I’ve already done numerous articles on the weight social media has in regards to improving a website’s SEO, but in regards to Google Plus, does using that have more weight than using other social media networks?
My personal belief after doing SEO for a very long time is yes.
Note: Google Plus has actually been shut down. You’re welcome to continue reading this article, but if you want to know how to continue to get SEO benefits on your site without this network’s help, read this updated article which explains what you need to do.
Furthermore, there are 15 very powerful SEO strategies I use to get rankings, so regardless if Google Plus was or wasn’t around, I would still classify those 15 methods as being more important for rankings, so I highly recommend reading (and doing) them.
Although there is no specific evidence to suggest that using Google Plus holds more SEO points when you use it vs other social media networks, I’ve personally seen this to be the case as do people whose opinion on this matter I hold above my own and frankly, it only makes sense if you look at it from the following point of view:
-Google created this social network.
-Clearly, it wanted it to compete with other places like Facebook.
-In an effort to stimulate usage on this social network, why wouldn’t they want to give the people using it extra SEO points?
-In my opinion, from a business standpoint, they should be doing this.
-So if I share an article and get 1,000 likes on Facebook and a 1,000 likes on Google+, I feel the latter will hold more value when it comes to SEO. If I wanted Facebook traffic, I’d obviously focus on doing this on Facebook instead.
-This is simply because I feel that Google itself will value it’s own social network above competitors.
-If more people use this search engine and it’s social network, it will allow more people to potentially use it’s ads and other services.
-One of my main SEO mentors actually advises using this social network specifically. He basically confirms and backs up my points regarding the weight this social network has on search engine rankings.
Here is an article where he lays out the MAIN ways to rank a website as high as possible and you will notice one of his tips is using this social network.
Also regarding this same mentor, there’s people who charge a lot of money for the info he’s giving out in that article, so you’re getting a great, free deal here 🙂
So putting all of this stuff together, these are the arguments I have concluded after doing SEO for years and I would love to hear your take on that below. But in the meantime, let me get into specific things regarding how to use this social network for better rankings (as I have seen it done).
Contents
So if this is true, how do you use Google Plus to get better SEO results?
One of the main goals you want to reach is having a website that is connected to this social network and lots of people within that network liking, sharing and commenting on your content and every new content you put out.
This is actually something I preach regarding ALL social networks but in terms of ranking better, specifically on Google, this in my opinion is the network where you want this to happen more so for the reasons I explained above.
Whether it’s a personal blog, a business page or an eCommerce page, the end goal I just stated should be the same. In fact, my own page will be having it’s own Google Plus business page you can start following for updates. I just haven’t done this yet because the site is still new and I don’t see a point in getting this branch of it done yet, not until the rankings and traffic increase more.
Anyway in terms of specific things you want to do in order to get these results, I suggest you read this article and specifically the green area where I talk about how to leverage social media for higher rankings.
Actually get yourself a personal Google Plus account.
If you run a business, then set it up this way.
Create a social plug on your website that includes a button to this very social network.
Include a box (this is optional, but it would help) anywhere on the side of the website where people can click, reach your G Plus page and become followers of it.
The key is to grow that personal page of followers and you do that through 2 methods…
1st, you create content on your website and 2, you share that content on the social network page. Considering you get people liking your social network page THROUGH your site, this is how it’ll grow.
As it grows, every new article you create should see a steady increase of likes, comments and shares from your followers.
In the process of getting all this positive feedback, you should also simultaneously start to see faster, higher rankings in Google. They will see and give value to your page if through it’s own social network, it (your website) is getting positive responses.
A quick tip for business pages:
In the same article where I talked about social media’s weight on SEO, there was a snippet in there where I talked about business pages. When it comes to THIS particular social network, this is how you want to utilize it for YOUR business:
The great thing about this is it’s free advertising for your business. Setting up an account in this area and getting clients saying positive things about it helps your business rank for free, for search terms which include your business topic keyword in the specific area you’re in.
For example, I have a friend who runs a law firm and he followed this very same technique for his firm. When people type up law firms in HIS area, on Google, his business shows up, because it has a lot of positive reviews.
You simply wouldn’t get that result if you used another social network, but in the process, he gets free exposure and more clients this way.
And if you run a personal blog, no problem, the same likes, comments and shares being given to your content through this same social network will just help the site itself rank better in general, thus you’ll get free traffic.
And by the way, these 2 sites also help improve SEO:
Besides the other social networks you already know about, you should also be using:
Not only do these places count as social networks of their own, but they are owned by the big G itself and considering the argument I made for it’s plus network holds true, why wouldn’t it be the same for these other 2? Use them too.
It’s not mandatory to use every social network, but if your goal is ranking on Google, then it’s better to use the social networks which are owned by it to get the rankings.
Wow, I never knew using G+ could give so much SEO impact compared to FB. Someone once told me if I want to have good rankings in Google, I should go with G+ as my social media pick.
The problem that I’m facing now is I don’t have any friends in G+. From what I read about G+ in your article, it seems I need to have some friends since I need likes and comments so that Google will rank my site faster.
Hmmm, can you teach me how to find good and active friends? And, I didn’t know Pinterest was also owned by G. Gonna check it up later 🙂
Hi Amer, most people who engage in SEO and then add social media to the mix also don’t have any followers in the beginning and that is OK. You don’t need to have a large list of followers to succeed in SEO.
What you can do and this is something I suggest everyone do is let your site attract people to it through organic rankings and then stay in touch with that traffic by inviting them to join your social media channel. This is how you start growing it.
Here’s some ideas on how to get this going. It won’t happen quickly, but this is one of the best ways to reach a point where your name and blog become popular on social media and this applies just as much to Google Plus as it does to any other network.