Category: Google+ marketing tutorials

Promoting your service using a Google Helpouts custom URL

One of my favorite tools I use to help grow my business is Google Helpouts.

If you are new to Google Helpouts, it is an amazing tool where you can give live help over video.

Getting started with Google Helpouts

I have been offering Helpouts since they began in November and it has been an extremely valuable part of my business.

So far, I’ve been using Google Helpouts for my Facebook one-on-one coaching sessions.

Facebook coaching on Google Helpouts
Facebook One-on-One coaching with Google Helpouts.

If you want to give your own Google Helpouts, you can get started here.

Marketing Google Helpouts

Once you have signed up and have a listing, your listing is available on Google Helpouts.

This is a good way to generate helpout sessions from people searching on the helpouts site.

What if you want to make it easy for people to remember your URL and do your own marketing?

For example, through your social media channels or to your email list?

This is where creating a Google Helpouts custom URL comes in handy.

Benefits of a custom URL

The main reason to create a Google Helpouts custom URL is so that it is easier to promote your helpout.

Google Helpouts custom URL
Example of a Google Helpouts custom URL.

Remember, you want to make it as easy as possible for consumers (people interested in your product) to become customers (people ready to buy your product).

This is where having a custom URL can help you out.

Instead of sending someone a URL that isn’t easy to remember, you can send them your Google Helpouts custom URL – or even add them on your business cards.

Here’s how to create a Google Helpouts custom URL in just a few easy steps.

How to create a Google Helpouts custom URL

Continue reading Promoting your service using a Google Helpouts custom URL

Opting out of Google shared endorsements

How do you feel about Google sharing your profile in something called Google shared endorsements?

What are Google shared endorsements?

Google shared endorsements for reviews
Example of Google shared endorsements in product reviews.

Shared endorsements are a way for Google to share reviews and recommendations across Google products like YouTube, Google Maps, and the Google Play music store.

With shared endorsements, Google will use your Google Plus profile and name when your friends are browsing businesses, products, and websites to help boost recommendations.

By seeing what your friends like (and don’t like), this can help bring social proof and influence user decisions.

While shared endorsements are a great way to use social proof to influence user decisions, not everyone wants their photo and name displayed though.

The great thing is that Google makes it very easy to opt-out of Google shared endorsements.

To opt-out of Google shared endorsements, follow the instructions below.

How to opt-out of Google shared endorsements

Continue reading Opting out of Google shared endorsements

Take Google+ further with Google+ Embedded Posts

Google Plus embedded posts

Google Plus recently rolled out Google Plus embedded posts. Now before you think they’re copying Facebook, Twitter, or Vine, hold that thought.

What Google Plus embedded posts do is they let you take a status update from Google Plus and share it on your favorite blog or website. Big deal, right?

Why use Google Plus embedded posts on your blog or website?

When I first saw this feature from Google, it got me excited. This is because with Google Plus embedded posts, you’re not just including an image of a post from Google Plus.

Instead, you get to do the following with Google Plus embedded posts:

  • Embed a Google Plus post
  • Circle the author
  • +1 a post
  • Share a post
  • Comment on a post
  • Follow the entire conversation outside of Google Plus

This is kind of a big deal (and an advantage), because now you have a way to share content on Google Plus – where you can engage with one set of users.

If you want to take things a step further though, you can take that content (and the entire conversation) off to your blog or website by using Google Plus embedded posts to engage with a different audience who might not be connected with you on Google Plus.

This also allows your readers to do the same on their blog or website, which in-turn can help spread the word about your content and allow those readers who haven’t yet connected with you to add you to their circles.

Penchant for Google Plus

For anyone who has spoken with me at length about Google Plus, you’ll know that I also see this having huge SEO benefits. While this isn’t happening now, it’s coming.

The more you embed and engage with Google Plus content, the more likely Google is to boost the SEO ranking for that website.

Still not sure if Google Plus embedded posts are THAT valuable?

Here is an example of using Google Plus embedded posts within your blog or website. Notice all of the touch-points that you can interact with.

 
Follow these instructions to learn how to embed Google Plus posts on your blog or website.

Using Google Plus posts to grow your social presence

Continue reading Take Google+ further with Google+ Embedded Posts

4 ways to format Google+ posts and standout

Learn how to format Google+ posts and add appeal to your posts so that you stand-out. 

While current social trends  suggest that Google+ is still in second place behind Facebook in terms of growth, one area where Google+ beats Facebook is in the ability to add different types of formatting to your Google+ posts.

On Google+, you can add four types of formatting to your posts.

  1. Bold
  2. Italics
  3. Strikethrough
  4. Combination

Learning how to format takes just a couple of minutes and can come in handy when you’re sharing something important and you want to add emphasis to it.

To format Google+ posts, follow the instructions listed below.

4 ways to format Google+ posts

Continue reading 4 ways to format Google+ posts and standout

Save Google searches to save time on Google+

If you could save Google searches and improve your workflow and save time in the process, what would you do with the time you saved?

