Category: Google Plus

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Now You Can Create a Badge for Your Google+ Business Page

Just this past week Google rolled out a badge maker for your Google+ Business page. You can find the creator here: https://developers.google.com/+/plugins/badge/config With the free creator you can make a badge for your Business Google+ page just make sure to insert the correct ID that you can find in your page’s URL.

For example, here is my Google+ Business page address: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/111658254454469926987/#

See this number 111658254454469926987 right in the middle of the URL, that’s the number you grab and put in the badge creator tool in the spot it asks for it. Then you can select your size icon like the one at the top right of our post that is red. You would then insert your code into your website in two places or send the code to your webmaster to install for you.

Now you can let the world know where to connect with you on Google+. For me, connect with my business here:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/111658254454469926987/#

I’ve been taking another careful look at Google+ and I feel that you should too. There is just too much money behind this site to discount it too early in the rollout. Google+ is also testing scheduled updates with one of the tools we love HootSuite. Stay tuned on that topic!

 

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Google+ Requires Another Look

I was an early embracer of the Google+ platform, and then I grew tired of it. Google simply did not move fast enough to engage me in the long run. Issues were that I could not schedule my updates, the people who I wanted to connect with were not on Google+, it seemed like just another attempt to coral my time on a social platform, and there were no tools for businesses.

I have to say that Google+ is winning me back bit by bit. First, just this past week Google+ released the ability for businesses to set up Google+ Business Pages. Then AdWords has allowed the integration of Google+ Business Pages to your AdWords account.

Wow, those are very important new and exciting features. Additionally now on many websites and blogs, you can click the Google+ button and Google allows you to post an immediate post to your Google+ page making social interaction more immediate. These are all very good things! In fact so good that I am taking a much more careful look at Google+ again and how I can use it to connect with others, improve my organic placement, and promote my business.

First, here are a few articles you may also want to review about these new changes on Google+

Connect your Google+ Page to your AdWords campaigns
This article gives a screen shot and information on how to connect your Google AdWords program to your Google+ account for your business. You use the new ad extension called “Social Extensions” and enter the URL of your Google+ Business Page.

Get closer to your customers with Google+
This article gives you the information about how you can promote your business on Google+ and a link to go to set up your own Google+ Business page. It is very simple and is tied to your own personal Google+ account.

What is important to know is that first, by connecting your Business page to your AdWords account, you will be able to benefit from all your Google+ activity and likes both from your ads and your website. You will also be able to review your statistic of engagement in one location.

Google has been very clear that this social activity (clicks on your +1 button) will be factored into their organic search algorithm. It behooves all business owners to keep a very careful eye on what Google is doing with Google+. Just like early embracers of Twitter are reaping organic benefits from Google and Bing’s new SocialRank metric, Google+ activity, although seemingly unimportant right now, may translate into big gains and improved search placement for those businesses that are working the Google system now. We’ll be one of those businesses working the “Google System” for sure! What about you?

 

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Using Freeloaders to Your Advantage

You’ve hit the tipping point on all you do and now your website traffic is continuing to rise, in fact you’ve never had so many visitors to your website before, but your conversions have not grown at the same rate, what can you do?

First, it is great to be successful and have a high traffic site, but if you are not converting your readers into buyers you may want to consider a new strategy to specifically market to the reader-freeloaders on your website. Much of what you will select to do will be based on your specific sales goals.

If you are a local seller and your traffic has grown, but when you look in Google Analytics most of your traffic is outside of your service area, I would enjoy the numbers and know that Google will eventually award you with improved organic placement. However, I would put your out of area readers to work for your benefit by actively asking them to Google +1 your pages or like you on Facebook. You’ll then be able to get SEO juice off of the traffic that will never convert to a sale for you.

If you sell nationally or service locally but also sell products nationally, I would take a careful look at your traffic and the pages where you think you have freeloaders. On those pages you will need to evaluate if you should follow my advice on Google +1 and Facebook or if the pages are good areas for you to advertise the products you sell nationally.

If they are a good fit with product sales, then start by creating your own banners, buttons, and links to your store to promote your own products. If you are going to provide great informational content, you should work to have the readers who like what you say move into your store to buy, Google +1 you, like you on Facebook, or be added to your email subscriber list. Which direction you take or multiple directions will depend on the information specific to your site. The key is to put the traffic to work for you! Don’t just invest your time and money into a well trafficked website, move your readers to action that will benefit your long term approach and goals.

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Google+ Adds Games to Improve User Experience

Google+ has grown at monstrous rates this past month, but new users have also started to finally drop off; leaving Google+ with substantially fewer users than Facebook. In an effort to enhance the user experience Google+ added games to their interface.

Some of the games they have added are popular games of which many are also available in the Google Chrome app store as well. One of the highest profile and most recognized names is Angry Birds. Some of the other games now available to play online at Google+ are:

  • City of Wonder which looks like Facebook’s Gardens of Time (I love this game
    and I never play games.)
  • Angry Birds
  • Monster World
  • Dragons of Atlantis
  • Sudoku Puzzles
  • Zynga Poker
  • Zombie Lane
  • Wild Ones
  • Flood-It
  • Dragon Age Legends
  • Bubble Island
  • Crime City
  • Edgeworld
  • Collapse! Blast
  • Bejewelled Blitz Beta
  • Diamond Dash

In this online world where stickiness (how long visitors stay and interact) really matters to your member growth, online buzz, and ad selling opportunities, adding games is a very smart idea at this point.