Google+

Google+ has more impact than you might think.

Ignition’s Sam Matthew argues that if you’re going to succeed online, Google+ should form a key part of your marketing strategy.

Are you using Google+ to fully benefit you?

Does your brokerage actively using Google+? From research undertaken by Ignition it would appear that less than 25% actively promote themselves via this Social Media channel. Ask a broker why they’re not on Google+ and the two most likely responses will be “I don’t know enough about Google+” or “I didn’t think anyone uses Google+, so why bother?”

It seems like it’s not just brokers who have this negative opinion. Research by Social Media Examiner published on statista.com in May 2015 shows that, when asked which social channel is the single most important to them, very few marketers selected Google+. It’s perhaps not surprising that for Consumer marketing (Business to customer / B2C), Facebook dominated with 65% while LinkedIn was the first choice with 41% for marketers targeting businesses (Business to business / B2B).

Who is using Google+?

Since Google+ was launched in June 2011, the perplexing world of circles, ripples and hangouts just don’t seem to have grabbed the world’s imaginations. But Google+ is actually more popular than you might think. There are approximately 13 million registered accounts on Google+ in the UK – albeit majority are not “active” users. (For comparison – Twitter has approx. 15 million and Facebook has approx. 31 million. Source: http://www.thelasthurdle.co.uk/demographics-of-uk-social-media-users/

But it’s not just Google+’s growing popularity that should encourage your business onto Google+.

Why is Google+ worth the effort?

The real reason why it’s so important to your online marketing is in the way it integrates into Google’s other services like Search, Maps, Ads and YouTube. It’s therefore become vital to have an active Google+ account to increase your brokerage’s chances of being found online.
Here’s just a few of the reasons why it’s so important to your online marketing:
• Increased search recognition
Businesses with active Google+ accounts dominate in search results. This is because Google+ content gets indexed by Google and shows up on in search results. Up until recently, it was the only social media channel to appear (Twitter looks set to appear soon.) Furthermore, this content gets indexed far quicker than if you’d just relied on Google’s periodic crawl of your website; so if it’s time critical, post it on Google+.
Ignition Tip: make sure your posts are linked to your website and include phrases that people are searching for.
• Get found locally
Google+ Local pages are used to drive geographic search results and Google+ Local sites appear towards the top of search listings. These listings are dominated by businesses that have an active Google+ accounts.
Ignition Tip: make sure your Google + local account profiles are completed and kept up to date.
• Positive reviews count
While any positive review of business is good to have, ones left on Google+ can help give Google a vote of confidence in the relevance of your business. Positive reviews can also improve click through rates by encouraging users to click on your listing.
Ignition Tip: Encourage your clients to post reviews.
• Raise your brand perception
When someone searches for your business, Google shows a snap shot of your Google+ activity in the top right corner of its listings. This includes the images you post on Google+; your location on Google maps; contact details and opening times – all information that will help increase trust in your brand.
Ignition Tip: Run a search for your business on Google and see what happens. If you don’t appear or the information is incomplete, you’re missing a trick.

Hopefully you’ll now see that Google+ is more than just another social network. It as a valuable asset in your online marketing that simply can’t be ignored. Used properly, Google+ can help generate more traffic through to your site – don’t you thinks it’s worth putting the effort in to achieve this?

If you’d like support on linking your website to a Google+ account or advice on how to maintain a positive Google+ presence, contact the Ignition team on 0845 313 3500

References:
http://www.statista.com/chart/3509/b2b-marketers-choose-linkedin-over-facebook/