Google Plus emerging as a back door to top search results

Google News results now prominently show results from Google Plus (Google+ or just G+). This presents an exciting opportunity for real-time marketers for newsjacking using Google+.

How Google+ has changed since launch

When Google+ first emerged in the summer of 2011, it looked to me like a direct competitor to Facebook. Not that the application actually looked like Facebook but that it played in the same market of social sharing and connecting friends. When I first wrote about G+ in my post I really wanted to hate Google Plus that's what my focus was.

Initially many people used G+ for business purposes in similar ways that they used other social networks. You first create a personal profile and then figure out if there is a clever way to use G+ for your business.

I've noticed a significant trail off in interest in G+ in the past year or so as people who didn't need a "better Facebook" stopped engaging on the G+ social network. That's been my personal experience too. I still post my new blog posts to G+ but I don't go in to see what others are doing nearly as often as I do on Facebook and Twitter.

Google Plus emerging as a cool back door to top search results

Now there's a way to use G+ for business that has real potential. If you go to Google News, you'll see a dropdown arrow button if you mouse over on the right of each headline. Clicking the arrows reveals more stories and those frequently include a G+ listing.

For example, in the business section story this morning talking about "Cyber Monday", the last item (with tons of real-estate) is a G+ update from Scott Kelby. I took a screen shot so you can see how it looked for me this morning.

How cool is that? A mere mortal can get into the front page of Google News just by making a real-time G+ update on a breaking news story.

Note that I do not know Scott and we are not connected on G+.

This has significant potential for marketers who want to inject their ideas into a breaking news story.

I’ll be experimenting with this in the coming weeks and months. Meanwhile, do let me know in a comment if you’ve had any newsjacking success with Google Plus.

Comments

[Richard Catania]

Very important things you shared with us,i got some idea from your post.Thanks a lot for sharing with us. I'll visit your blog again.

[Rj_c]

I always ask myself how to write Google Plus (Google+ or just G+) also.

I use Google+ for the great feedback and interactions from people I don't know.

I have also seen how google has sent more traffic my way since I started sharing my personal links on Google +.

The news aspect is something interesting to experiment with! Thanks for the tips!

[Momchil Petrushkov]

Well David,
The whole thing here is that not only it impacts the results when you are logged in, but also it is getting widely used in order to provide authorship information, which in turn fluctuates actual CTR in the search result pages showing a larger snippet.

This is another major reason, why you should be using Google+ even though you might be hating it.... :)

[Mary Beth Huffman]

David, I agree that Google+ is one way to gain exposure for your business and ranking at the same time. There are many debates on whether this social source will rise above Facebook in the future but it likely could make the digital marketing space interesting once the secret is out.

Other features of Google+ such as Hangouts make online small group interactions a breeze, albeit public knowledge.

A surprising tidbit is that in 2005 Facebook usage was larger than the Google search engine. There are now over 100 million ACTIVE Google+ users vs 800 million ACTIVE Facebook users. So time will tell whether 2013 is a Google+ year to take over.

[Avil Beckford]

David,

Thanks for sharing because I seldom post my blog on Google +, so I went and posted today's post, which is a review of The Hobbit. The review is timely since the movie is opening in December.

[Wesley Picotte]

Hi David - couple of thoughts...

G+ shows up in news results today, but Google of course constantly rejiggers SERPs, both to test UX and relevance. All of this to posit, I wonder how long this is a news results hijack vs. standard SERPs.

Regardless, to argue against the notion that participation in Google+ (and playing by Google's authorship rules and establishing your G+ profile and dropping the rel=me and rel=author tags onto your website/s) is foolhardy.

Also, FYI, Scott Kelby is not really a "mere mortal" ;) He runs one of the most popular photoblogs out there and is considered a foremost Photoshop authority.

Cheers,
Wesley

[MicroSourcing]

Google Plus is starting to play a big role in ranking and SEO, even more so than Facebook or Twitter because of its ties with the Google Search Engine.

[David Meerman Scott]

Thanks for this excellent discussion.

