Wednesday 27 January 2016

How to Increase Blog Traffic with Google Plus

A majority of the bloggers often find it difficult to increase blog traffic with Google Plus. If you are new to Google Plus and looking for ways to drive more traffic to your blog from Google Plus, you are in the right place. 

Moreover, if you have been using this platform for quite a long time with little success, you will find these tips useful to bring more traffic to your blog.

Google plus has emerged as the fourth largest social media platform after Facebook, Youtube, Twitter in terms of users.

However, the number of active users 0n Google plus are far less than the actual users. Less than 10% of the users in Google Plus actively post their content.

On the other hand, the platforms like Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, and Linkedin are the fastest growing network. If you have not joined these platforms, it’s high time you should join to capitalize on the future opportunities.


Let’s have a look at the current position of Google plus in terms of its popularity and number of users. 


increase blog traffic with Google plus
                                                                  Source: Statista

The number of active users in Google Plus has increased by 3% in the third quarter of 2015 as compared to the first quarter of 2014. It shows that the platform is gradually gaining popularity.

According to Statista over 27% of the active users of Google Plus use the platform more than once per day.

Since a majority of users in Google plus do not actively participate and a large number of users reads the post rather than actually posting their content; therefore, it is important to design your strategy accordingly.

Let’s have a look at the countries where Google Plus is more popular.
drive traffic from Google plus
                                             Source: Statista

The graph above clearly shows that in the majority of the countries more than 50% of the online population uses Google plus as a social media platform. Don't be surprised if you have a large number of followers from countries like India, Indonesia, Argentina, UAE or the US.

If your targeted audience is located in the countries where Google plus is more popular than you are missing a big opportunity to expand your business.

The majority of the visitors to my blog comes from Google plus. My Alexa ranking has improved by over 310,0000 positions in the past three months. Daily pageviews per visitor moved up 80% and daily time on site has increased by 102% as you can see in the screenshots. 




Let’s get back to the topic.


Here are some things you can do to increase blog traffic with Google Plus


Join the Google Plus communities to drive traffic from Google plus


Communities in Google Plus are the best source of increasing traffic to your blog. For example, if your blog is related to photography you can easily join various communities such as landscape photography, beautiful pictures, nature photography etc. You will find a large number of communities related to a wide range of interest including home design, cooking, blogging, traveling.

Your success in these communities depends on your ability to create great content and actively participate in these communities. Focus on a couple of communities rather than joining a large number of communities. Once you establish yourself in one community you can move to other ones to grow your audience.

Make sure to share your content with the community members on a regular basis. However, make sure not to spam. Each community has its own rules and regulations. Some communities allow you to post only one blog post others may allow you two or three. 

Strictly follow the guidelines of the communities you have joined and never make the mistake of posting a large number of posts in a single day. Make a schedule and post your content one by one to each community. Moreover, spend some time on these communities to read the content of the fellow bloggers.


Actively read and comment on the posts that you find interesting


Read the blog content of fellow bloggers in your niche and make sure to comment if you find it useful. If you can write something that can add value to the content that would be much better. Initially, focus on a few blog that you find worth reading and then gradually read more blogs related to your niche. 

For example, if your blog is related to cooking you will find many communities related to your niche. Join these communities and follow the bloggers.


Post your content at different times of the day


If you are targeting Global audience, you should post your content in the morning, afternoon and in the evening. Do not share all of your posts at the same time. Ideally, you should make a posting schedule and post every day at the same time. I experienced an increase of 10% in the readership the day I begin to post my content at different times of the day. 

Use images, quotes, graphs or chart in you post 


Google plus provides the convenience to the bloggers to share their content using images, quotes or graphs in their post. You can display any of the images or quotes in your post while sharing it with others.

If you find it difficult to attract your targeted audience using one image you can change it next time. Some users get attracted by the images in the post while others find graphics or quotes though provoking.

As you can see I have used authentic graphs and screenshots in my post to support the statements. Pictures are pleasant to eyes and quotes are food for thought. Similarly, graphs and charts help one understand the trends and facilitates the process of strategy development. 

Make use of hashtags to reach out to right audience


If you blog is related to   photography you can use hashtags to reach out to your targeted audience. One of the advantages of # tag is that it enables the Google to understand the content of your blog so that it can display your content to the right audience. 

For example, Traci Lawrance of Tracisworld.com frequently makes use of hashtags to reach out to the ideal audience as you can see in the screenshot. The hashtag resulted in 11 comments, and 6 plus one with just one share. 




She managed to improve her Alexa ranking by over 490,0000 positions in the past three months. How much Google plus is contributing to her success no one knows better than her. 

However, make sure to use hashtags correctly otherwise, it will not generate desired results. For example, if your blog is related to photography you can use #landscape photography, #nature pictures, #amazing pictures etc.

Make sure you post your blog content on regular basis


Don’t expect that people are going to find your content just because they are in your circle. You will have to actively post your content on various communities. The discussion sections of the communities are the great places to attract the ideal audience.

