The Beginner’s Guide To Growing Your Google+ Audience

Getting active and building an audience on Google+ – might very well be the smartest thing to do for boosting your search ranking.

Google is changing the game of search by incorporating a social element into it. Comments, +1s and shares will determine the popularity of your content. Whereas your authorship and how many people have you in circles determines your credibility as an author.

With Google integrating Docs, YouTube, Chrome and Gmail into its social network – effectively turning those products into features of Google+. It becomes clear Google+ is the centerpiece of the new Google experience.

So how do you approach growing your audience, and getting a head start on your search rankings?

Here are 6 tips you can use starting today

Growing Your Google+ Audience

Set up your profile

As with any social network you decide to join – filling out your profile to its fullest is a must! That means filling out your about section to tell people who you are and what you’re doing on Google+. Add a photo of yourself (not your dog!) to let people see who are. Also add links to your websites and other social networks you’re on.

Post something daily

Get into the habit of posting something daily to stay top of mind. I post four times a day about interesting stuff I find on the web. StumbleUpon is great for discovering new content, along with applications such as Flipboard.

Images tend to get to more engagement on Google+. But hey, as long you’re delivering some value it doesn’t matter if it’s a video or a blog post.

For more ideas, check out 9 Content Ideas For Promoting Your Business On Google+

Join communities

Google+ really hit its stride when it introduced Communities. Similar to LinkedIn Groups – Communities is a place where people gather to discuss and share interesting content related to the group’s topic.

This is great because you can engage people with similar interests and exchange ideas on the topic. Another benefit is you can join groups where your target audience hangs out.

Get started with Communities by joining the ones that are relevant to your business, and any matching your personal interests. Here’s a list of marketing communities I’m a member of:

  1. Cuutio SEO
  2. Google+ Discussion
  3. SEO Questions
  4. Social Media Mentors
  5. Content Marketing and Social Media
  6. Social Media Strategy
  7. Content Marketing World

Join the ones you’re interested in and are relevant to your business. Then make it a habit to visit them daily.

Comment on other people’s posts

Don’t be shy to add your two cents to the conversation. Commenting on posts is an effective way to get on people’s radar. It also helps expand your reach, by letting people to get to know you better. But most importantly, you’ll find more people adding you to their circles.

Here are four simple tips to get you started with commenting:

  1. Be sincere with your praise
  2. Thank people for sharing a quality post
  3. Answer any questions
  4. Offer your insight

Share posts

If a post meets your seal of approval – pass it on to your audience! People will appreciate the share and perhaps mention you in a future post. Plus it also eases the task of searching for quality content to post.

Add people to your circles

How are people going to find out you’re on Google+ unless you add them! Plus it can get pretty boring if you only have a dozen people in your circles. Don’t be afraid to follow people you find interesting.

Bonus tip – just have fun! It can get quite addictive once you get the hang of things.

If you’re having trouble fitting another social network into your schedule – get yourself a to-do list app to organize your time on Google+. Personally I use Wunderlist because it free, simple to use and syncs across all my devices. I simply created a list named “Google+” to lay out the things mentioned in this post, and set them to repeat daily. Then every morning, I set aside at least an hour, or 20mins spread throughout the day and just focus on social media and Google+.

And remember to add us to your circles at +Cuutio so you can stay updated on all the new posts.

Photo by Wickerfurniture

Was the article worth sharing?

Subscribe to the cuutio newsletter

It includes insights and tips about marketing technologies and digital marketing

You might be interested in these articles, too