Does the number of Facebook Likes or Twitter Followers you have directly affect your ranking in Google?

Matt Cutts explains that to the best of his knowledge Google does not currently have any mechanism that uses these signals.  In other words the number of followers you have on Twitter or the number of people that like your Facebook page does not directly correlate to a higher ranking in Google.

Why doesn’t it take this into consideration?

Two reasons are given for this:

1. Social Networks potentially blocking Google from crawling their pages

Google crawls the web in order to provide us all with the best and most relevant sites related to our search queries.  One major social media network blocked Google from crawling its pages for around 6 weeks and it sounds like this may well have annoyed Google just a little bit.
They say that their engineers would be reluctant to build advanced systems to crawl those pages when the social network has previously restricted access and could do so at any point in the future.

2. Keeping a pace with changing circumstances on social media

When Google crawls the web it provides the user with a snapshot in time i.e. if Google visit your site today then it will crawl and understand the information and content on it at that specific moment in time.  What they’re saying is that this is imperfect for social media and the results they are able to return for social sites wouldn’t be perfect.
For example, if someone were to block another person or change their relationship status moments after Google had crawled the site then their search results would no longer be insightful, representative or up to date.

But I see sights with big social media presences ranking really well in Google – surely they’re linked?

This is referred to as correlation not causation.
The reasons people like a Facebook page or link to a website article are the same.
For example if you’ve posted an amazing image on your Facebook page then people may well like your post.  Throw that forward to your blog; same amazing image, same result but with people linking to it and sharing it rather than liking it.
At the heart is amazing content; it’ll have a big social media presence for the same reasons people will link to it, but it won’t rank higher because of those social media likes in isolation.

What do you need to take away?

As if we didn’t already know, content is the key, the king and the rainmaker.  By creating content that people will want to share and link to you’ll be creating buzz around your site and ultimately an upturn in your ranking fortunes.
For more information on how we can help you create great content, increase search engine rankings or punch harder with your social media activity please give us a call on 01566 784860 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk

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Where does it fit in?

This is a big problem. Where does it fit in when people are already happy with their Facebook and / or Twitter accounts?
The answer to that question is not clear and that’s formed one of the barriers to its adoption; if you speak to people they don’t see why they need another social network in their lives.
Their needs are already taken care of and it’ll take a lot of effort from Google to shift that perception. That’s not to say they won’t be able to do that, we actually believe they will but that their success won’t be merely predicated on offering something unique or creating their own niche within a heavily dominated and populated marketplace.
We believe their success as a social network will arise from integration and SEO benefits. Those are the two tricks they have up their sleeves that will drive potential adoption and signup.

Is its approach more real-life?

This really is an interesting one. Are circles a more logical way of replicating real life social groups through a social network?
The video will certainly have you believe that it is and there is certainly some logic to back that up. Are your friends on Facebook really ‘friends’? Has your account been infiltrated by work colleagues and your privacy settings taken a battering whilst you battle to make sure the right people see the right content and more importantly the wrong people don’t see the wrong content!

Is integration is the key?

Website owners have Google Analytics.
Most of us have a Gmail account.
All of us use Google regularly as a search engine.
They will integrate their products into Google+ to stimulate uptake. They’re already doing it and it is working.
If it’s easier to have a Google+ account than not are you going to sign up?
Yes, you probably are!

Do Google have the power to force it through?

Is it naive to think that the biggest force on the internet can’t make a social network a success? One thing we can guarantee you is that they’re not going to give up on it.
Many people will say that it’s been a failure; it’s approaching 1 billion accounts.
If that’s failure it’s success will be spectacular to say the least!
For more information on Google+, social media or how to make more from your online presence why not give us a call on 01566 784860 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk

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If you have a Google + profile it links the content that you publish on your website to you as an individual.  The upshot of this is the headshots you’ll see next to some search results when you are searching in Google.  These have been proven to improve and increase click through rates.

How do you set it up?

You can set up Google Authorship for your website by following Google’s instructions here: https://plus.google.com/authorship

You’ll need your own Google + profile and of course a website that you contribute to!

The slight delay

Google can take a while to recognise that you have set authorship up and for it to appear in search results.  This can be anything from a couple days to a couple weeks.

What you’ll want to do in the meantime is check that you have set it up correctly and that you are just waiting for Google to recognise it in search results rather than just waiting!

Useful tool for checking if Google Authorship is set up correctly

To check that it is all set up correctly please click on this link:

http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets

All you’ll need to do is type your website address and submit!
As easy as that – what you should get is a message on the screen saying that authorship is working correctly, along with a congratulations from Google!

You then need to wait for it to appear in Google!

When will it appear?

Please note that once you’ve set it up it won’t necessarily appear for every single search result your website ranks for.  Google decide when it helps their searchers.

For more information or for help setting up Google Authorship on your website please give us a call on 01566 784860 or email:hello@mihidigital.co.uk

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Google plays such a large part in all of our online lives; the fact that “Google it” is essentially a verb will pay testament to that!

