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Why Google+ is Important

06/27/14 | advertising, Google+, social media

I have mentioned half a dozen times that I work in advertising and it is amazing how often things I do in my full-time job extend to the social media that I do with my blog. One that is becoming more and more prevalent is Google+. It is the fifth most popular social network, according to Alexa’s Global Traffic Rank, but what do you really use it for? Most people do not know.

The Google Plus MysteryI have seen this graphic across the net and when I started blogging two years ago I agreed and avoided Google+ too. It is no secret that no one loves Google more than Google and if you want Google to love you too then the content you produce should be shared on Google+. If that is not reason enough, I don’t know what is. While I do not have statistics on who is on Google+ I have two recommendations of who should be, businesses and bloggers.

So what is Google+? It is a social destination and a layer over Google’s products and services – a social networking platform for discovering and sharing digital content with friends, family and coworkers  .It incorporates many of the same capabilities of  Twitter, Facebook, messaging and photo-sharing apps in a NewsFeed type format.

For small and medium size businesses it is imperative to be on Google+ as it best place to put your company’s details – business address, hours of operation, website, location, and correct contact information. Why? Because when people search for you want the information that appears in the box on the right hand side of the search results to be the most actuate information possible, and heck, it’s free.

For bloggers it is a great way to share your content with those who do not follow your blog with GFC, BlogLovin, RSS, Feedburner, or via email. As a best practice, I do not share every post on Google+ because some of them, well, are just not suited. The posts that I have found work best are recipes, outfit posts, DIYs, and ones about fashion trends. My general rule of thumb – would I put it on Pinterest? If the answer is yes, then I will share it on Google+ as well. Is this a hard and fast rule? No, but 4,038,298 Google+ profile views is not too shabby if I do not say so myself. Profile views are found just next to the nubmer of followers on Google+ and they indicate the number times your content has been seen by other people, including your photos, posts, and profile page. To further my point, it was 3,964,192 views when I started the first draft of this post two weeks ago.

Kelly Donlin Google+

You may have noticed on Facebook pages you are now able to view how many people have seen each post and while this information is not available on Google+ you can see how many people have seen your profile. Who are the four million people who have visited my Google+ page? I have no idea but if you can spend a few minutes a day sharing your posts to bring in that many people – why wouldn’t you? In addition, it is a great way to build relationships. Like Facebook and Twitter you can tag companies and individuals but you can also send the post as a direct message to different pages without having to tag them.

And as one last point, Google+ is a huge component of SEO, search engine optimization, as it increases your visibility and reach by offering great content on Google Plus that people will what to view and share.  And if you do not believe me take a look at this great article from What Mark Zuckerberg learned from Google+.

It is not just me, a bunch of my blog friends are totally onboard: Alyssa of Runway Chef, Lauren of Fizz and Frosting, Niki of Glossy Blonde, Stephanie of The Vintage Modern Wife, Chelsea of Olive & Ivy, and Rachel of Life Unsweetened.  To view their Google+ profiles click on there names here:  Alyssa, Lauren, Niki, Stephanie, Chelsea and Rachel.

‘

It is not just bloggers brands like Sephora, Vogue,  Nike,  Burberry,  Glamour,  Ferrari, and H&M all have over 2 million followers on Google+!  I hope this posts serves as an overview of the channel and lays out at least a few reasons why it is a good use of time – please let me know in the comments if you have any questions and make to follow me on Google+!

Have I convinced you?
Do you believe me that Google+ is important?

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Comments

  1. Happinessatmidlife says

    July 1, 2014 at 12:56 am

    Great post! I have no idea how many page views I receive and was quiet shock at the number since I didn’t think anyone knew my blog existed.

    Alice
    http://www.happinessatmidlife.com

  2. ElleSees.blogspot.com says

    June 30, 2014 at 7:37 am

    i have one and post on it daily, but see no value yet. i do get creepy guys named mohammed who leave me comments. 😉

  3. McKenna Bass Trahan says

    June 29, 2014 at 10:21 pm

    What a great informative post! I’ve been a google+ hater until recently when I started posting my blog on it and got a lot more hits on my site! Thanks for the insight! Xo!
    McKenna
    http://www.stylewaltz.com

  4. Nikki | The Ginger Diaries says

    June 29, 2014 at 2:06 pm

    This post. GENIUS. I used to be a big time G+ hater and felt like Google was doing it’s very best to force it up on us, by slowly taking offline every other source I used for following the blog I love. Facebook actually doesn’t work for my blog. After 2 years, my page only reached around 100 people per update, and had to do with less than 80 likes! I’ve deleted that page, and been toying with the idea to try G+ since I use Blogger as a platform. Your post encouraged me to look into it tonight after my daily blog-reading routine! Thank you. xo

  5. Kallie says

    June 29, 2014 at 12:35 pm

    OMG. I hate this post because I want to hate google+ so bad because it’s something else to learn but then you write this awesome post and makes me think “damn I better use it, now!” haha! Thanks for breaking it all down!!

  6. PinkPanthress says

    June 28, 2014 at 10:52 am

    Thanks to my brother, who’s been an early adopter, and who gave me an invite I’ve been an Google+ user almost since hour 1… but I only really started using it a few weeks later in November 2011. 🙂

    EDIT – I really like using it these days for more than just my blog. In some ways it’s better than FB.

  7. Megan // www.fyeahblog.com says

    June 27, 2014 at 7:47 pm

    Thank you soooo much for this post. I’ve been blogging for 9 months, and I’ve heard of Google+ a couple of times, but I’ve never truly understood its purpose. I finally get it and must start using this resource!

  8. Rubi Mancilla says

    June 27, 2014 at 1:19 pm

    I’ve had a Google+ page since I started my blog but it’s always the one that gets forgotten :/

  9. Lauren {Fizz & Frosting} says

    June 27, 2014 at 12:31 pm

    Thanks for including me! I’m a big fan of Google+ since it helps google index your new posts more quickly and helps search rank!

  10. Chelsea says

    June 27, 2014 at 12:19 pm

    I think google plussing your posts is better for that posts search rank too! Great post 🙂

Hi, I am Kelly and welcome to Sparkles and Shoes, a fashion, travel, and lifestyle blog founded in 2012.  After six years of living in London I am back in New York with my husband and two littles! 

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