Google+ has been in the news since its launch, and specially with the rate at which it has grown. It had 10 million users within a few days, and even on an invite-only basis, it collected 25 million users, and the number of users shot up to 50 million in a couple of days of the network going public.
Brands and businesses were waiting for Google+ to open its doors to them, and Google+ did that in the first week of November, when it launched business pages. Like Facebook and Twitter, brands and businesses can now use Google+ to connect with their followers and build on their brand. For SEO experts too, it is a great opportunity, as SEO is all about social now.
Optimizing Google+ Profile/Pages For SEO:
So, for SEO purposes, you need to optimize both your personal profile as well as your brand page.
Lets begin with optimizing your Google+ personal profile:
Remember that your profile details section is a very important part of your optimization efforts.
Title: Your name on your Google+ profile is your SEO Title, and always use your real name. Do not use your brand/service/company name as Google+ does not allow that. You can use these names for the business page.
Meta Description: When you put in your name, there is a one liner space, sort of a headline column that you have to describe yourself in, that is your meta description. This one line about your self along with your profession and work place is your complete meta description. You have to write the best one line about yourself- work and employer within 160 characters. Keep your profile details open to all, so that people not in your Circles can also read it.
Links: Do not go overboard with links, as there are dofollow links allowed on your profile. Like on the right of the profile you can link to all your other profiles on networks like Linkedin, Facebook etc. Even while writing your introduction, you can add links to your work description. Use your keywords wisely, but again be reasonable while linking.
Now, about the SEO tweaks you can make in your Google+ Business Page:
Since Google+ Page is created through your profile only, they are really quite similar to your profile.
Title: Your brand name is your SEO title.
Meta Description: Business Pages do not have any occupation or employer column (obviously!) so your meta description is reduced to your page's title, the one line description (headline) followed by the introduction text.
Ever since the Google+ Pages began showing up in search results, you must make a hurried effort to get all your keyword rich descriptions in place. Google+ will have a huge impact on SEO, and you must be ready to make the most of the platform.
For more tips on how to promote your brand on Google+, read this.
