Google ‘likes’ Social Media.
When it comes to the amount of influence social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn have on website ranking and search results, only Google knows how these impact on your rankings.
There is a tell-tale sign that Google takes social networking seriously: Google+
And if Google takes it seriously, the rest of us probably should too! 🙂
There are a number of good reasons why you should participate in and leverage your social media platforms for your business activities, the exposure is really valuable.
So from a business point of view, it makes sense- get your social media involved if you are aiming to boost your traffic and improve your search ranking results.
Google+ is still new to the field, and it appears to be the breakthrough into the social media market that the giant needs. Murmurs and rumors have Google+ painted with the same brush as the company’s other failed social media offerings: Buzz and Wave. Despite these ominous predictions, the response from the industry’s elite has been overwhelmingly positive. Kevin Rose (co-founder of Digg) and others, have likened it to Twitter, and the +1 button has been well received and draws a parallel to Facebook’s ‘Like’ button.
Google+ and SEO
Public posts from Google+ are indexed and show up in search results whether or not you’re logged in to Google+.
At this stage, private posts don’t show up in Google search.
In addition, Google+ indexes all comments made on public posts, which, understandably, is heavily influential in SEO and your rankings.
The drive behind Google’s algorithm changes over the last few months and (arguably) years, is extracting real user opinions about sites rather than publisher-submitted content. When viewed in this light, Google+ becomes more than what it appears to be at first. According to those at the helm of these changes, the internet of Google+’s age is relationship-centric and not driven purely by content. This makes a lot of sense.