Google+ is Gone – What now?

Its no secret, Google has been announcing the shutdown of Google+ for months now. Low user uptake was the main reason offered, but of course there have been other issues under the hood. In the interests of this article, we wont be looking at the why. Rather we will be looking at the alternatives and what it means to those that have used Google_ until recently.

Google+ Alternatives

When looking for an alternative it is important that first you identify what you ere using G+ for. For a good few years we encourage our clients to build a G+ profile. Why? Well it was owned by Google and as such it would gain preference when it comes to indexing. And it did that. A lot. Because your date and posts may well be lost much of the content wont be. This means that it has already been associated with the endpoint. I would not worry too much about the previous content that was distributed with Google Plus. There is much than can be done to enrich that visibility however it is probably more important to find an alternative before you start to fix what’s not broken.

The content aggregator

We have used G+ over the years as a bit of a content aggregator. For many of our clients it meant that it behaved a little like a feed. When new content was posted, it was posted to their stream and it was picked up by followers. it increased sharing exponentially because it was easy to find and it was indexed. We would recommend using an aggregator such as scoop-it. Scoop-it is an excellent starter because a Free account allows you to post up to 50 pieces of content – and as long as the stream is active, it gets indexed.

The content distributor

It was great to be able to distribute content without having to pay. You can still distribute content without having to pay, but it does get a little more tricky. You will also have to make decisions about how you will attribute the content. There is an excellent article on why you should post to medium before you place duplicate content on your own site. This has more to do with driving traffic, that with end of the line SEO. There are may that advocate placing duplicate on your site and there are ways to use it without being penalised. If you want your posts read, build a following on Medium and make sure that have at least two links to different pages on your website.

Post to Social Media too and don’t be shy because content that is shared is not penalised for duplication.You may have to get more creative with your content, but read more about it in our content guides. It is really not difficult, there are plenty of ways to skin that cat.

The SEO engine

There is no rocket science in understanding that G+ was great for SEO. That doesn’t mean that Google hasn’t provided alternative opportunities for SEO. Indeed they have. However you need to recognise a gift horse when you see one. Local SEO is a spectacular opportunity and we offer guides on how to get the edge on that too. Start by registering with Google my business. Get your business listed on Google maps and we suggest doing it soon, before that becomes a paid service too. use the Google my business to list offers and post about your current business activity. This alone can boost domain authority by several points, especially if you’re the new kid on the block.

You can achieve exactly what you did with Google Plus, however it involves a few more steps and is a little more labour intensive. The loss of Google+ will separate the lazy from the truly driven.

If you really need help with SEO and are a small business looking for an affordable solution, contact us through out contact form, skype or any of the numbers on our contact page.

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