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SincetherecentdeletionoftheGoogleAuthorshipfeaturethatsomanywerereadytojumponboardtouse,therewereaquiteoffewwhohavebeenreadytodropGoogle’ssocialmedianetwork—GooglePlus.
Tosome,withoutthebenefitoftheirprofilepictureshowingupintheSERPs,GooglePlusreallylostalotofitsappeal.ButjustbecausethatparticularfeatureinGooglePluswastossedasidedoesn’tmeanthatspendingtimetopostandgainafollowingthereisawasteoftime—quitetheoppositereally.
BeingonGooglePlusandhavinganoptimizedProfilePagecanbeoneofthebestusesofyourtimewhenitcomestosocialmediaendeavors.
Theshortanswerisyes,itmattersanditmattersquiteabit.
Oftentimes,peopleignoretheirprofilethinkingthatitjusttakestoomuchtimetoenteralltheinformationthatGoogleasksortheythinkthattheirprofileisn’tallthatimportant.Buthavingauniqueandfullprofilehasmorebenefitsthanyoumayhavepreviouslythought.
GooglePlusisverydifferentfromothersocialmediaplatforms.
Peopleconnecttheredifferentlythantheydowhenthey’reonFacebookorTwitter,whiletheapproachtoaprofileandcontentisalittlemorerelaxedthanLinkedIn.Notonlythat,butGooglePlusisgrowingintoahugeandvastnetworkofpeoplewhomaynotbeontheothermorepopularplatformsthatmanyofuspreferwhichmakesitamarketersdream.
However,asmentionedbefore,peopleonthisplatformengagedifferentlyandthusgettingabetterfollowingheremeansdoingthingsalittledifferently.Let’screateanexample:
Sayyou’vejustwrappedupapost(itcanbeonyourownblogoraguestpost)andyouhaveinyourauthorbio,alinktoyourG+ProfilePagewhichyouhaven’tspentanytimesettingup.Afteracertainreaderfinishedupreadingyourpost,theydecidetoclickthatlinktoseeandlearnalittlemoreaboutyou.However,theyaremetwithablue-grey,facelessavatarandthedefaultcoverimage.
Movingonfromyourlackofconcernoveryourinitialfirstimpressionyougivevisitorstothispage,theyclickontheAboutsectionofyourprofileinhopesoflearningmoreaboutyou.Butatthispoint,theyaregreetedwithabsolutelynothingoutsideofafewfacesofothersinyourCircles,abitofinformationthatsaysyou’reaFemale(orMale)andthennothingelse.
Noinformationaboutwhoyouare,whatyourskillsare,whereandwhatyou’vewrittenabout,nolinkstootherprofilestoyourwebsiteorcontactinfo—zilch.
Nowimaginethatreaderwasapotentialclientorsomeoneveryinfluentialwithinyourbusinessnicheandduetoalackofconcernforyourprofile,theycannotreachouttoyouandtheydecidetonotevenconnectwithyouthere…
Uh,whoops.
See,yourprofilepageonGoogleisjustlikeanyothersocialmediaprofileyouhaveoutthere.ButunliketheshortdescriptionsyoucangiveinTwitterandFacebook,yourGooglePlusProfilePagecanactasanonlineportfoliowhereyoucanandshouldstrutyourstuffalittle.
PeoplewithoptimizedpagestendyouhavemorefollowersandagreaterinfluenceonGoogle+thenthosewhodon’t.Takingyourprofileupanotchdoestakealittlebitoftime,butit’swellworththeeffort.
WhoareyoumorelikelytotrustApersoninamaskorapersonwithafriendlysmileYourinitialanswerwouldprobablybethepersonwithafriendlysmile.WhyBecausethat’sjusthowitworks.(Likemysuperscientificanswer)
Onamoreseriousnotethough,weashumansaremorelikelytoreactwelltoaprofilepictureofanotherpersonthanwewouldwithanyothertypeofimagery—especiallyonline.Sincewerarelyhavethechancetomeetthepeoplewefollowontheinternet,beingabletoseetheirfaceviaaprofilepictureishugelyhelpfulinusbuildingtrustinthem.
Inordertobuildtrustandexudeyourprofessionalism,addingyourpicturetoGoogleplusisessential,butit’snottheonlyplaceyouhavetoconsider.
YourProfilepageonG+hastwoareaswhereyoucanaddpictures:Aprofilepictureandacoverphoto.Yourcoverphotoshouldnotbeignoredhereandjustusingoneofthedefaultpictureswon’tdoyoujustice.Thecoverimagegivesyouachancetoputsomethingaboutyouondisplayandshowpeoplealittlemoreaboutwhoyouaremakingiteasiertotrustandconnectwithyou.
TakePatFlynnfromSmartPassiveIncome’sGooglePluspage:
PatFlynn’sGooglePlusPage
Hisprofilepictureisfriendlyandinvitingandhiscoverphotoisthesame.Aquicklylookathiscoverphotoandyourealizethateventhoughhe’shugelysuccessfulatwhathedoes,he’sstillanaverageguywho’sprobablyprettyeasygoing(thatismyinitialimpressionofit,anyway.)HadhesimplyusedadefaultphotofromGoogle,hispagewouldn’thavethesamepersonaltouchtoit.
Spendsometimefindinganicepictureofyourselftouseasyourprofilepictureandthenspendalittlemoreonwhatyouwantyourcoverphototobe.Thesameideaappliestothepagesthatyoucreateoutsideofyourprofilealone.
AddYourTagline,Introduction,andBraggingRightUnderYourStoryArea
Nowthatyou’vemanagedtogetyourpicturesinorder,it’stimetoturnyourattentiontotheAboutsectionofyourprofile.Thisiswhereyou’regoingtospendthemosttime.