Posting your blog content on a regular basis will not only help you to increase the visibility of your content but also engage your targeted audience. A majority of the users in Google plus reads and reshare the content rather than actually publishing their own content.



Use the platform regularly


The majority of the Google plus users use the platform only once in a while and thus, fail to take full advantage of this platform. You cannot expect to build networks on this platform unless you use this platform regularly. Make a schedule. If you already have a tight schedule and you find it difficult to spend hours for looking for new content, you should better focus on a few communities and log in regularly to check the updated content.

Respond to the comments of your audience


Google Plus enables you to link your blog with the Google Plus comment. This feature of Google plus enables you to read the comment of the audience right from your blog and you can reply to the comments from you blog comment box. Moreover, if you no longer wish to use this feature you can easily unlink it anytime

You might be wondering how responding to the blog comments improves blog performance. When your respond to the  comments, the potential readers get the impression that you are seriously pursuing your business or hobby. Moreover, sometimes it leads to constructive discussion. 

Responding to the comments results in an increase in the number of comments. The potential readers find posts with a large of numbers of comments more useful and interesting. So you can significantly increase the chance of attracting more readers if you respond to their comments.

At the same time, responding to the comments of the readers is a good blogging habit. It shows that you care for the comments of your audience and find it worth responding.


Do not shy away to plus one the post you like


If you like a post, make sure to plus one it. Once you plus one a post, the publisher of the post will be able to see who has +1 the post. If you regularly visit the platform gradually every time you plus one a post the publisher will get to know more about you. It increases the familiarity and you stand a better chance of being followed back by other bloggers.


Use your picture or logo in your profile



Several users do not attach their photo or company logo in their profile that is why they fail to gain the attention of their targeted audience. When you use your profile picture in the social media platforms it enhances your credibility and you manage to win the confidence of your audience. 

It helps you build your brand image and users begin to recognize you from your profile picture or logo.

Use + tag of Google plus to mention the name of the influencers


The majority of the Google plus users are not active participants. They do not use Google plus frequently. Since a large number of users log in to the platform only once in a while, therefore, it is a better to use the + tag. The feature ensures that your message would reach the mentioned persons whenever they log in to their account.

Moreover, you can use the plus tag to attract the attention of your targeted audience or bring something important to the notice of your followers.

Focus on networking


If you follow the above guidelines you will not find it hard to build big networks on this platform. A majority of the bloggers find it hard to build a network. One of the reasons is that they believe if they publish their post regularly users will begin to follow them. It hardly happens in social media platforms. 

If you are not able to build networks on this platform you will not only find it hard to drive traffic to your blog but also fail to get followers. 


Share your latest content with your followers using email feature of Google plus


One of the advantages of joining Google plus is that it enables you to send personalized/customized email to your followers. You can send your content right in the email box of your followers. 

If you are a Blogger blogger just check the email list box while sharing content with your followers. It will help your followers to read your post right from your their email account.

However, make sure not to overdo it as it can be sometimes very irritating or inconvenient for your followers. Google plus has included this feature for you as well as your followers' convenience. So never use it for spamming. 

Do not forget to thank the people who support you


The plus one feature of Google Plus not only enables the users to appreciate the work of others but also helps the publisher to identify the right audience. Once you know your targeted audience you can simply thank them for their support. It will help you in two ways. First, it will help you grow your followers. Secondly, whenever you publish your next post they will be the first one to see your post.

Gratitude enables one to attract the right audience and helps in getting more likes. 

If you are determined to increase traffic to your blog with Google plus, take out time to thank your followers for their support.

It may not be possible for some of you to express gratitude every time your audience plus one your post, but occasionally you can thank them for their support.


Support fellow bloggers in their endeavors


Social media is not a one-sided communication unless you are popular enough to drive tons of traffic to your blog solely on the basis of your reputation or brand image. It requires you to actively support and communicate with fellow bloggers.

Support does not mean every time you see a post you have to read it thoroughly and comment on the post. If you are running against time, it is better to scan the post and if you like it make sure to plus one. However, it would be much better if you could comment and re-share the content. It will help you to stand out from the crowd.

Create your own page and community 


If you can spend some quality time to build community on this platform, it will be a great source of increasing traffic to your blog with Google plus. Having your own community provides you the opportunity to pin your popular post. Your community members are most likely to read, comment and plus one your post if you have pinned it. 

The more members you have in your community, the better it gets to drive traffic to your blog. However, building community is a long process and it may take years before you could start reaping its real benefits
Do you know any other tactics to increase traffic to your blog from Google plus? If yes, please do share with us. If you liked this post, please make sure to share it with others. Keep learning, Keep sharing!

6 comments:

  1. Very useful info. Hope to see more posts soon!.
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    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for taking out time to comment Seravina.

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  3. Your blog provided us with valuable information to work with. Each & every tips of your post are awesome. Thanks a lot for sharing. Keep blogging,
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