The SEO world paid interest this month following new evidence from Moz.com (formally SEOMoz) that Google ranking factors were heavily influenced by Google+ activity. Moz run their scientific correlation study every 2 years to try and determine the core factors that influence Google search rankings. The big talking point this time was that an increased Google+ presence and in particular Google+d URLs were the second most important signal for high Google rankings, in terms of causation. Matt Cutts, Head of Webspam at Google has since responded saying there is no such correlation. I’ll save you the time reading the response – Cutts basically says you need to create ‘more great content’ and that there is no exact correlation.
Why is this so important?
It has been long known that Google favours great quality content and with great links going to it, for its top spots. Wikipedia is probably the best example, as most pages are well written and well referenced by influential sites across the web. As Google keep their search algorithm cards close to their chest there have been countless blogs and articles written about social sites like Facebook and Twitter and whether adding content here and linking out had any correlation with Google rankings. At the time of the last scientific correlation study it was determined that there was no correlation. However since there something has changed.
What has changed then?
Well in simple terms Google+ kind of failed, that’s what changed! Actually that’s a little unfair, it didn’t totally fail, it just failed to get the expected take up with social media users still favouring Facebook and Twitter, amongst others. In response to this, Google have (possibly) decided a change in tactic was required to make the ailing platform more popular – use marketers to promote the platform and reward them with high rankings.
So what does this mean for marketing your website?
It means that Google have potentially dangled a huge great carrot for anyone looking to get their site visibility up in Google. So here are our Google+ tips to really make the most of this opportunity:
Some Simple Tips to Make the Most of Your Google+ Account
1. Make your posts public, as privately posted articles don’t carry the same strength as public ones.
2. Be sure to post out all your new content; videos, articles, blogs etc. But don’t just add and then never return to it. Spend the time to nurture the comments and be sure to comment.
3. Take advantage of the ‘About Page’ by linking out to all of your websites.
4. Include social sharing buttons across your site to make sharing your website content easier for people. Don’t just stop at Google+, be sure to add the other major social media platforms that are relevant to your offering.
5. Make sure to fill out all of your information fields on your Google+ profile, this can encourage Google to suggest your profile to other relevant users.
Please feel free to add your comments below, I’d love to hear from you…
