4. Google Made a Number of Acquisitions to Bolster
G+
Oct. 2011 Nov. 2011 March 2012 June 2012
Social Media Analytics Automatic Friend-Sorter Mobile Development Lab Social Media Platform
$15M $100M
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5. G+ Business Pages Launched in Nov. 2011
Since launch,
brands like
H&M have
gained 1M+
followers
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6. G+ Users & Brands
Were Off to the
Races
G+ continued
to rapidly grow
By April 2012,
Google reported
170M G+ users
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9. G+ Search Integration: Search Plus Your World (Jan.
2012)
People & Pages: The SERP prominently
features G+ Pages of both people &
brands
Personal Results: When logged in, the
SERP shows the searcher’s personal G+
content, including content from G+
friends
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11. AdWords Integration: Social Endorsements
Advertisers can link their G+ Page to their AdWords ads so that Google
can show +1 endorsements
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12. Local Integration: Google+ Local (June 2012)
Business listings that appear in the organic SERP’s
Google Maps packs now funnel searchers to the
G+ Local page instead of the Google Places page
By placing the local channel exclusively within G+,
Google will inevitably drive more G+ traffic & awareness
Map links to business’ G+ page
G+ page shows below the map
Latest G+ post displays on the SERP
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14. Google is All In With G+ (June 2012)
Google Senior VP of Engineering Vic Gundotra told The Verge:
– “Google+ is at its heart about building one seamless experience”
– Google’s services don't have an “engagement problem”
– Google product teams have come together to tightly integrate G+
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16. Because G+ is already deeply integrated in search
(especially local) it should be in all brands’
performance marketing toolkits . . .
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17. Capitalize on G+’s Search Visibility
Create a G+ Business Page!
– Claim your vanity URL once Google open it up to all brands
– Get your account verified
This will increase the likelihood that you’ll achieve “free” SERP visibility, at least for brand terms
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18. Dominate the SERP with 3 Targeted Messages for
Brand Terms:
1. Paid Ad: Promoting 70% off summer sale with sitelinks
2. Organic Listing: Evergreen messaging around the site’s positioning
3. Google+ Listing: Real-time Google+ posting promoting a slipper sale
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19. G+ Local Best Practices
Ensure that your Place pages have been claimed
Align location-level URLs to these Place pages so that qualified
traffic will click through to the appropriate local page with the
intended content
Be cognizant of social activity happening at the location-level,
including reviews and photo uploads from the G+ community
Continue to manage, update and keep local listings fresh and
accurate
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20. Encourage Participation!
When a searcher sees that other searchers—particularly their
friends—have +1’d a result, that result is perceived as more relevant
and will get more clicks
– +1s increase CTRs 5–10% on avg. (Google)
The more people who +1 your brand or content, the more likely
searchers will see G+-enhanced results. Advertisers should:
– Create likable, sharable G+ content
– Put the +1 Button on all content
– Focus attention on influencers who are likely to spread content
– Create two-way conversations, not one-way content blasts
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21. Marry Social & Search
Because your G+ content will show on the SERP, anything you do on G+
must be consistent with your overall search strategy
– What is your message?
– Where are the keyword opportunities?
G+ is helping paid, owned & earned channels become more deeply
connected
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