When Google+ first launched business pages, you weren’t allowed to follow people unless they were following you. You could follow other business pages, but not people. Somewhere along the way, this has changed, and you can now circle or follow anyone and anything on Google+.
When first starting off, this is the best way to build an audience on Google+. It’s not all that different from Twitter in this regard. You follow others, and there’s a good chance they’ll follow back.
The best part is, thanks to Search+, if somebody following you performs a search on Google that is related to your site, there is a good chance Google will list your site on the first page of the search results, all because that person is following your business page on Google+.
Not only that, Google might also list your site high in the SERPs for people who are friends of those following your page, meaning they’re not following your page directly. That’s powerful!
I also highly recommend publishing unique content on your Google+ page and make sure you’re posting to the public! Public posts show up in the Google search results and it would seem Google likes to rank Google+ posts high in the SERPs.
About a minute into the video below Eli Paris explains how he asked two of his friends to input the keyword “Egypt” into Google and had them both take screenshots of the search results page. You may be surprised to learn that they both received different search results. This is because Google is starting to tailor search results to the individual. The million dollar question is how this effects search engine optimization if it effects it at all.
This news comes at no surprise really. I’ve known for a few years now that Google will rank sites higher in your individual search results if you “liked” that site on Stumbleupon.
Most webmasters are obsessed with acquiring more backlinks. Visit any internet forum about SEO or internet marketing and you’ll see countless threads about how to get more backlinks. What most don’t understand is that a proper backlinking strategy begins and ends with your unique selling proposition (USP).
You must ask yourself… “Are you worth recommending?”
Forget about building up backlinks to improve search engine rankings! If you offer something that is worth recommending, you’ll be receiving so much word of mout traffic that you really won’t need to rely on search engines anymore.
“One way is to be the very best at everything you do.
Another is to be obsessive about delivering value – all the time.
And have a story that spreads – often one that is tied to your purpose.
Watch this powerful video presentation at TEDtalk by Simon Sinek called “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”. It’s about the Golden Circle, and finding your WHY…a simple, effective way to get your prospects eager to do business with you.
Once you’ve reached this stage, one other thing matters. You’ve got to give your eager, interested prospects a COMPELLING REASON why they should buy from you, rather than anyone else.
And that means positioning and defining yourself in a unique way that sets you apart from the competition. In other words, you need a USP (Unique Selling Proposition).
Why Should Customers Buy From You?
The vast majority of businesses do not have a good, compelling or unique reason. Understand that this differentiation should confer an advantage from the perspective of the BUYER.
Saying you’ve been in business since 1932 isn’t really a benefit that’s immediately perceived – unless you can translate that into a benefit, as in:
‘Tailors for well dressed gentlemen since 1932. Our skilled designers have always been on top of current trends.’
The message to grab here is that conveying your uniqueness to your prospects involves a degree of EDUCATING them about yourself, your business and what you do to benefit them. Without the information, they will hesitate to make a buying decision. When they see all the facts, they’ll see the reason why what you’re offering is a wise buy.
Rolex Watches And Internet Marketing
Many years ago, I saw a magazine ad for a Rolex. In great detail, the ad explained what went on “beneath the dial” with beautiful pictures showing dozens of interlocking ratchets, with wheels within wheels. Each tiny, perfectly handcrafted element was responsible for a critical function. They all integrated perfectly, worked in synchronicity, coordinated wonderfully.
How did prospective buyers know all that? Because marketers TOLD THEM the story. Explained how their watches worked. Highlighted the benefit from such precision technology so that prospects were convinced that they wanted to own a Rolex, a masterpiece based on such technological excellence.
Schlitz beer ramped up from #5 in the U.S. market to capture the #1 slot after a skilled copywriter named Claude Hopkins decided to tell the story of how exactly they brewed beer. Strangely enough, the story was NOT unique. All beer manufacturers use nearly the identical process.
Hopkins was the first to tell the story. That was unique. No one else was doing it. When Schlitz did, they acquired top-of-mind awareness – and business boomed.
Domino’s Pizza entered a marketplace that was already dominated by Pizza Hut, but differentiated their offering by promising “Hot, Fresh Pizza, delivered at home within 30 minutes – or it’s FREE!” That’s a benefit powerfully denominated in terms that appeal to the buyer, who sees a tangible advantage or benefit from choosing Domino over any…”
If you don’t follow this advice carefully, you could find yourself banned by Google Adwords in no time flat! Tread very carefully if you want to use Adwords now and well into the future.
This is great news! The more PPC options we have the better don’t you think? I still have yet to try PPC advertising on any social networks, but I think I just may after reading this news:
“SEMPO has released its comprehensive ‘State of Search’ report for 2011, and there are many key findings that are of interest to practicing search marketers, search strategists and PPC media buyers, to name a few. Over 900 agencies and companies from 66 countries were interviewed for the 133-page report. SEMPO research chair Marc Englesman of Digital Brand Expressions offered some key insights on the report for MediaPost. Of the findings, it is notable that social networks have become substantial alternative PPC networks, in some cases driving higher PPC participation than the Yahoo / Bing search alliance.
‘The SEMPO Report clearly shows that Facebook has rapidly become a top PPC advertising vehicle,’ said Engelsman. ‘This may be driven in part by companies looking to quickly and easily buy their way into social media presence instead of taking the time to build their digital outposts more organically. This would follow the trend we saw in the early times of SEO when many marketers decided to forego true search engine optimization in favor of paid search as a way to get fast visibility.
‘The reality of Facebook’s PPC ad growth (and to a lesser degree, the growth we are also seeing in use of LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and mobile) means the PPC model has expanded well beyond traditional search engines, and marketers need to understand and budget for the growing opportunities in this arena.’”
Hi, my name is Steve Longoria. Thanks for stopping by my site.
I strive to bring you only the freshest, most relevant marketing content from all across The Internet Tubes!
I also enjoy playing the drums, riding my bike, and pretty much anything wrapped in a warm, cripsy tortilla!
