It’s really just beginning to sink in. I realize now that in order to rank high in Google and SEO, I need to be on Google+.

I was wondering if any of you have had an experience with Google+ either good or bad they can share.

James

@dianebianchi Hi Diane

This is super helpful. From what I understand being on Google+ helps a businesses search engine ranking on Google, and isn’t that what everyone wants?

Thanks for your feedback

James

@jeduchscherer @dianebianchi

It’s interesting: I keep on hearing (and repeating) that G+ is good for your SEO, but I’m not entire clear on why or how.

Is it from frequent posting? From having links to G+ from your website or blog? From having +1′s on your site and getting people to click on them/share your content on G+? Or something else entirely?

@rich-brooks

Your ranking is improved by people +1ing your Page or profile (depending how you promote your business/brand) because you’re then in their circles.  When signed into any Google account (gmail, g+, etc) and you do a search that person or businesses info will show higher in your search results if it’s relevant to your search term. 

There’s also the rel author tag which is combined with your G+ profile which will boost your posts in Google search if someone has you in their circle. 

+1′s on your content from social share buttons also help as well.

If enough people +1 your content or website, it will raise give you a boost without any G+ circle connection (I’ve seen studies that it has to be somewhere around 50 +’s to make any significance).

@dianebianchi

It does, very much so.  Google can index content that is posted within their own network much faster than in any other social networks and they have gone on record stating they do index Google+ posts. 

Google does index comments made on Facebook, however, much more slowly since they don’t have direct access like Bing does.

For anyone – I’d say if you haven’t jumped on board with Google+ already, now is the time to do it.

I like Google Plus for a variety of reasons. I am meeting many people from all over the world using their Google Hangout feature. I am not getting a ton of followers to my business page, but to my personal, I am.. almost 3,000 followers since I started. I like the sharing aspect as well. I know that it is tying into the Google searches with keywords that I use in my postings. I know when I search certain keywords, my search does come up, as long as I am posting daily. I also enjoy some of the technical people. Some of them are awesome and I have gotten to know many. I have done business with some and some have done business with me. I still think there is a room for improvement like the Event section does not want to work for me, Google staff is working on it. They can’t figure it out either why I can’t set up an event. What I like about the event’s if someone is connected to you, they will see that event in their Gmail account. Plus if a friend is just hanging out, I can see that also in my Gmail account. I think they are doing a good job, and what I hear from many people who are more smarter then me, is you need to have a G+ profile. Maybe it only applies to B2B ? Some great networking opportunities because you connect face to face… You know who you can trust and who you can’t.

@jeduchscherer @iamconsulting @dianebianchi @claudiapoeckl @rich-brooks

My experience is that the minute I created my Google+ personal page and business page, my rankings jumped higher. But when checking this out, make sure you turn OFF your own personal results or you will definitely see a huge jump that only YOU can see, lol. It’s tricky that way. So turn off your personal results before you look.

@atlantarobin How do turn off your own personal results?

@prestonodenbrett What is your Google+ page? I am working on mine more and I would love to follow you

@prestonodenbrett, found you I will add you to my personal and business pages

Thanks, @amyhallbiz

Hello everyone,
I just came across this article that has lots of information about how valuable being on Google+ is to small businesses.  Thought it was pertinent to this thread, so I wanted to share it.  Here is the link: http://bit.ly/R2EPsO

@jeduchscherer You’re welcome!

@rebecca-craig You’re not wrong, sometimes it feels like taking a drink from a firehose. This is where media curation comes in handy. I try to curate the most important daily news from around the world of online gambling on my Twitter account to help busy enthusiasts to better absorb only the most critical information.

Hiya James and Folks.

Here are a couple more articles that might help enlighten how G+ effects SEO:

http://www.increaseyourrank.com/leveraging-google-plus-for-seo.html
http://seo-hacker.com/google-affect-seo/
Neither of these are new articles but I had them both bookmarked. I don’t think they are outdated, per se but are pretty old!
Eileen 

@amyhallbiz 

Amy, on my Google search page, I click the head and shoulders guy to show me my personal results and click the world icon to “hide personal results.” Sometimes Google tests different info and icons among various groups, so wasn’t sure if yours looks different than mine. Anyhooooooo…. thought I’d share what mine looks like.

Thanks for the great thread, you guys. Very helpful on many different levels. I’m still perusing all the articles on the value of a Google+ page, lol.

Robin Carlisle

@dianebianchi @supereb @jeduchscherer @rebecca-craig @prestonodenbrett  @lorithueme @elizabeth-jamieson @kaushalam @iamconsulting

Thanks to everyone for their contribution to my enquiry. It’s been fantastic and I’ve really learned alot.

James

Great conversation here on Google Plus. @jeduchscherer @dianebianchi @claudiapoeckl @supereb There are some great links that are shared here and insights. Personally I feel that anything Google related is worth investing time in because Google favors their own products in search results. I am about 3/4 though a book by Chris Brogan which has really turned the lights on for me regarding Google plus. It is called:

Google+ for Business: How Google’s social network changes everything

Some where in chapter one, he says that he doesn’t even spend that much time on Facebook, in fact his account is quite dormant and he spends most of his time on Google plus. Now when Chris Brogan says something I listen, anyone who knows the who’s who on the web, definitely knows Chris Brogan.

Well I am in chapter 8 now, has anyone else read his book here? If thinking of making an real effort on Google Plus and leveraging it for business. I suggest you read this book first.

I’m still learning about it! Wish they would make a vanity url.

@mssilvr Many of the details is quite frustrating about the program. I hope since it’s new they’ll sort it out soon. Especially since it’s an established company. 

They do have vanity URLs they are coming out slowly @jamericanspice.

Google can be very beneficial if properly utilized. If you want to see an example proceed to My Facebook Page on My Social Media Marketing Profile. 

I’m also starting to use Google +.

Here’s my personal page:

https://plus.google.com/101643877647732260306/posts

and one of my business pages

https://plus.google.com/b/115474021358122227940/115474021358122227940/posts