One of the discussions I seem to be repeatedly frequently having has to do with questions old school SEO experts ask me on how to use Google+ to play the SEO Games. Since I am not an SEO expert, and clearly have not interest in being one, I take it since the content I post on Google+ does make it to Google’s first page is why they are coming to me with these questions.
Naturally, their goal is to get their clients on the first page of Google and since Google is narrowing down what type of content gets placed on the first page of the Google Search Engine these hardheads seem to want to go down fighting the fact Google is reeling in the SEO to be under their control..not theirs. The battle cry from Google is…Get on Google+ and you have a better chance of being seen on the Google search engine.
Old Habits Die Hard
Unfortunately, old habits are hard to let go of for many who have clients who feel seeing reports filled with unverifiable statistics justifies the expense associated to their SEO services. Now that the Old hat SEO’rs see all of their methods of manipulating the internet to get their clients on the first page of Google are failing they are scrambling to hold onto their business. This results in them flocking to G+ where they have obviously found Google first looks to Google+ for what is put on the search engine.
To say the game has changed for SEO after the launch of Google+ would be a confirmed understatement. Now that the dust has started to settle around the bomb Google dropped on internet marketing in the form of Google Plus it is now becoming clear what all the new restrictions and policies Google placed in the SEO rules were all about. Not that I would be the first to say it, but Google is forcing businesses who live and die on the first page of Google to now have a presence on Google+. However, what also has become clear is not only do they have to have a presence they also have to be active..or better said..socially interactive with consumers.
Breath of Fresh Air
This really is good news for which I wholeheartedly support. Not to say all the dark-side of SEO has been eliminated but it is safe to say Google has put forth a clear effort to clean up the mess they started many years ago with promoting sites to the first page of Google from the number of keywords the Google Spiders found on their sites. Now, Google is looking within Google+ for quality content that is based on what the consumer is REALLY looking for instead of what the manipulators of their SEO rules are wanting them to see.
What Google started when they placed Google+ in the mix of social networkers was the beginning of the change from the need for social media to the consumer driven Social Search. The consumer finally won the war of battling the unwanted ads and unrelated information coming up in their search. They did this by finding things to use to blocks pop-ups and they finally stopped clicking on stuff being placed in their face. The consumer..which is anyone who uses the internet…action’s sent a clear message to Google telling them they have had enough and it is apparent Google was listening.
What Works for Me
I have found my presences on Google+ to be rewarding from posting original content, interacting with others on everything while sharing other’s content. My presences on Google+ has resulted in my content..and a few of my client’s content..being placed on the first page of Google+. How I did is what people want to know is the secret for which I simply say…
You have to get after it in the social spaces if you expert Google to pay any attention to you.
Most do not take this advice seriously since they would rather spend their time finding ways around spending the needed time to be social. I can confirm it does take time, but there are people..good people..who know how to be social that these businesses can hire to be social for them. That seems to be what they also do not want to do.
Will what I do on Google+ work for everyone? Probably not if they are not on Google+ and espcially not if a business is not interactive on Google+. In tests where I have posting the same content in all social spaces only the content I place in Google+ is posted on Google search engine. In a few cases the information I post on Facebook made it to the Google Search a few weeks later while the Twitter posts are purely hit and miss. So the question I asked myself was..why bother with the other spaces if I got nothing out of it? I think you know the answer I had for this question.
SEO on Google+
What Google now uses to determine what goes to the first page of the Google search engine is still quality content on a product, subject or interest. However, what has changed is this quality content has to be backed up with quality social interaction.
Yes, this means instead of flooding the social streams with post after post showcasing elaborately placed Keywords in hopes the Google spiders pick up the volume of keywords being posted, Google now looks for posts with content that is getting reactions and responses from Real people. There now is some logic behind what Google is doing to determine what goes on the first page of the search engine. This tips the scale of control of what is viewed on the internet towards the consumer and away from the SEO dudes and dudetts who still are out rubbing to sticks together to make a fire.
Is SEO Dead?
The verdict is still out on if Google killed SEO by launching Google+. From what I have seen after being on Google for a few years it certainly has made SEO much easier to understand. The question now becomes, will businesses start to trust the fact that things have changed in internet marketing and that being artificially placed on the first page of Google does not guarantee their phone will ring?
Will SEO Experts settle down and accept the fact that the elaborate campaigns of creating dozen of affilate sites loaded with nothing but blah blah keywords are no longer going to work? Will G+ be seen as a user friendly way of feeding the search engine machine?
All of these questions and many more are being asked and the answer is certainly being answered each time Google makes enhancements to Google+. The smart thing to do if you are in the business of providing SEO to businesses, is to stop fighting Google and dig into Google+. By doing so you will find it is much easier to provide compelling content that attracts social interaction from within G+ than it is outside G+. Of course, if your business has quality issues or has made consumers nauseated by hitting them over the head with Keyword soaked content your efforts might be like putting lipstick on a pig for which the consumers will see through.
It is clear to me Google+ = SEO now and is the heavyweight champion of the battle of what gets placed on the search engine.
Let me know how I can help.
Hi Scot. May you show the example, how Google+ has helped any company to get into first page of Google search results?
Andrew, All of the businesses and companies I currently blog about or work for are now on the first page of Google Search from the G+ activity I create.