Why Bloggers Should Use Google+
Google+ has been around for a few years now and despite the hype, and the fact that it’s owned by Google and they essentially rule the Internet, people still don’t see the point in using it. Google+ is great for finding new communities and people to interact with, helps with SEO (aka your content showing up in search engines) and can bring more traffic to your blog. Here are a few reasons why bloggers should use Google+ (or anyone with a website/business in general).
Google+ can become a central hub for all your other social networks and websites
Your Google+ profile is often one of the first search results that should/will come up when you Google your name, username or blog name. This is why it’s crucial to have a profile in the first place, but also to make sure you filled it out correctly and are using it. You’re able to add links to your blog, multiple websites, social media profiles and more. So when someone lands on your Google+ page, they most likely will click around and possibly follow your other profiles and sites.
Google Authorship can help raise your authority and increase click-through-rate
Google authorship is a simple process that links your Google+ profile to the content you write. This helps for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it credits you as the author of the content you are producing, which is great for preventing copyright infringement. If implemented correctly, your Google+ profile, name and photo will show up next to your search results. Most people are more likely to click on a search result with a pretty face next to it than no face. Case studies have shown a 20%-38% increase in the click through rate, but this can differ for each person.
Author Rank is another reason to use authorship. The more pieces you are the author of, the higher authority you will become on the specific topics you write about. Ideally, the more people who follow you, the more comments you get and the more people who +1 your content, the more of an authority you will be seen as. Those with high authority are more likely to show up in search results. Think about it- when it comes to something like politics, who would you see as more authoritative; someone who blogs for CNN with 500 G+ connections or someone who runs a fashion blog with 50 G+ connections. If they both wrote a few articles about politics, the CNN blogger would likely rank higher in search than the fashion blogger.
Your content will be indexed by Google faster
Google+ helps Google, the largest search engine, find new content and index it. Many bloggers and webmasters have found that if they share a content piece on Google+, it shows up in search results quicker than if they had not. So when someone is searching for “Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe”, your result will show up in the search results page.
Helpful Google+ links
- Official Google Authorship Page
- How To Claim Authorship on Blogger or WordPress
- Google Plus Tips & Tricks
Do you have a Google+ profile? If so, add me to your circles here!
Great post! Now I need to update my profile. If you get the chance, please share your amazing post on my link-up today.
I push my blog posts out to Google+, but other than that, I haven’t done much with it! I did find out the hard way one time that if you delete your images from Google+…they also disappear from your blog. I almost cried when I saw those little grey circles where my images used to be.
Are you on Blogspot? This might be why that happens, since they are owned by Google.
I sure am! I was shocked, to say the least. Luckily I was able to upload the majority of them again!
Boo- at least you figured it out soon enough. On WordPress you don’t have to worry about that.. just saying 😉
So I hear…I’m workin on that 😉
Thanks for writing this! I knew G+ was important, but wasn’t exactly sure why…haha.
I don’t really LOVE using it, but I know it has many benefits, so I try to!
Do I get points for clicking on this post THROUGH Google+
Obviously. You get +100 cool points
I haven’t been using Google + much but I guess I should! The only thing that annoys me is that I’ve noticed it doesn’t always show the most recent post on the profiles.
Google and Google+ are great for my blog, and I don’t even know how to use it to it’s full capacity!
I really need to step up my Google+ game! Hopefully I’ll get a chance to setup Google authorship soon… it’s been on my to-do list for a looong time.
YES to all of the above! I started Google + right away and I truly believe it has helped with my click-through rate and organic search results – on Google anyway 😉 I always tell people, Google owns Google + and of course the algorithm takes into account ALL social media, but why wouldn’t they put favor to what they own or at least just as much weight as FB or Twitter! I mean, who really knows, but it is definitely worth spending some time on your profile and updating your blog posts there!
I understand that it will help my organic search and is great because Google owns it, but I just can’t seem to get on board with it. It is so hard to use and hurts my eyes…besides helping with search, I am still trying to figure out how it can really help me…most people I have talked to feel the same way. Thanks for the explanation and tips…maybe it’s time for me to get on it!! 🙂
this is a great post! i should spend more time on google +! THanks for sharing!
I don’t put enough time or effort towards Google+ as I should. This is all really good to know!
I have a draft post of this that is going to go live on Friday – I love Google Plus
Very interesting post! I never thought I needed to use it… you are making me reconsider that!
I don’t ever use google+! It has always been one of those things that I didn’t know much about and haven’t taken the time to learn. But now, I will definitely be looking into it! And I will add you on Google+ as soon as I actually use it LOL! Thanks for the awesome info!
But Rachel, I hate google+ uuugggghhhhh
i ALWAYS use google+ to promote my new posts , such a great reminder on a platform that is under used
I dislike it, but WP publishes there automatically and I see it making a difference in how many hits I get from search engines!
I just started blogging and I keep hearing about Google+. I’m familiar with the other social media platforms, but not with Google+. Thanks for the post I’ll look into it and try to figure it out!