I‘ve been using Google+ since the very beginning. Being an early adopter not only helped in building a large following but promoted my site and brought more traffic than I expected at first.
If you haven’t started using Google Plus yet, I would ask you not to wait another day! I understand that a lot of people say “I don’t need another Facebook” and “I don’t have time for another social network” but there is more to Google Plus than that.
Effect on Google search results
Google Social Search is one of the things that you can use to promote your business for free. By connecting with people on Google Plus, they will start seeing your site ranking much higher than it ranks for people you are not connected to. So simply expanding your network on Google Plus will result in wider reach and better rankings (as far as those people are concerned).
Sure, someone may not be using the social search, but a lot of my friends decided to keep it to get more personalized results, so my sites will definitely benefit from me being connected with them.
Google Plus business pages
Depending on your niche, you may want to keep your business limited to a business page and not necessarily your personal profile. For example, if you have a site about skin conditions, it may not be a topic you want all over your wall.
To put all your business related posts where they belong, start by creating a Google Plus business page.
After you have it set up, consider putting a badge on your site, inviting people to add your page to their circles. Keep your page updated with fresh content and engage in conversations with people.
You only have time for limited networks
If you only have time for one or two networks, Google Plus may just be the one you should focus on. Everyone with a Gmail address has a Google Plus profile (technically, although they may not use it). So even though Facebook has more than 800 million users, Google Plus will probably eventually catch on.
My personal opinion is that Google Plus and Facebook are probably the best networks to start with. Work on building a large following there. Limit yourself to only a few networks, though, otherwise social media may not work for you.
Another reason to use Google Plus for business
The early adopters on Google Plus are people that can probably help you grow your business. Entrepreneurs, bloggers, internet and affiliate marketers, social media experts…
That means your circles will be filled with people
- who know how to use this network (so you can learn from them),
- who use it a lot (so you can connect with them) and
- who are often very helpful (so you can ask them to help you with your business).
Google Plus is a perfect place to start promoting your business to targeted market and at the same time to connect with people you should include in your network.
Are you on Google Plus already? Created a business page?
