Reputation Management
5 Things You Need To Do On Google+ Right Now
By Laura Richelle Scott
W
hether or not you use Google+ in your personal life,
this directory and social network in one is a vital online
marketing tool for business owners and professionals
of all industries. Implementing the following steps is quick and
can take you from a dull online presence to becoming a master in
social media and location-based marketing.
1. Claim Your Google+ Local Listing
Claiming your listing with Google is an easy process that
requires you to prove that you are the owner of the business.
Google will either send a postcard in the mail, a call or a text
message to provide you with a pin number that you will enter
into the designated space in the listing. The claiming process is
instantaneous with the phone verification method and can take
as little as one week with the postcard verification method. To get
the verification process started, just click on “Manage your page”
and follow the instructions.
Why claim your Google+ Local listing? The next step describes
how you can use it to benefit your clients and your own search
engine optimization (SEO) initiatives.
2. Optimize Your Google+ Local Listing
With your newly verified page, you can update your phone
number, address, email address, keywords, website link, social
links, logo, hours of operation and company description. Google
will give more credibility to a listing that is complete, so do not
forego the small details.
• Contact information: Keeping your contact information
up-to-date and accurate is vital to off-site SEO and also
to your customers. This information will give them quick
driving directions and make it easier for them to contact you
when they’re mobile.
• Keywords: The keywords that you list for your business
help Google categorize what type of services you offer
to ultimately help the end user find your listing. By being
thorough and listing all of the necessary keywords for your
firm, it can help you to bring in new clients who found you
by searching those keywords.
• Website and Social Links: Linking your Google+ Local to
your website and social links not only helps your clients to
connect with you online, but it is exponentially beneficial
for off-site SEO and your entire web presence. Adding
these links helps Google determine the relevancy of your
website in the Google search while connecting it with your
social profiles.
3. Create a Google+ Page
From your dashboard you have the option of adding a number of
extra features to your listing, the Google+ Page is one of them. A
Google+ Page can be added in seconds, giving you the advantage
of managing the profile just like a social network.
4. Add a Cover Photo
Google+ Pages are somewhat unique in the world of social
networking for the fact that they leave a huge amount of space
available for a cover photo. To fill this space, upload a professional
picture of your entire staff, your office building, or your logo to
make your page stand out and be memorable. It is worth it to hire
a professional graphic designer for properly sized and designed
cover images for all of your social networking profiles.
5. Post on Your Page
With the addition of the Google+ Page, you now have the ability
to post updates, articles, pictures, videos and more. Keeping your
page active is arguably more important than creating the page in
the first place.
As a professional and an expert in your field, this is where you
can share your thoughts on the latest news and issues in your
industry. Posting interesting content is the best way to attract and
retain new followers.
Continuously updating your posts is beneficial for off-site
SEO as well. Once Google recognizes the amount of activity
on your page, it will give it more authority in the search results.
Consequently, Google will actually feature your recent posts
in the search results when your brand is searched. This means
that people don’t even have to click all of the way into your page
before they can see what type of firm you are.
Laura Richelle Scott is a graduate of the University of
Montana SoBA and the Web content manager for the
online reputation management firm, Search Control. At
Search Control, Laura and the team of Web designers,
Web developers, Web content writers, public relations
gurus and social media managers build a positive online
presence for business owners around the nation and the
world. The team offers online reputation management services in English
and Spanish. Search Control executives have decades of experience in
Web-based business and have the tools to keep your firm relevant online.
To learn more, visit www.SearchControl.com or call 1-800-399-2001.
Vol. 5 No. 10 Attorney at Law Magazine® Greater Phoenix | 21