake City,” “custom portrait paintings Florida” or whatever service/product you provide. You also must have the right inbound marketing and links. One “bad” link, whether it reads as spam or it’s simply outdated and no longer works, can push you down the SEO rankings—and if you move from page one to page three in a search, consider your website (and your business) lost in the abyss.

From on-page set-up to integrating social media and a blog with your website, there’s a lot more to succeeding in an online world than just having a website. You need the right website. It needs to be optimized. It needs to be constantly monitored, updated and improved. If you think your business is your baby, you haven’t seen anything yet. Nothing requires more TLC than your online presence, because if you’re not staying on top of things (or letting the pros do it for you), you can be sure your competition is.

Copyright © 2024 All Rights Reserved