BWMagic’s Internet Marketing Newsletter
Google Upgrades Its +1 Button – More Traffic For You?
Like Most People Expected, Google’s +1 Button Gains More Muscle
When it was first launched by Google, most people believed (myself included)
that the +1 Button was going to be a major player in the web of the future.
Especially when it comes to getting more traffic and rankings.
Simply put, if you want more traffic – using the +1 Button has become
a no-brainer.
While the role this button will play in your Google rankings have yet to
be fully determined. But for the most part, you can bet the farm that Google
will be using it as a ranking factor, if they are not already.
Perhaps, more importantly, just this week Google has upgraded or increased
the importance (usage) of their +1 Button by letting you share content
to your Google+ Circles. In other words, this button now becomes Google’s
version of the “like” button.
And we all know how important the Facebook “like” button is for getting traffic
and creating instant “buzz” around your content.
“Clicking the +1 button is a great way to highlight content for others
when they search on Google,” says Google’s spokesperson Vic Gundotra.
“But sometimes you want to start a conversation right away, at least
with certain groups of friends. So beginning today, we’re making it easy
for Google+ users to share webpages with their circles, directly from
the +1 button. Just +1 a page as usual and look for the new ‘Share on
Google+’ option. From there you can comment, choose a circle and share.”
When you share content through the Google +1 button, you can customize
‘+snippets’ attached to these shares with a link, an image and a description
in the sharebox. This is sort of a markup where webmasters can easily create
rich annotations for your content on Google Search. Tagging your pages with
the right descriptions and keywords will help build your traffic and rankings
in your particular niche.
Since these recent developments, it has become more important than ever to
have the +1 Button on all your sites and pages. It will take some work,
especially if you have a lot of sites, but it is something I am now doing
with all my new content. I am also working on updating all my old pages
with not only the +1 Button, but also the Authorship markup since Google is
now including your photo and links to your Google Profile in their SERPS.
As for the Authorship markup, when you have content you want to tag with
your name/profile, you must include the (rel=”author”) to verify the content
as belonging to you and link it to your +Google Profile. This is what I use…
<* a href=”https://plus.google.com/100399661443713589305/posts” rel=”author”>+Titus Hoskins<*/a>
(Remove the * in actual HTML Code)
Titus Hoskins
Keep in mind, you must link back from your Google Account to your site
to prove it’s yours and not someone trying to use your name. The proof
comes full circle.
I see many savvy webmasters and marketers are already using this Authorship
Markup as a way of making their links/content stand out in Google’s Search Results.
You can find more about it here:
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=1408986
and you must fill out a form at the bottom of this page.
Lastly, the free social bookmarking Addthis button now supports the +1 Button.
So if you’re not using Addthis on your content, now would be a good time to
start unless you have your own social bookmarks on your pages. You can get
the free button here:
www.addthis.com
Helping People Succeed Online Since 2002!
Kind Regards,
Titus
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