So with that they have the ability to try and make our experience and access of Google + as seamless and easy as possible.

This will be even more so for business and website owners; most websites have Google Analytics and more often than not a Google account to manage this and other Google products such as Google Webmaster Tools.

So we were more than interested to see that if you now visit your Google business page then you’ll see your Google Analytics dashboard nestled there for you to see.

What they are doing is clear and it’s what most of us do with our products – they’re bundling the experience together and essentially cross selling.

We predict that as time goes on Google will continue to use the strength they already have as a search engine to integrate Google + even more.

The upshot; the more they integrate it the harder it will be for you to ignore; or so they hope!

For more information on setting up and mastering Google+ for your business then please give us a call on 01566 784860 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk

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Where does Google + fit in to this mix, or does it fit at all?

When you look at Google + from a social network market positioning it’s clear it has an early problem and that is a crowded and well-established competition.

Facebook is the ultimate social network so if Google + wants to dip its toes in at the social end of the pool it’s going to find itself with the largest shark in the sea as its direct competition.

The magical ingredient for any social network is critical mass.  If your friends aren’t there then the likelihood is that you won’t be either.  This is something Google+ has struggled to achieve, despite what continue to be reasonably impressive growth statistics in user base.

The second barrier they have is vital elements that supports and encourages repeat engagement is usability.  The majority of people with Google + profiles immediately after set up will tell you the platform is not intuitive.

Massive issue! If it isn’t easy then they have alternatives out there that are!

So lets move toward the business end of the social media sphere.  We’ll come in a little further from LinkedIn and take a look at how it sizes up against Twitter.

Again, the big thing that it lacks is engagement.  The speed and breaking down of social barriers Twitter offers can’t be competed against, even by Zuckerberg and Facebook.

So it’s not as social as Facebook and it’s not as instantaneous as Twitter.

Where does it go?

They’ve adopted two avenues.  The first is integration.  Let’s not play this down; Google is by far the largest thing on the internet and when they launch their own social network they will inevitably harness this strength in size.

So what they are doing is trying to link your social life with your search life.  Make it as easy as possible for you to interact and get to Google + from your search screen to your social screen.  Other nuances are also being adopted to encourage this seamless integration.

The second trick up the Google sleeve is the threat of linking search results to Google + in some way.  To a certain extent they already do this; if you are logged in to your Google account then your search results will be augmented by the views of those in your circles and what they have plus +’d.

But think of the impact that this would have if they took it one step further and showed a true link in general organic search with your Google + profile.

What you’ll have is a potentially tidal serge of businesses joining and actively participating, fearful of the ranking and revenue costs that being left out will have.

So what is our conclusion?

Whilst it may seem that there is no natural room for another social media player in the context of Google +, the biggest boys in school always find their place in the playground.

Google will find theirs – make sure you’re not left outside the school gates!

For more information on how we can help your social media and online presence please drop us an email at hello@mihidigital.co.uk or give us a call on 01566 784860.

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The answer to that question will of course depend on the goals of your business, how you measure against those goals and how good those measurements are looking for you.

Ultimately the question is what are you looking to gain and are you gaining it?

Here are five quick things that will help guide you to successful social media activity:

1. Don’t lose sight or focus of what it is you’re doing it for

A common perception of plenty of business, no matter what their size, is that they need to be on social media but they are not quite sure why!

Social media can be used for many different business reasons; to reach people that you otherwise wouldn’t have reached through other marketing channels, to provide customer service, to build year round relationships where purchases are made seasonally (think of tourism) or to give your business a personal voice.

That’s just a few examples but what you should always have is an understanding of what it is your business is looking to gain from the time you spend on social media.

In no other area of business would it be acceptable to spend loads of time without any real understanding of why it is you are doing it; social media is no exception.

Make sure you know the why!

2. Keep a close eye on what you are achieving

Now you know why you are doing it, are you achieving it?

Set ways of measuring whether or not you are delivering what you want to.  For example, if you are looking to increase reach, how many new followers have you gained in the past month?  Examine whether those followers are of value, for example if you want to gain brand exposure in Devon and Cornwall, ten new followers in New York and Miami are going to have less value than five new followers in Devon.

3. Consistently take a look at your goals and objectives – are they being met?

Don’t let things idle along.  Make sure you have a regular timing for your reporting that fits your needs.  Once you have that in place, stick to it.  It can sometimes be tempting to delay if you’ve not been doing so well – avoid that temptation!

4. Don’t separate your online ‘life’ from your offline ‘life’!

Your social media life should compliment what you are doing offline.  Use social media to get yourself meetings, to speak to people on the telephone and to gain new leads.  Make sure it isn’t in isolation from behind the sofa, because nothing good ever came from behind the sofa!

