When Google launched its own social media network Google+ in 2011, people were curious to see whether it could overtake Facebook as a social media network. Fast forward two years later, Google+ grew to 540 million active users worldwide, but it’s also become an important tool that affects a business’ SEO.
It’s easy for small- and medium-sized businesses to become inundated with the number of social media they’re expected to manage. There’s Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest and Youtube and while Google+ looks like the new kid to the social media ballgame, it has good potential to be an MVP thanks to its value to SEO.
Two recent studies have illustrated a direct connection between the number of +1’s (a feature that’s similar to Facebook’s likes) a website receives. Search Metrics looked at ranking factors in result pages on Google USA and their data collection showed that pages with better page rankings were more likely to have +1’s from Google+. Moz Blog found that +1’s had a high correlation with search rankings, it was only second to a page’s authority on a topic. Other factors that affect a page’s rank includes Facebook engagement, the number of sites that link to your page or website and keyword use.
Google also has a spot, known as Google Authorship, which adds a personal touch to any content. It’s a good way for people to put a face to a name, which is important to building your company’s brand. Once someone reads a search result with an authorship status, when they go back to the search results page, three more links by the same author will appear below the clicked entry. Plus, it can increase your click-through-rate, one company says by 150 per cent, which means more sales leads and potential conversions.
It was also recently announced that Google now supports hashtags in the search engine results page. Hashtags, which were the brainchild of Twitter, were initially rolled out on Google+, but you can now look them up in a Google search and be taken directly to the Google+ post.
Every day people around the globe ask Google one billion questions each day. Great SEO is one of the key factors in attracting more customers online. GrowthEngine Media can help you grow your business with by creating a tailored online marketing strategy. We are your trusted expert and advocate in an ever-changing digital environment and we offer a tailored online ad campaign to help you increase brand awareness and direct qualified leads to your website. Let GrowthEngine Media’s knowledge and expertise speak for itself. Call us today at 416.318.5373 to find out more about our services.
