Julie Bishop, www.jobhopjulie.co.uk and @jobhopjulie recently spoke to the Women in Rural Enterprise (WIRE) Norwich branch about how you can use Google + in business.
"Google + is essential for business," said Julie. "It is crucial firstly for SEO because when you put something on Google + it is indexed immediately and searched by Google.
"If you want to be on the first page of a Google search you need to be on Google +."
Google + allows you to claim authorship of content you put on the web and will pull up your content in a search with your photograph alongside. Your profile helps Google ensure you are found and puts a face to every bit of your content.
Google + on air hangouts are also indexed and searched immediately and go straight to Youtube - all helping your SEO.
It's like a mini blog where you can tag others into the conversation and drive traffic to your website. What you then need to look at is once you get them to your website how do you convert them. Apparently, sites with regularly updated blogs have 55% more visitors.
However, one delegate at the meeting was concerned about what to upload as new content. "The thing I struggle with is putting up content. I have no idea what to put about myself that I think people might be interested in," she said.
You must upload fresh vibrant content, new content or Google will not drive traffic to you. Before you start using Google +, or any social media for that matter, you have to plan out where you are going with your business and what you want to achieve with social media.
"You could perhaps give something free away on your site in return for their email. Keep thinking about how you will convert somebody who is visiting your site. One way is by collecting emails and building up communication with them. You want to reach them way before the decision to buy."
When they come to your site try to work out what your customer is thinking and the kind of things they might put into Google to search. What is your customer's pain - and you can offer some advice and solutions in your content. They can come to your content and find that you have the solution.
Extra tips
Twitter tip - Julie, who also runs courses on Twitter for business, suggested that businesses could put out eight tweets per hour - four driving to the website and four engaging with customers.
This sounded rather a lot to my mind and indeed I have seen some research that shows that twittering too much can actually put customers off.
Blogging tip - apparently Photopin has lots of free images you can use on your blog in return for a credit.
https://plus.google.com/103224565414900693469/posts
Wednesday 27 November 2013
Tuesday 19 November 2013
Seven reasons why you should blog
Blogging can bring business benefits and is an essential online marketing tool. Still not convinced? Here are seven reasons why you should blog....
1. It adds fresh content to your website which pushes you up the search engines. Every time you update your blog - as long as it is an embedded part of your website - Google search engine considers it as new content. Google gives search preference to sites that have fresh and updated content and they are given a higher page rank.
2. It helps build your authority and demonstrates your expertise. Whatever it is you do well, blog about it and you will gradually become a go-to expert in your field.
3. It can help bring people to your website and offer them valuable and useful information. It's a great way to demonstrate your experience or tell people about the benefits of your product or service.
4. It encourages a dialogue with your readers. Customers can comment and interact with you and it provides an immediate feedback.
5. It transforms you into your own mini publisher. Instead of relying on traditional media to spread the word about your company or organisation, you can become your own publisher. You can decide what you want to say and how you want to say it - and go back and edit it later if you want to make changes. It gives you a platform to spread news about your company.
6. It helps you stand out from your competitors. There may be millions of blogs on the web, but it is unlikely there will be many quality, niche blogs in your sector. Writing a high-quality blog gives you the edge over your competitors because it makes you seem more authoritative. It also allows you to pass on in-depth information about your product or service.
7. It is a cheap way to spread the word about your company. Once you have set up your blog the only cost is your time.
https://plus.google.com/103224565414900693469/posts
1. It adds fresh content to your website which pushes you up the search engines. Every time you update your blog - as long as it is an embedded part of your website - Google search engine considers it as new content. Google gives search preference to sites that have fresh and updated content and they are given a higher page rank.
2. It helps build your authority and demonstrates your expertise. Whatever it is you do well, blog about it and you will gradually become a go-to expert in your field.
3. It can help bring people to your website and offer them valuable and useful information. It's a great way to demonstrate your experience or tell people about the benefits of your product or service.
4. It encourages a dialogue with your readers. Customers can comment and interact with you and it provides an immediate feedback.
5. It transforms you into your own mini publisher. Instead of relying on traditional media to spread the word about your company or organisation, you can become your own publisher. You can decide what you want to say and how you want to say it - and go back and edit it later if you want to make changes. It gives you a platform to spread news about your company.
6. It helps you stand out from your competitors. There may be millions of blogs on the web, but it is unlikely there will be many quality, niche blogs in your sector. Writing a high-quality blog gives you the edge over your competitors because it makes you seem more authoritative. It also allows you to pass on in-depth information about your product or service.
7. It is a cheap way to spread the word about your company. Once you have set up your blog the only cost is your time.
https://plus.google.com/103224565414900693469/posts
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