The Weird Magical Powers of Google+

1. The Weird & Magical Powers
of Google+
Rand Fishkin, Wizard of Moz | @randfish | rand@moz.com

2. This Presentation Is Online Here:
bit.ly/gplusmagic

3. Why Google+?
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,
LinkedIn, and Instagram are all
opportunities, too. What makes
G+ special?

4. #1: Reach
1.85 Billion accounts
(more than Facebook’s 1.32B
active users, though likely lower
than FB’s total users)
The methodology from http://plus.miernicki.com/ counts all accounts, not just active or verified

5. Active User Counts are Smaller (but still huge)
Total
Accounts
Active
Users
Stats via MarketingLand and Business Insider
September 2012:
October 2013:
August 2014:
Monthly Active “In-stream”
(*estimates my own assuming similar percents of total/active/instream ratios)
Users
100mm
540mm
647mm
(*estimated)
400mm
1.10B
1.85B
55mm
(*estimated)
300mm
360mm
(*estimated)

6. Google+ Gets About the Same Number of
Monthly Active Users as Twitter
NOTE: it’s likely the avg Twitter user is more engaged on Twitter than avg G+ users are on G+.

7. For 18-34 Yr Olds in the US, Google+ is just
ahead of Pinterest and just behind Twitter
Please ignore the fact that
Comscore’s chart listed
17.9% higher than 18%

8. Global adoption varies –
e.g. Australia’s per capita
use is ~1/2 the United
States
Stats via Circlecount. Methodology compares relative population size
vs. Google+ profiles from Circlecount’s data

9. #2: Potential Reach
This number represents the
potential Google users that can be
influenced by Google+ when logged
into their Google account

10. This result appears in
position #2 for my
search query with
Mark’s picture next to
it only because I follow
him on Google+

11. Anytime I’m on any Google property, this
notification bell follows me and alerts me
to Google+ activity (even from people I
don’t follow!)

12. #3: Access to Influencers

13. #4: Photo Backups, Functionality, & Sharing

14. #5: Extra Features & Real Estate in Search

15. Circles
Google+ enables a unique kind
of follower/following
relationship

16. Different Groups for Different Interests

17. You Control Which Circles See Your Shares

18. G+ Enables
Connections by
School, Work,
Gmail Contacts &
More (but you
can add anyone
to any circle)

19. Your Shares and +1s
Can Reach Beyond
Your Circles
But only if you
share publicly!

20. G+ in Search
How Google+ influences what
searchers see and where they
see it

21. Google Authorship used to
show photos connected to
the G+ profile of the author.
Now it’s just the author’s
name & a link (here’s how to
set it up)

22. Authorship photos do still
appear when Google
personalizes results from
people you follow on
Google+

23. Google Search also
displays social proof from
your connections who’ve
+1’d or shared content
you see in the search
results

24. Not only do Google+
posts have an amazing
ability to rank for even the
broadest keywords, the
biasing effects can last for
months or years

25. More than a year after Geraldine posted this on G+,
I still see it on page 1 for a related query

26. The more recent the post,
the higher it ranks on G+
in personalized results.
For the last 3 years, the
keyword matching
algorithm has been
extremely broad.

27. For some active brands on G+, there’s a
range of additional features like the “follow”
button and recent posts

28. Less followed, less active, and/or non “approved” still
get some search real estate from their G+ page
(NOTE: Google isn’t transparent about how a page/brand can get
additional features in search)

29. For many local, small
businesses, G+ is a
requirement of getting
listed in Google Maps
(and how Google
defaults to showing
your listing)

30. SEO Benefits of Using Google+
Biases Personalized/Logged-In Search Results
Gives Authorship Link & Citation Credit in SERPs
Enables Knowledge-Graph Style Box for Brand Name
Is Essential to Local Business Listings in Google Maps
Gives Authorship Photo and Link to G+ Post in Personalized
Results

31. Visuals
Leveraging G+’s Unique Photo
and Video Features to
Maximum Effect

32. If You Have Android, G+ Auto-Integrates

33. For iPhone & Windows Phone, the G+ App Does It

34. Google+’s “Auto Awesome” Images is Pretty
Good (though Instagram’s still better in some ways)
G+ will take any
series of similar
shots and mesh
them together to
create fun gifs like
this one:

35. Photo “Stories” in Google+ Are
Fascinating, Too

36. Ease of Photo-Sharing is Definitely a Plus

37. Videos Also Work Well and Have Easy Integration

38. As with Facebook, Sharing Visual Content is Often a
Way to Earn Greater Amplification

39. Hangouts
Skype made it possible.
Google+ made it better and
more shareable.

40. Google Hangouts Are Often Superior to Skype
Don’t worry, you won’t automatically grow a giant beard

41. “Hangouts on Air” Enable Public Video Conferencing,
Recording, & Sharing to YouTube
Hangouts on Air can be simultaneously live-broadcasted and
recorded for later viewing/embedding via YouTube