5. Don’t let it become a time drain – allocate your time and keep to it!

Don’t let social media drain your time.  Everybody works differently with how they allocate their time during the day but if you need to, make sure you have time allocated to your social media activity.  Find what works for you, when it’s best to update Facebook or Twitter and once you know what works, stick with it.

Make sure one hour doesn’t blur into two hours and thirty minutes doesn’t blur in to no minutes!

For more information about how we can help you focus your social media activity please give us a call on 01566 784860 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk

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But what does this mean and what does it mean for the social way you exist on the internet?  Google+ has been missing the secret, or not so secret ingredient to a successful social media network; critical mass.

If your friends aren’t on there then why would you be? To a certain extent it is a self-perpetuating cycle; you will continue not to be on there because your friends aren’t on there.  Your friends won’t be on there because you’re not on there.

So how do they break the cycle?  How do they gain the critical mass they need in order to drive people in their droves to Google+?

The answer perhaps lies in integration.  What everybody does almost every day is Google.  It’s become the central axis on which our internet lives revolve.  For businesses, ranking highly is now paramount, for customers things like Google shopping have even further strengthened the stranglehold that Google possesses.

So if Google can make having a Google+ profile a central element to your online life then can they cause the stampede?  If they can make the integration with the social network and the search engine so seamless it would seem anti-productive to go elsewhere then the tide begins to shift.

All of the actions Google are currently taking with Google+ are seeking to make it a central part of the search engine.  The icon on the top of the page when you are logged in to your Google account, the friendlier url structure and the introduction of the integration of Google+ profiles with Google search are all moving it closer to the search engine.

They want you to see it all as one.  One seamless experience.  And the likelihood is it will happen because when you have the power of the world’s largest search engine behind you, things do tend to happen!

And if all else fails? The impact on search engine result positions (SERPs) remains the ultimate trump card!

If you want to know more about how we can help your social media presence then please give us a call on 01566 784860 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk

The post Is using Google+ an inevitability for you? appeared first on MiHiDigital.

• Google Plus has 369 million users worldwide*
• That averages out at 800,000 users joining Google Plus per month and
• 25,800 new users per day and
• 9 new users every single second since launch

Want to know more about how we can help sharpen your Google Plus skills or manage your presence?  Please give us a call or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk 

*User statistic taken from http://www.jeffbullas.com/

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You find yourself searching for any excuse; a quick shuffle toward the food buffet, that imaginary person across the room you just need to catch up with that very second or the emergency lavatory stop.  If there is any way you can get away from the conversation you are finding it.

Take a think about the people that only wants to talk about themselves and translate it into your social media accounts.  What is it you talk about? Is it all about you?  If it is then look back on that social occasion and what you thought about that person.

The point I am making is that social media gives you a great outlet for your content, for what you are doing and the time or what you are working on, but don’t let that be the only thing you are talking about.  People won’t engage with you if all you talk or tweet about is yourself.

If you find someone else’s content and it is interesting then share it, re-tweet it, plus one it or like it.  Comment on other peoples tweets and posts.  If you engage with other people on their own content then they are far more likely to engage with your own.

A general rule of thumb for your content is to have 40% about you, your company and the content you are producing and the other 60% on content topics that are not your own.  This can include interesting information you come across related to your industry or sector.

Don’t let yourself be the person that everyone is shuffling away from at the social media get together.

For more information on how we can help you build and improve your social media presence, including training on all social media platforms, please give us a call or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk

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We just wanted to make sure you knew where to find us…

To give you a little background in case you aren’t as familiar with Google Plus as some of the other social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, Google Plus is Google’s own social network.

Launched to the world in June 2012 it now has more users than Twitter, making it the second largest social network in the world (currently some way behind Facebook with more than one billion active users per month).

The network is continuing to grow (it averages a new user every eight seconds since its launch) and benefits from one major thing that others do not; the clout and support of the world’s largest search engine.  If you have a Google account you’ll find that it integrates with your daily search life; a big advantage given the amount of times the average person will use the search engine over the course of a week or even a day.

What do we share on Google Plus and why should you add us in to your circles?

As with everything we do on social media it’s all about value.  Providing content that you find interesting and of assistance; after all if you’re not interested then there’s no point in us posting it!

We’re also keen to see what content you are posting and what you’re talking about.

If you are unsure about Google Plus or know you should be doing it but simply don’t have the time then please do give us a call and we can chat it through.  We offer three different types of social media support:

Training – to empower you to get the most from social media and to ensure the time you spend gives you the maximum bang for buck.

Management – we take care of your social media activity for you, build your connections and give your brand an online social voice.

Projects and ongoing support – sometimes you might be running an exciting campaign – we’d love to give you some ideas.  Sometimes you might just want to go on holiday and take a break – we’ll make sure everything is in safe hands!

Drop us an email at hello@mihidigital.co.uk or give us a call to discuss how we can support your social media presence and get you started on Google Plus.

If you’re on Google Plus add us to your circles and we’ll add you back!

Speak to you soon!

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