While more and more companies and brands are starting to use social media in Middle East. The prime focus largely remains on Facebook and Twitter. Google+ on the other hand largely remains ignored. What marketers need to understand is Google+ on the other hand carries significant weight in terms of SEO and organic search visibility, simply because it integrates with the entire Google platform. Both Google+ and Google Authorship (explained later) should be an integral part of any content-focused SEO strategy and arguably remains the most important social network for both businesses and marketers. Realizing and understanding how Google+ integration impacts all three facets of digital media (paid, owned and earned) is now more important than ever. Today there are more than 500 million Google+ accounts, with an estimated 235 million of those being active. Those stats will only continue to grow, because Google strongly encourages searchers, Gmail users and YouTube subscribers to activate and engage on Google+. If advertisers and marketers are not fully taking advantage of the integration between Google+ and the other Google platforms, then they are missing out a valuable opportunity. Here are a few opportunities provided by Google+.
1. Social extensions
Social extension feature within Google AdWords links the Google Plus page with the Adwords Campaign. This allows all Google +'1s to be properly linked with the Google+ page ads and search. On average, search ads with annotations have 5-10% raise in click through rates. The social extensions also allow the Google+ follower count to appear within the ad.
2. Publisher
Publisher allows websites and Google+ pages to connect. Connecting your website with a Google plus page allows Google "to determine the relevancy of your site to a user query in Google Web Search". It also makes your site eligible for their Google Plus Direct Connect product. The Direct Connect allows a searcher to directly land on a brand's Google+ page by entering "+brand name" Ex: "+xcel media"
3. Author
Google Authorship displays author information for content within search results. This authorship can help influence click-through to your site's search result. Recently, Google strongly hinted towards saying that "rel=author" will be used as a signal for ranking search results. Influencers, who create content for their niche may be given more search visibility then someone who is not as authoritative in that niche. Establishing yourself or your brand as influencer in a particular niche and correctly integrating everything within Google+ will be even more crucial if Google uses that factor as a signal in their algorithm. This connection can also continue to close the gap between influencer relationship management, social media, and SEM.
4. Google+ local optimization
Below is an example of how a local business can use Google+ Local to its advantage in search results. Outside of allowing a local business to appear in the map search results, Google+ local along with publisher authentication will cause a map to appear and a picture to appear next to that local business' branded term. The example here uses Ibn Battuta Mall, a shopping mall located in Dubai. The extra data will appear when you are searching for a local store or business from that city. This is a good example of how Google+ can positively impact local businesses and leverage customer reviews which appear on Google+.
5. Improved site indexation
Sharing new content through Google+ will allow that content to index faster within Google Search. When Google was in its infancy, site owners were encouraged to Submit URLs for webpages to get indexed and display within the Google results. Today, Google+ is the new Google Submit URL box.
6. Latest Google+ posts appear in Google search
When you search for a brand it will display the latest activity with that brands verified Google+ page. The example here uses Xcel Media. You can notice that the most recent posts appear underneath the brand name, allowing for improved post visibility outside of Google+.
7. YouTube and Google+ integration
A brand or individual's YouTube identity used to just live within YouTube, but because YouTube is a Google entity, they have now synchronized YouTube and Google+. Your Google+ avatar and identity is now merged with YouTube. This integration creates a YouTube tab within your Google+ profile, and enables an auto-posting feature that allows you to automatically post your YouTube video to Google+ upon video upload. There are also some management advantages as it allows for advanced channel management through the Google+ page setup.