For anyone who has spent time searching for things on Google+, one of the most overlooked features is the ability to save Google searches.

Saving your Google search within Google+ makes it easy to access items you search for a lot on the site. For example, if you’re a social media strategist and you’re always searching for terms such as “Google+ marketing,” instead of having to type this search in each time, you can save it for later.

How to save Google searches on Google+

Saving a Google search in Google+ is very easy to do. You can find instructions, along with a video on how to save Google searches in Google+ below.

How to save Google searches on Google+

Continue reading Save Google searches to save time on Google+

5 Easy steps for better SEO with Google Authorship

How to setup Google Authorship

Want to stand out on Google? While it is important to write great content that is optimized for SEO so that people find it, your best bet is to use Google Authorship.

What is Google Authorship?

Google Authorship is basically a way to link your Google+ account to your blog content. In addition, it adds a photo next to your content in search results – this way it’s easy to associate a name with a face.

This is beneficial if you rank well for certain keywords for the following reasons:

  • Links your content you post online back to you!
  • People searching can quickly see who you are
  • Identify how many people have you in their Google+ circles (a measure of influence)
  • Quickly identify your content in Google search results because you have a photo next to it
Google Authorship example
Example of a blog post with Google Authorship set up.

Setting up Google Authorship is easy. We’ve outlined the steps you need to follow below.

How to setup Google Authorship Continue reading 5 Easy steps for better SEO with Google Authorship

Google Takeout – How to Save and Backup Google data

Google Takeout

When you first hear the term Google Takeout, it sounds as if Google is getting ready to open its own chain of Google restaurants. While they supposedly have a great Google cafeteria, the only thing Google Takeout is serving is your data.

What is Google Takeout?

Google Takeout is a tool from Google to help you “download a copy of your data stored within Google products.”

This means that if you use YouTube, you’ll be able to download an entire archive of your videos. At last count, we had 270+ videos on our YouTube channel. That’s a lot of work we definitely want to keep a backup of should YouTube ever go down.

What kind of data can I download from Google Takeout?

Google Takeout is a pretty remarkable product. Here is a list of the Google products you can download data for using Takeout.

Google Takeout - Archive

How to use Google Takeout?

Google Takeout is pretty straight-forward to use. Simply follow these steps.

1. Login to Google Takeout

2. Select the data you want to download

You can choose to download all of your data at once or be selective about the data you download. If you have previously used Takeout to download your data from Google, there is a downloads tab that you can choose to look at past downloads.

3. Select “create archive”

When you select “create archive,” Google will begin to download your data.

Note: In my experience, it only takes a few minutes to download your Google data from Takeout.

4. Click “download” and save your file to your desktop (it downloads a zip file)

Once Google has finished with your data, select “download” to save a copy to your computer. If you like, you can unzip the file and check out your data that Google downloaded.

One thing I like most about this is how organized your data is.

Note: if you have previously used Google Takeout to download your data, it will appear below your current archive.

Is Google Takeout helpful?

Overall, I find Google Takeout to be an extremely fast and efficient product from Google. I like how I can download an archive of my data and know that I can have this in case something ever goes wrong or I simply just want to be able to reference my past content.

One thing I wish it had were a way to schedule a backup. Right now, you’re left to use Takeout to download your Google data on your own time.

Question: Give Google Takeout a try and let me know what you think about it. Did you have any issues using Takeout to download your Google data? How fast was it for you? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

 

15 Creative Uses for Google Hangouts

Google Hangouts
Google Hangouts are an amazing piece of technology. Not only are hangouts a great way to stay connected with friends and family, but Google Hangouts can also be used for a lot more.

To get your creative juices flowing, we have compiled 15 creative ways you can use Google Hangouts 0utside of just connecting to make them more useful.

15 creative uses for Google Hangouts

Continue reading 15 Creative Uses for Google Hangouts

How to Record A Google+ Hangout

Record a Google+ Hangout

You’ve probably heard of Google+ hangouts.  If not, here’s what they do.  Google+ hangouts let you host video conferences with nearby friends, family across the globe, and hold important meetings with business partners and customers.

A few facts about Google+ hangouts:

While that’s pretty impressive for a free product, what I’m most excited about with Google+ hangouts is the last one – you can record them (through “On-Air”).

Why is it so remarkable that you can record Google+ hangouts?

Continue reading How to Record A Google+ Hangout

How to create a Google Plus badge in 4 easy steps

While Facebook has been the dominant social network for the past couple of years, a challenger has entered the ring by way of Google+. While most sites have dared to go toe-to-toe with the behemoth that is Facebook, Google+ hasn’t shied away. In fact, in Google’s recent earnings call, they cited 90 million subscribers – a substantial number, considering they haven’t been around but for just a few months, Google has also been really good at listening to their subscribers for new features.

Today we’re going to show you how you can capitalize on Google+’s growth by adding a Google Plus badge to your website in 4 easy steps.

Continue reading How to create a Google Plus badge in 4 easy steps