Driving Web Traffic With Google+

Even if you are getting what you think is an extremely high volume of traffic, you can always use more traffic. The more, the better, in fact! Google+ can make a big difference to how much traffic comes to you.

Google+ is a powerful and effective tool (and always has been) and new enhancements are now available that will help to increase your online traffic even more and you won't have to make too much effort to make that happen. If done correctly, you may be astounded at the results.

Your search capabilities with Google+

Google has come out with an enhanced version of their search tool. Instead of simple search capabilities, Google+ now allows you to customize your search to obtain results that are based on your online profile. Google now gives you Google+ updates and their version of Facebook's "like," which is called "+1s." This allows you to really deepen your search and you will probably uncover some amazing pieces of information. The changes are much more geared toward the individual and his or her needs when it comes to searching. When you search Google+, you can easily obtain a posting from people you know or who knows you. This will be indicated as part of your search results. It is called "social proof" and it will really make your experience of working with Google+ much more rewarding.

Your use of keywords and key phrases

If you have been writing and posting content for a while, you most likely understand the importance of keywords and key phrases. They are critical to your success (at least your successful online content). The whole idea is to attract people and search engines with those keywords and key phrases. Not only is it important to use keywords and key phrases but it is also to choose the most effective ones so that they will have the most impact and really boost your success. If there are keywords and key phrases that you are certain will get people to pay attention as well as earning high rankings with the search engines, you should use them and use them often. Of course, it is also important that you don't overuse them because you may end up having a result that you are not interested in.

Volume is very important

It is very important that your online traffic is of the highest quality; however, it is also important that you obtain as much traffic as possible. If you are communicating effectively, the traffic that is drawn to your online presence will be high quality and high volume. In fact, you can never have too much traffic. You should aim for as large of a Google+ audience as possible. The more traffic you have, the higher your rankings will appear in the search engines. That is, of course, one of the goals that drives you on a regular basis. There are several ways to increase your traffic with Google+:

• Inform people that you have a page on Google+: You can put a badge on your website and ask your online connections to put you in their circles. When you make that request, you should include a link (in both your print and Email communications, if applicable).
• Syndicate your brand page posts through your Google+ profile: You can only follow people who follow you first. If you syndicate your posts through your profile, you will be gaining a lot more exposure. Increased exposure means increased traffic.

Use Google to its fullest potential

The way that Google works is by consistently indexing and categorizing information. Not only does Google have great search capabilities but it can also link people and places to your searches, which is a wonderful feature. You can set up your Google+ page so that it categorizes your page by topic, using the most effective keywords possible.

Highlighting you as the author

You have the capability to tag your content so that it will show up as yours across the Internet. It will also show up when other people are searching for you. This feature may take a little effort to set up but it will yield wonderful results and is definitely worth the time and effort that you will put into it up front.

Make good use of buttons

In your Google searches, you will be able to see a button for "+1." Google will use the results of that search in their rankings. It will be a major factor in how you rank in the search engines and, subsequently, how much traffic is drawn to you.

Use images and make it attractive

Even if the concepts of what you are saying with your words may be fascinating and very compelling, images are still going to catch the attention of your traffic. With that in mind, you need to make everything that you post as appealing as possible. Of course, you don't want to have an unreasonable ratio of graphics to words but peppering graphics throughout your posts can be an extremely effective approach.

Engage as often as possible

If you really want people to come to you, you must communicate consistently and persistently. It is a very bad idea to ignore people when they reach out to you online. People will catch on very fast that you don't regard them as important and drop you very quickly. You should dedicate a specific amount of time each week (or each day if you have such a volume of communications from people) and reach out. Your responses can be brief but you must respond.

Conclusion

Google+ offers you and other people tremendous capability to find extremely valuable information much more easily than ever before. The search feature is very strong and many people are starting to understand and use its other features as well. The connections that you make will be valuable and advantageous to your business. Remember, it is always about relationships when it comes to any involvement with social media. Google+ will enhance your experience and the results that you get will bring even more success in your business.

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Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications. He has over 25 years of experience in IT and web technologies. Mr. Cohn spent a significant amount of time at a major telecommunications company, where his main focus was on initiating and leading synergy efforts across all business units by dramatically improving efficiency, online collaboration, and the company's Intranet capabilities, which accelerated gains in business productivity. He also reduced company travel and travel costs by introducing and implementing various collaboration technologies.

His expertise includes business analysis; project management; management of global cross-matrix teams; systems engineering and analysis, architecture, prototyping and integration; technology evaluation and assessment; systems development; performance evaluation; and management of off-shore development.

Mr. Cohn earned a Master's degree in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a Master's degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.

Mr. Cohn is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).