Google+ and You - Why your brand needs to care

A google+ post I wrote here I need to start blogging here. 
Or why should you do the “Google Dance*”? By Daniel +GraffORM 

Google+ expertly explained in images https://plus.google.com/u/0/105103058358743760661/posts/2Rtitgg6uCs by +Gideon Rosenblatt 

Question, How much of your website traffic comes from Google search? 

(That’s before you even think about YouTube or advertising with Google.)

The percentage of your web traffic sent directly to your website from Google is why your business needs to care about @Google+ and those little +1 buttons you are starting to see around the web. 

If you harness these services it will help more eye balls discover your brand and could lead to much, much more. Ignore+Google at your peril. I know there are other search engines, but look at your analytics and tell me if it’s significant in comparison to the numbers? 

Google is already returning much more “personalised” search results for people logged in. Our search results are no longer the same and the adverts we are served up are increasingly just for us. Google is only just starting to join up the dots that make up our life on the web and while we are walking around the real world.

#SoMoLo Social Mobile and Location are all key future areas for Google. 

Google + Social

I read a +Social Media Examiner article http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/6-google-tips-for-businesses I added some limited comments but it also started me thinking about G+ & Google in general.

I think the article is a good overview but for me it missed some vital things. (But I was spoiled by…)

The Ultimate G+ tutorial by +Gabriel Vasile has been invaluable to mehttps://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/106393478695568433143/albums/5674897950683309537 and is my go to G+ reference book.

Images are also great, Google like humans rank them highly. 

The Scrap book images at the top of your and your brands profile are an excellent way to stand out (if you are creative), I had help with my +GraffORM images form +First Presence https://plus.google.com/u/0/105886423031318391387/aboutthanks +dave roberts Have also used GraffORM images he prepared for me in this too.

Google+ Hangouts are going to be fantastic way to engage and also help businesses solve customer’s problems. Last week at #SMWgoogle I also learned (via +Beth Foster I think at the event) that you can share your screen during a hangout, so if a customer has a problem they can show you. You can solve it and as you can easily record Hangouts on YouTube and share http://google-plus.com/3587/google-hangouts-on-air-a-live-broadcast-feature-with-recording-to-youtube-launched-for-some-users to avoid that problem in future.

That’s before you look at cooler cutting edge use of a Hangout like where +will.i.am of the @blackeyedpeas shared a unique moment at a concert with a few lucky people via a hangout and then 60,000 people in New York Black Eyed Peas hanging out on Google+

I know friends of Mine +matty peacock of http://listn.to/KidsUnique 
+ the talented +Izzy Lawrence of www.izzyfied.com will be looking at this alongside the cool stuff @hangoutparty crowd are doing.

Also use Google+ Ripples to connect with influencers great article via wonderful +SEOmozhttp://www.seomoz.org/blog/using-google-plus-ripples-to-connect-with-influencers

G+ is going to knit together Google’s suite of products, which don’t forget include

+Gmail +Google Search +Google Analytics Training & Support (Enterprise software for FREE +YouTube (8 Years of video uploaded every day #SMWgoogle ) Don’t under estimate YouTube read http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/8-ways-to-maximize-your-youtube-marketing-results @Googlecalendar +Google Maps (Location &Search etc) +Google Docs @G++G+ Business Pages Directory (For Social) and +Android (Mobile and so much more).

I have put every brand and person I mention in this post is this Circle that I can share with you. Which is just another G+ trick https://plus.google.com/b/105886423031318391387/102252999925332664248/posts/Rqfp8XDzFbn

I think it is really significant that Google has just announced they were “simplifying their privacy policy”.http://www.google.com/policies/

They are removing barriers to share info between their services (For us, but worth noting this also applies to Google as well! See concerns mentioned in +huffington post last week http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/08/epic-ftc-google-privacy_n_1263844.html). 

Also @Google Places which I follow with interest that I discovered via +Sarah Drinkwater (good luck) which will be another layer over Google maps.

Don’t forget Search…It’s interesting to note that if you do a Google Search via a browser now, Search has segmented your results into the following categories.

Everything, Images, Maps, news, videos, shopping, books, places, blogs, discussions, applications, Patents.

Then you can pick your location to get better results bearing in mind location (obviously on Android they will already know your location, time of day, your friends, your schedule & more…)

Mix in the future of mobile and the fact “Your Next desktop could be your phone” is already/becoming a reality but with+Android and +Ubuntu knitting this all together http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android it could become seamlessly blended within all these products.

