Author: Nancy McCord

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Ready to Connect on Google+ Here’s How

I consider activity on Google+ important for business owners. The real SEO and search benefits are however not achieved by updating your Google+ Business page, but rather your Google+ personal page.

So, how can you connect with others to start building your Google+ empire and improved rankings for your company website in the organic listings?

  1. Start by making sure the content you write is on target, on topic, and engaging.
  2. I use my Google+ page for business and not personal use. Consider doing the same for now.
  3. Work to actively add users to circles and respond when someone adds you to one of their circles.
  4. Click +1 and leave comments on posts you find interesting. You’ve simply got to spend some time.
  5. Consider starting a hangout. Well I am still thinking about that one, but have participated in several others and they can be fun. I have just not initiated one.

I personally find that for placement Google+ will be very important. As Google does not allow any automated or scheduled updates to be passed to your Google+ page, you will find the community of business people,legitimate, real and engaging.

Personally, I use Facebook for personal interaction on my locked down private page and Google+ as my face on social networks for business.

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Facebook Cleans Up Fake Users and Likes From Accounts

Did you know that September 27th Facebook started to purge its system and your account of fake likes and bogus users?

In fact this is what Facebook Security had posted on its wall:

“These newly improved automated efforts will remove those likes gained by malware, compromised accounts, deceived users, or purchased bulk likes.”

That means if you bought followers – actually I know some business clients who were actually thinking of doing this at one time, when a like actually meant something. So far our Spokesdog Facebook page is still there, but Facebook may clean that up too in the not too distant future.

Facebook states that this clean up effort is to improve things for personal accounts and brands, and it does make sense. With the ability of people who friend you to have access to your wall for their business or spam, it is a good idea for Facebook to clean up its act.

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Confidence Equals Sales

Sure you’ve seen sites like this on the web; ones that have no phone number, no address, and just a contact form, but they want you to buy! Do you? I don’t! Especially if I am comparison shopping. In fact, I’ll pay more to know that I am dealing with a legitimate firm, do you?

In my business, confidence equates sales. It is just simple, if you are not willing to share your phone number, email address, and location address on your own website, you communicate that you will be hard to reach if there is a problem. Not sharing these important items can become a big problem that does really impact sales.

In online sales, it is all about confidence. Are you who you say you are? If I have a problem will I get help? Will I be able to talk to a “real person”? These are the items that all website should have prominently placed to communicate legitimacy and thereby build confidence with potential customers.

  1. Phone Number
  2. Email Address
  3. Location Address – no P.O. Boxes – a real office location!
  4. Hours of Service – for phone contact
  5. Time Zone – for customer planning

Don’t  have these on your website because you think that you may be spammed? Think again! You do not communicate your willingness to trade with potential buyers by hiding your contact information. Take a look at your website and make sure that you aren’t communicating improperly your desire to serve and sell. You may just find that your sales significantly improve when you are confident enough to put your own information on your website.

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Google’s New AuthorRank Part II

Continued from Monday.

In February of this year there was more chatter in my industry about AuthorRank. Here is a great background article to review for a fuller picture.

“AuthorRank could be more disruptive than all of the Panda updates combined. ”  AJ Kohn

It appears that AuthorRank will factor into Google’s algorithm in regards to the importance of links and thus organic placement. The focus seems to be on PageRank, shares, traffic, and link numbers. These cues will all be evaluated and tied to one author. With Google already encouraging that you tie your content to your personal (not business) Google+ page this sure looks like a roll-out and big change in in the near future.

The thrust is that Google is actively and aggressively pursuing a link to content identification. To me this makes perfect sense and is in part just one piece of stopping spam and improving search quality in Google’s results.

There are two excellent articles I recommend that you read for further information on this important topic. The are as follows:

How to Prepare for AuthorRank and Get the Jump on Google

Author Rank

If you are currently not tying your content to your Google+ page I would highly recommend that you do so. If you syndicate content as I do on SiteProNews and Bing Ads Blog Community, make sure your site owners are already working to help you identify yourself as the author of content you share with them.