7 Ways To Increase Blog Traffic with Google+

Recently I’ve noticed authors’ posts (and their profile picture) attaining first page rankings on Google due to leveraging the power of Google+.

Here are 7 ways to increase blog traffic with Google+

1. Google+ Communities

This is a great traffic tip I’ve used recently that teaches you how to leverage existing audiences within Google+ communities by sending them to your own website or blog.

Example
The Star wars community has over 89,000 members. When you become a member you’re able to share text, photos, links or videos with the other members.

How to find a Google+ community

• Create a Google account if you don’t have one already or login to your existing one
• Fill out your Google Plus profile
• Click the drop down menu at the top left of your Google+ page under “Home”
• Click on “Communities”
• Enter a keyword in the search box to find communities related to your niche
• Look for a community or communities with 1000 members or more
• Once you’ve found a niche community click “join this community.”

How to leverage the traffic from your Google+ community

Use the 80/20 rule when sharing content. This means 80% of the time you should share valuable content before promoting your own products or services.

For example if you’ve written a great blog post or created a powerful video then share it with your community.

If you place a link in the description all the plus ones count towards your link.

Start experimenting with Google+ NOW. It’s a very powerful strategy for leveraging an existing audience to generate more traffic.

2. Google Authorship

Have you noticed many search results display an image beside the content. This is known as Google Authorship. Your profile image captures the attention of visitors seeking information for the keyword they Googled. This gets them to explore YOUR content over other content that’s listed on the same page which don’t contain images.

Here’s how to link your Google+ profile to the content you created:

You can link content you publish on a specific domain (ie www.domain.com) to your Google+ profile.

• Sign up for Google+ and create a Google+ profile.
• Upload a high quality headshot
• Make sure the byline containing your name appears on each page of your content (for example, “By John Smith”).
• Make sure your byline name matches the name on your Google+ profile.
• Verify you have an email address (such as johnsmith@domain.com) on the same domain as your content.

For more information on Google Authorship visit:

Google Authorship
How to Get Visitors To Discover Your Great Content In Google
How To Use Rel Author for Higher More Visible Search Engine Rankings

3. Connect your Google+ page to your blog

Connecting your Google+ page to your website or blog helps you get more followers. If your badge is prominently displayed it will cause visitors to click on it.

View the example Google+ Badge displayed on
Web Marketing Strategies About Page

How to add a Google+ Badge to your website

4. Get readers to Plus One your content

Encourage readers to +1 your content by including social sharing buttons at the top of your posts. The easiest way to do this on a WordPress Site is to install the shareholic plugin

What are the benefits?

The number of +1′s a page gets helps it to show up in search results, even when the searcher is not logged into Google+. When you see a search result where the author belongs to 1000s of Google+ circles you’re more inclined to click on those results because of the social proof.

5. Completely fill out your Google+ Profile

Google prioritizes different areas of your profile for both on-page optimization and in search results. For example the first 55 characters of your Introduction are important for search results within Google+ because it’s what appears first in the search engines.

6. Google Hangouts

Hangouts give your business a great opportunity to engage in a highly personal way with potential customers. For example you can have webinars or meetings with people in your niche by holding a group video chat even if they live in a remote location.

Ultimate Guide to Google Hangouts
How to Hold a Google+ Hangout and Why You Should

7. Use Google+ for Networking Opportunities

One of the key features of Google Plus is “Circles”. It’s a highly effective way to categorize your contacts for different interests and network with them. For example one of my interests is customizing Genesis Child Themes for web design clients. By interacting with others who share the same interests I improve my web designing abilities.

Want to know how to use Google+ for your business?

Download the Amazon Kindle Ebook by clicking the image on the right or visit:
Google+ for Business: How Google’s Social Network Changes Everything
(2nd Edition) (Que Biz-Tech)