A glimpse of the Google future (along with my favourite quote from Le Web in December 2011 thanks +Loic Le Meur ) from Google Chairman +Eric Schmidt (at 30:16) that the "role of government was to make sure that citizens have access to inexpensive fixed and wireless broadband." This was in the context of what Governments can due to spur job growth LeWeb 2011 Eric Schmidt & Loic Le Meur

Other highlights include him mentioning Google being baked into TV’s is just around the corner and also how great Ice Cream Sandwich is! I can’t wait (Wish +OrangeUK would get the +SAMSUNG NEXSUS rather that stick to the Note!) 

2 real world examples of how important Google is to website traffic. (Clients I have advised, that I may do more detailed report on in the future)

www.BuddyGreco.co.uk - Buddy Greco is 85, used to sing with the original Rat Pack, has released 70 albums, over 100 singles, performed at some of the best music venues around the world, Sang “The lady is a Tramp” and also the theme tune to the current show Pan Am on the BBC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Greco). 

Out of 10,000+ hits in a 7 month period 

He has profiles on Social Networks that are irregularly updated. Social traffic includes Twitter 5 people, MySpace 4 & Bing only 4 people. With Facebook better at 81 people and the BBC at only 118. 

So total 212 people from all these sites combined. Wikipedia with 671 sent 3x this on its own!
77% came from Google search with just over 8000 visits. 

This includes a huge spike on January 1st 2012, As on New Year's Eve 2011 Buddy made a guest appearance on Jools Hollands 'Hootenanny' singing Fly Me To The Moon backed by the Jools Holland Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.

From which 1678 people came to the website from Googling “Buddy Greco” and 178 people came via Wikipedia all on one day the 1st January 2012. So just under 20% of his 7 month traffic came in one day via 2 online sources after 1 TV appearance. 
But we only know this as we put Google analytics in the website, without which we would have no chance to measure what works.

The second website www.FanniesRule.com with more traffic (although data over a slightly longer period of time), whose founder +Sarah Berry (Who also helped edit this post x, errors are ALL mine) is very active on her personal Facebook profile and is great at driving traffic to her site with updates/events/image and posting blog posts to Facebook that direct back to her website. As well as using word of mouth, events listings, she is great at getting mentioned in the press and other peoples blogs. 

+Fannies Rule web traffic was 
18% from Facebook with a further 
25% coming directly to the website because of strong brand awareness and marketing. 
31% traffic from Google in a tough market (Fannie Mae and Fannie as a word itself)
26% remaining hits coming from 200+ other referral sites.

If you are still not convinced why you should pay attention to Google+ check out this (Again from the SEO experts+SEOmoz explaining why you should in this great video http://www.seomoz.org/blog/why-every-marketer-now-needs-a-google-strategy

Also Read Googles financial details here http://investor.google.com/financial/tables.html they are growing at a phenomenal rate. 
"Google had a really strong quarter ending a great year. Full year revenue was up 29%, and our quarterly revenue blew past the $10 billion mark for the first time,” said Larry Page, CEO of Google. “I am super excited about the growth of Android, Gmail, and Google+, which now has 90 million users globally – well over double what I announced just three months ago. By building a meaningful relationship with our users through Google+ we will create amazing experiences across our services. I’m very excited about what we can do in 2012 – there are tremendous opportunities to help users and grow our business.”http://investor.google.com/earnings/2011/Q4_google_earnings.html

Please let me know your thoughts below. I would be very grateful for any shares, +1’s or circles that you see as appropriate for my 1st big G+ post. 

Google and Google+ are here to stay, so you may as well have fun guys. 

All the best,


@DanielDoherty


If you know someone new to Social Media I put together this short crash course to help people just starting outhttp://www.grafform.com/explain.html I’d be delighted if you shared. The videos are mainly by the talented @commoncraft and I utilise the crowd sourced wisdom of +Wikipedia too. I want to ensure people understand the key ideas so they save time and don’t get just swept along in the social media frenzy. Always ask what are the benefits and is it going to be beneficial and appropriate for me? 

• I first heard the term “Google Dance” from the talented http://www.linkedin.com/in/rogerjones28 my very unofficial (he doesn’t know) mentor 
• Image used is from here http://www.google.com/policies/

Thanks to +Andrew Scott +Sarah Berry for encouraging me to write posts, +Sukie Kang for whom Google+ was his first Social Network (and he beat me here), so I figured there might be something in it! Also my friend +stuart griffith whose technical mind and project management skills I find a hugely beneficial resource. Along with +matty peacock and all the others who keep introducing me to great people and interesting projects.