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the Free CMSWire NewsletterThe time has come to embrace Google+ with open arms and while it takes a bit more effort than merely creating a profile to extend your influence, the payoff can be huge. Today, we look at five of the best techniques to boost your Google+ profile and improve SEO. A few smart moves and you’ll go straight to the top.
1. Quality and Quantity Matter
Fresh content means you go no more than three days without activity on your page, and even that’s pushing it time-wise. People sit at their desks all day, constantly browsing and checking sites, so if you want return visits and more interest, keep those updates coming as much as possible.
That said, putting any old item up could actually detract from your brand. Content should be relevant, visual and interesting, particularly if you want to encourage others to share it, an essential part of the mission. Think of yourself as a publisher; content becomes critical, so linking to good news stories and videos makes you the source.
Google also introduced “author markup” so websites can publicly link within their site from content to author pages. According to their blog, the markup enables search engines to identify works by the same author across the web.
To further optimize the span of your material, make your posts public; respond when you receive comments; tag friends, business associates and others in the post to specifically grab their attention. Being visual also has particular benefits, so bolstering a profile with high-quality, large images draws eyes your way.
2. Be Cliquey
Also key — getting into peoples’ circles. According to a recent article on Mashable.com, pulling people into your own circles helps as there’s really no way to join. It’s the whole idea of following people on Twitter in the hopes they’ll return the favor. Inviting your enemies can be a strategy too, as the article goes onto note, “It also helps if those people are in the same industry, so you should include your rivals (you could even make a “competitors” circle), industry gadflies and, if you have a storefront or rely on local customers, people in your community.”
Publishing good material covering a variety of interests to attract a diverse audience will similarly lure people into your faction.
3. Be Engaging
It’s not enough merely to post content and link to people, you must actively engage with your audience. That means responding to comments on your posts, creating conversations, bringing up issues for discussion, starting "hangouts," and paying attention to who’s most responsive.
If certain people tend to react highly to your enterprise, give them more to feed off. This will help build stronger relationships and encourage them to bring others into the alliance. All tricks from the elementary school playground apply.
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