42. Some Bloggers Use Hangouts on Air
As a Primary Content Channel
From Denise Wakeman’s Hangouts (lots of good stuff in there)

43. Amplification
12 tips to earn greater reach
and attention to your Google+
posts

44. Tip #1: Measure Your Progress
Use a tool
(Circlecount,
pictured here, is
free) to track your
G+ activity and see
what works vs.
doesn’t

45. Tip #2: Be Visual
We’ve seen a strong correlation
between the performance of our
content on social media and the
engagement/quality of the visuals in
the posts. Hence, we now put lots
more energy into making great
images on, for example, our
whiteboard videos

46. Tip #2: Be Visual
If you’re sharing a link, be
sure to optimize which image
is chosen. If there aren’t any
good ones, consider taking a
screenshot and sharing the
image and link together.

47. Tip #3: Share to the
Right People
G+ may default to
private sharing or
may not include all
your circles, so be
sure to add them
You can choose to send emails to
people in your circles – take care
not to abuse this ability

48. Tip #3: Share to the Right People
G+ also enables you to search for and
share to individuals (like Twitter’s
@mention functionality). This will
create a notification in their Google
navigation

49. Tip #4: Use Ripples to Find Potential Amplifiers

50. Tip #4.5: Buzzsumo Helps ID the Right Content
Search, filter, and find the most shared stuff

51. Tip #5: Share G+ Post On Other Networks
Amplifying your G+ shares on other
social networks can help boost reach
and SEO influence

52. Tip #6: Share at the Right Time(s)
Via Followerwonk
(G+ times usually align better w/
Twitter than FB)

53. Tip #7: Reciprocation (+1 and Ye Shall Be +1’d)
Aleyda will get a notification of my +1 and see my
name – that creates a powerful, but often
subconscious nudge for her to return the gesture

54. Tip #8: Join & Leverage Communities

55. Tip #9: Employ Hashtags & Keywords
The “Explore” tab can show
you popular and trending
hashtags

56. Tip #10: Format Your Posts
Easy to scan
means easy to
read, click, and
share

57. Tip #10: Format Your Posts
Simple guide to the basics

58. Tip #11: Create “Direct Notification” Circles
You can invite other Google+ users
to get notifications every time you
publish/post something to
particular circles.
Read Ray Hiltz’s post for more.

59. Tip #12: Consider Google+ Comment Integration

60. Networking
How to reach people in ways
that build lasting relationships
on G+

61. Finding People on G+ Can Be a Challenge

62. “People & Pages” Can Help

63. Google’s Web Search > G+ Search

64. Use (But Don’t Abuse) Notifications
Not as Good:
I don’t know these
folks and this
doesn’t look
relevant to me or
personalized in
any way. Think
they just want
more eyeballs 
Great:
I didn’t know
Justin, but his
question is
straight-forward
and
up my alley.
Happy to help!

65. Resharing & +1’ing is a Great Start
Being an early supporter is
particularly appreciated
(especially when combined w/
a comment!)

66. Cite Others Without Thought of Reward
And when you make
citations/shares, be sure to
use the +name format so they
can see your post

67. Mostly, Apply Bill & Ted’s Righteous Advice

68. Page or Profile
Google+ enables pages (for
brands/websites) and profiles
(for people).
Which is right for you?

69. Google+ Pages

70. Google+ Profiles

71. Profiles Are Best if…
You’re a blogger, writing on your own site
You’re the sole owner/operator of your web-based
business/website
You’re a small business owner that isn’t
focused on rapid, scalable growth
You don’t plan to ever have a team of
marketing professionals managing your social
media accounts

72. Pages Are Best if…
You expect rapid growth of your business and
know you’ll require social media management
at scale
You currently have multiple people working on
your online marketing team
You have a brand that scales (or will scale) far
beyond any individual founder

73. If You Have a Page, You Should Also Leverage
Your Personal Profile

74. The Competition
Is Google+ worth investing
time in over networks like
Twitter, Facebook, and others?

75. A Social Network’s
Size Can’t Be The
Only Factor

76. Where is Your Audience Today?

77. Where is Your Potential, Future Audience?

78. Is Your Competition Non-Existent on G+?
If your competitors aren’t
active, that’s a chance to
lead the market!
Not an indication of a “ghost
town.”

79. Remember G+’s Superpower
Follow + Share = Rankings

80. Google+
may not be right for everyone,
but it’s almost certainly worth
some effort for those who create
& share content online.

81. bit.ly/gplusmagic
Rand Fishkin, Wizard of Moz | @randfish | rand@moz.com