Tostartwith,focusinontheStorytab.HereyouhaveyourTagline,andIntroductionandBraggingRights.
ThemostimportantareasyouwanttofocusinonaretheTaglineandIntro.YourTaglineactsasyourpersonalmetadescriptionandwillshowupinGooglewhensomeonesearchesyourname.IfsomeoneelsehasaGoogle+account,thenyourphotowillalsoappearinthesearch.
Herearesomeexamples:
KristiHines’GooglePlusProfilePageinSERPs
ExampleofKevinMuldoon’sGooglePlusProfileinSERPS
Createyourpersonaltaglineandthenmoveontoyourintroduction.
Hereiswhereyoucandigyourfeetinandtelltheworldalittlemoreaboutwhoyouareandwhatyoudo.Itdoesn’thavetobealongdrawn-outstory,butitdoesgiveyouthechancetolinktoblogpostsyou’reproudof,yourownsitesandblogs,andconnectwithothers.
Telltheworldalittleaboutwhatyoudoorwhatyoulovemostintheworld.Heck,befunnyifitsuitsyou—justbeyou…withaslightprofessionalbendtowhatyou’resaying.Showpeoplethatyou’rehumanandeasytoconnectwith.
AddRelevantWorkExperience
OneoftheothersectionsthatshowsupintheSERPSthatistakenfromyourGooglePlusProfilePageisdetailsfromtheWorksection.
ThepartthatshowsupintheSERPsiswhateveryouhaveenlistedintheEmploymentsection.Considerthistheresumepartofyourprofilewhereyoucanlistalltherelevantexperienceyou’vegainedfromyourpastwork.
Hereyouwillbeaskedforthenameofwhereyouworked,yourposition,howlongyouworkedthereandyourjobdescription.TheonlysuggestionIhavehereittoonlyincludetheEmploymenthistorythatisrelevanttoyouronlinebusinessefforts.Rememberthatthisislikearesumesokeepingitprofessionalandappealing.
TheotherareasthatyoushouldaddcontenttoistheOccupationandSkillsareaintheWorksection.Ifyou’recurrentlytheOwnerofabusiness,listthatinyourOccupationorifyou’reafreelancerwithafewthingsthatyoudo,putthatthere.
BuildUpYourLinks
Yourlinksareoneofthemostimportantareasinyourprofile.Thereasonforthisitcanshowpeoplebothyouronlinereach,howtoconnectwithyouinotherSMprofilesandgivesyouachancetopromoteyourselfwithoutoverdoingit.
Asafreelanceblogger,I’vewrittenforquiteafewblogsandrunafewofmyown.Addinglinksbacktomyauthorpageonthoseblogsnotonlygivescurrentandpastclientssomeexposure,butitalsoshowsproofbehindcallingmyselfaFreelanceWriter.
Addasmanycontributorlinksasyoucan,linkouttoothersitesthatyoulike,andaddlinkstoyourothersocialnetworks.
Also,ifyouhaveenoughofafollowing(over10peoplewhohaveyouintheirCircles)thenyoucangetacustomGoogleURL.Thisisagreatthingtoupdateto,butjustbecarefulwhatyouchooseasyourURLsinceyouwon’tbeabletochangeit.
YourContactInformationwillappearintheSERPs
Yourcontactinformationisagreatwaytoletpeopleknowhowtogetintouchwithyou.Thoughthissectionisn’tnecessary,includingatleastoneoptionwherepeoplecanconnectandreachoutcouldn’thurt.
Keepingatidyonlinepersonatakessometimetogetunderwraps,butourreputation’situndoubtedlyimportanttomostifnotallofus.
GooglePlusisn’tanareatobeignoredandwithsomanypeoplejoiningtheplatform,it’sanimportantprofiletospruceupandtopostandpromotethingsonlikeyouwouldanyothersocialmediaavenue.
Takingtimetoupdateyourprofilepagecanincreaseyourfollowing,buildyourtrustandauthorityandstillhasSEOadvantages.Justfigureoutwhatyouwantalltheseareastosayaboutyouandthenoptimizeaway—yeah,baby!
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Takethefirststeptowardsabetterwebsite.
Therearelotsofnonprofitorganizationsacrosstheglobe.Justabouteveryoneofthemneedsawell-designedwebsitetotelltheirstoryandreceivedonationstohelptheircauses.Diviisanexcellentthemefornonprofitssuchascharities.Fortunately,youdon’thavetostartfromscratchfor...
DoesG+stillofferthefeatureofaddinglinksIcantseemtofindit.
Thanks.
RunningtomyGoogle+pagetodosomefillingin.
Thanks,again.
IwillnotactlikeIdidnotfollowyoursuggestions.WhenpeekingatmyG+profile,yestherewereareasthatneededsomefillingin.ThankyoufortheinsightAriel!!!
GreatinfoArielandreallywellexplained.Veryuseful.Thankyou.
Thanksforthepost!MoreinsightintousingG+andwhy.Willdefinitelytakeacloserlookatmyprofile.
Thanksforthepost!
IfIhavetwoGoogleprofiles,apersonaloneandabusinessone,howshouldIsetthoseupinrelationtoeachother
Forexample,shouldIlistthesamelinksforeach,oristhereaneatwaytoassociatemytwoprofileswitheachothersothatthereisnoduplication
Wonderfularticle,thankssomuch!!!GoingtobemakingsomechangesASAP!!-Jenn
ThanksArielforprovidingtheusefulinformationtoimproveGooglePlusProfilePage.