Wesley, good points. I hadn't heard of Scott before (obviously) but it is interesting to me that he made it into the headlines in an area he is not an expert in.

[Greg Barrett]

Another important note is to always make sure when you are sharing posts on google+ is to actually say something when you post a link instead of just pasting a link. Use your keywords because what you post will be considered a title tag.

[JasonMillerCA]

Hi David,

Really interesting discovery here. I have been playing with that functionality over the past few days and seen similar results. To me this is just another reason why businesses and marketers alike cannot ignore G+. This feature in addition to the Rel-Author tag, Google Local, and the SEO benefits simply have to be taken advantage of especially in a competitive industry. I researched G+ extensively over the past 6 months and found 5 essentials that every business and marketer alike need to do at a minimum in G+:

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/google-plus-to-boost-your-marketing/

Would love your feedback. I am going to have to do an updated version with this new feature. Thanks again for pointing this out.

Jason Miller - Marketo

[woolrich outlet]

Love to have a month of you posting as long as it doesn't make the carpel tunnel goblins try to come out and play. You might try wearing braces at night to sleep only. I find that it helps keep my flare ups under control.

[Greg]

I always had a problem with G+. I'm using that only because I know behind that is the biggest search engine. It's not very good motivation. My work colleague hates G+, she thinks that's waste of time. What kind guarantees have we that won't vanish as Google Buzz. Someone still remember that thingy?

[Stephen Cowan]

Thank you for sharing this, I never even thought of doing anything like this. I definitely am going to take advantage of this tactic.

Awesome discovery!

[Gotoguyjohnnylerose]

Great article David. Thanks! I'm noticing similar things. Never, ever give up...is the lesson here, for me!

[RodneyGoldston]

Hi David,

From a purely business perspective I find G+ more interesting than FB. G+ is far easier for the entrepreneur to monetize. Checkout ChefHangouts. The company connects G+ users to actual chefs who conduct live cooking lessons...all for a fee.

Regarding Momchil Petrushkov comment..pasted here "Other features of Google+ such as Hangouts make online small group interactions a breeze, albeit public knowledge." G+ers can setup "Private Hangouts". The agency I run is a member of Google Engage and we get invited to private hangouts, run by Google, all the time.

Consider this, a tribe leader (such as yourself) could setup small private hangouts, for a small fee of course, and offer deep dives on various subjects.

You could start a "paid" mentoring program (offer to a limited # of folks - be sure to invite me if you do) and conduct live training, and coaching. Consider this…how much $ would a person like myself be willing to pay you for let's say a 45 minute one on one w/ you (I'm sure I can't pay your normal fee). But I could…and would likely pay let's say $200 per meeting. Well multiply that times 10 (the # of people you can have in a hangout).

Of the thousands of readers and followers you have can you find 10 (scratch that)…9 more who would be willing to fork over a couple hundred to learn something from you first hand. If so that's a cool $2K for 45 minutes of work.

[David Meerman Scott]

Rodney - Those are all interesting ways to use G+. Thanks for jumping in!

[Carlos Silva]

Hi. Very good article about Google+. This is a great info that we all must read to know about new features and for marketing opportunities. At home or work, we can't go on without Google+. Give us more info! Thanks, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

[Ryan Connors]

David, I think this is Google's not-so-subtle attempt to pull toward Google+ from Facebook. Use it or lose out. Authorank and Google+ integrations into SEO are continuing to blur the lines between search and social.

[Debbie Miller]

Hi David,

Thanks for the great information! I wasn't aware of the Google+ and News integration and will definitely check it out. I don't think of Google+ as much of a competitor to Facebook (it's never going to meet the same levels of engagement and social interaction), but rather as an SEO tool as well as more of a "forum" for like-minded people (it may just be those to whom I'm connected, but my Google+ connections are primarily techie/internet marketing/social networking-based, whereas my Facebook connections are far more diverse).

[David Meerman Scott]

Thanks Debbie - I think that every social network that has had some success is not a copy of another. The ones I use I do so in different ways.