the small business owner’s guide to google plus by joy hawkins
TRANSCRIPT
The Small Business Owner’s Guide to
Google PlusBy: Joy Hawkins
Jan 21, 2016
What Changed?In November 2015, Google announced a new layout change for Google Plus that highlights communities & collections and changed quite a bit for how local business pages looked.
Before After
The New Focus for G+At a small event after Google I/O in 2015, Google’s Vice President of Products Bradley
Horowitz said its social arm was going through a ‘renaissance in thinking of what Plus is and for’. For Horowitz, Plus should be about connecting people with similar interests together, not a catch-all social service.
Joy’s translation: Google is not trying to be Facebook
Mike Blumenthal’s translation: If you haven’t gotten the message yet it should finally be clear in the release of their new and improved G+: BUSINESS UNWELCOME.
Reviews Help! Where did my reviews go?
The Google reviews for small businesses no longer show up on the G+ page
They did not disappear. They still show up where all your customers would have seen them - Google search & Google Maps
The only way your customers will miss out on seeing these reviews is if they were using G+ and searched for your business on G+Gone
If the answer to that question is no, you should not be concerned about this change. They weren’t reading your reviews there anyway.
Are Your Customers Regular Users of G+?
Facebook = 252 likes, 130 shares, 6 comments
Google Plus = 6 likes, 2 shares, 0 comments
ReviewsMost review buttons on small
business websites are “broken” since they usually linked to G+
Action Item: Update your review links on your website & email signature.
Where can I send customers to leave a review?
1. Send them to Google Maps
2 Options...2. Use a tool to generate a link to send to your customers:
https://www.grade.us/home/labs/google-review-link-generator
https://pleper.com/index.php?do=tools&sdo=google_review_link
Click Share
Click Short URL
ReviewsIf your customers aren’t on G+ and
your page doesn’t generate comments or shares (or ROI) > No
Instead, embed a Google Map on your site to show off your reviews.
Should I bother linking to G+ on my website?
The reviews tab was never for reviews that customers had left your business
The tab was there to show reviews that you had left as your business (business-to-business reviews)
Updated guide on how to leave B2B Reviews is coming soon! Email me to send you a copy: [email protected]
Reviews
What about the reviews tab?
PhotosYour cover photo is not your default photo
Google often does not show logos as the defaultOur Cover Photo
What Google is Actually Showing
VideosGoogle began to separate Google Plus and YouTube back in
August 2015 when they no longer required a G+ profile when uploading, commenting or creating channels on YouTube
YouTube tab is gone
VideosCustomers will see your videos
on YouTube & where they show up on Google search.
This is probably where they were viewing them before unless they were active on G+
Where can customers see my videos?
PostingShort answer = no
It is not one of the Local Search Ranking Factors
“It’s nearly impossible for people to see your Google+ posts unless they search for your business by name. Google doesn’t include a link to your “Plus” page in the local pack. Google doesn’t even call it a “Plus” page anymore. Do you still believe being active on Google+ is a local ranking factor?” - Phil Rozek
Does posting on G+ help my ranking?
Still Think G+ is for Small Businesses?August 1, 2015 - Google disconnects photos from G+
December 10, 2015 - Google removes AdWords Social Extensions
Gone
Business DescriptionNowhere.
Customers won’t see it and it has little-to-no impact on ranking.
Where does my business description show up?
Descriptions used to be on the About tab of a G+ Local page
Google Search
Google Maps
Local Finder
Editorial SummariesIf your business is
popular enough, Google writes a description that shows up on Google Maps & the Local Finder
Info for SEOs
Duplicates
Brand G+ pages don’t impact local ranking in the 3-pack, only Google Maps listings do.
Brand G+ pages are often seen as “duplicates” which are a known negative ranking factor which leaves many people very confused.
There used to be a lot of visual signals that would help us see if a page was connected to Google Maps or not. These all disappeared.
What is the difference between a brand page and a Local/Maps page and how do I tell the difference?
Does the /about page list an address & phone number?
Yes No
It’s a Brand Page (doesn’t matter)
Remove /about from the URL. Is there a verified checkmark?
Yes
It’s Not Connected to Google Maps (doesn’t matter)
This is a verified local listing and impacts ranking.
No
Examples:
Unverified Page (doesn’t matter) https://plus.google.com/116758780243104035537/about
Brand Page (doesn’t matter) https://plus.google.com/+Coca-Cola/about
Verified Local Page (matters)https://plus.google.com/109147422080818123483/about
DuplicatesYou still need the G+ URLs to search for duplicate listings on Google.
http://searchengineland.com/definitive-guide-duplicate-research-local-seo-238719
Brand PagesYes. The instructions are here but at the time of writing this, they are not accurate. Here is what you do:1) Go to the dashboard of location page that you want to connect to a brand page.
2) Select Settings from the menu.
3) Scroll down to the bottom and click "Connect to a different page"
4) Select the brand page.
I have a Brand Page and want to connect it to Google Maps so it ranks in the 3-pack. Is this possible?
This will cause a few things to happen:1) The brand page will get verified
2) Reviews will show up
3) Followers are retained
4) You keep the custom URL
5) The brand page is now flagged as a backup
Future for G+
Where G+ is Headed“Today, we’re starting to introduce a fully redesigned Google+ that puts Communities and Collections front and center. Now focused around interests, the new Google+ is much simpler. And it’s more mobile-friendly—we’ve
rebuilt it across web, Android and iOS so that you’ll have a fast and consistent experience whether you are on a big screen or small one.”
(November 15, 2015)
What Makes a Good Community?Check to see if anyone is talking. If posts generate no comments it’s
likely you won’t get much benefit from the group.
I have found smaller communities to be better quality than larger ones.
Should You Bother with G+?Google+ is a great channel for finding news and meeting other
professionals in your industry.
Google+ is a great way to display your expertise on a topic if there is a Community there that is related to your interests & industry.
Anyone in the marketing industry should be using Google+ I have got several clients from posting on G+
If your customers use Google+, you should use Google+
Further Reading: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/the-future-of-google-what-new-research-reveals/
Connect with Me!
twitter.com/JoyanneHawkins
plus.google.com/+JoyHawkins
1-866-430-0457 x 301