Smart Tips to Leverage Google+ for Increased Web Traffic
Facebook and Twitter experts know this and perfected their engagement craft over several years. Engagement with Google+ means a new set tactics and best practices. These are areas that I consistently see otherwise expert brands fall short and miss easy opportunities.
Let’s discuss supercharging our Google+ engagement.
1. Headlines, every time
The more users notice your Google+ posts, the more likely they are to engage. The challenge is to stand out in a sea of thousands of posts.
First things first. Unlike other social platforms, Google+ posts act more like mini blog posts, and every post needs a headline. Not only does adding a header help your post stand out, but Google uses the first words of your post in two different ways:
- They incorporates your headline into the title tag of the post
- The headline is typically what displays in Google search results
Adding the right headline can help your post stand out in search results, and can greatly influence the number of people who both notice and click through to your content.
Use a headline, every time.
2. Formatting for attention
Easily break up your long blocks of text with formatting to make your posts simpler to read and skim. This allows you to communicate more clearly and makes your text more accessible.
In addition to adding bold to your headline, copy and paste the formatting cheats below to help compose a post that stands out from the rest.
G+ Formatting Cheats:
*This is a Bolded Headline*
_ Italic_
*Bold*
-Strikethrough-
Mix and match styles: _*Bolded Italic*_
Numbered List:
*1.* Point One
*2.* Point Two
*3.* Point Three
Bulleted List:
• Point 1
• Point 2
• Point 3
3. Use your words
Google+ is a both a visual and a text medium, so make them both count!
Don’t be afraid of writing longer posts. Instead of simply posting a link to your latest blog posts and hoping for the best, add a summary of your important points. Explain why this is important. Give people additional context as to why they should click and share.
Personal example of Google+ posts where I embraced the long-form:
- Introducing The Web Developer’s SEO Cheat Sheet 2.0 • 308 +1s, 222 Reshares
- 5 Takeaways and Assumptions from Matt Cutt’s Video on Authority vs. Popularity •194 +1s, 94 Reshares
- New Google Title Tag Length Guidelines: 55 Characters • 152 +1s, 180 Reshares
The few minutes it takes to jot down your thoughts could result in multiple reshares and thousands of additional eyeballs on your content.
4. Use your images too
The vast majority of top posts on Google+ use images. In fact, the most popular post I’ve personally ever shared was a simple animated GIF.
For increased shareability, it’s usually best to upload your own photo.
By default, Google+ tries to include an image for any URL that you share. Unless you define the right Open Graph images and the proper social meta tags, the images are often not ideal, or are sized wrong.
When you upload your own image, the image links to the full-size version, not the URL you want to share. In this case, don’t forget to include a link to the URL in the text.
5. Smarter sharing > targeted
Most people set their post to “public,” thinking this gives them maximum exposure. In fact, there is a much more effective way to gain exposure to your top content, as long as you don’t abuse it.
By also adding your circles and select individuals to your share settings, this triggers a notification for those users that you’ve shared a post directly with them.
Used smartly, these notifications can greatly influence the amount of activity on a post.
Warning: When targeted sharing is used too often, it turns spammy. Be careful what you share.
Only choose your very best, most important posts.
Amazingly, Google+ also allows you to notify people in your circles via email when you share. In order for this to work, the individuals must have their email notifications set up correctly. Be extra careful with this function, as it can turn people off fast!
Click here to Get GooglePlus Reshare
