Using Google+’s Collections for SEO

Google is the world’s #1 search engine and it can subject any and all of its users to any whims. Seriously. Google has won the game of thrones and we all play by its rules in the online kingdom (just as it’s competing for domination against other tech giants, like Facebook). From updates to new products, you have to play the game. That means tinkering with your site and your content’s SEO. And the latest step to do that is through Google+ Collections.

If you’re laughing right now, that’s because you are one of the many who believed in the death of Google+. You know Google+—Google’s attempt at creating a social platform to compete with Facebook. Remember “Circles” and “Sparks” and other social network jargon? Yeah. That one.

Though there have been plenty of predictions that Google+ will die in the future, Google says otherwise and we should listen to Google. They control the rules. Until Google+ is finished fighting the good fight, it’s still a necessary tool in any brand, business or publisher’s arsenal.

That’s why brands, publishers, companies and people still have Google+ pages—so that it can play Google’s worldwide game of hide and seek with what appears on the first page of any search query. To make the most of your online presence, you need to setup and maintain a Google+ and take advantage of their new feature, Collections. Here’s what you should do and know to play Google’s game of thrones.

Set-Up a Google+ Page

Simple enough, right? If you don’t feel like Googling how, here’s a crash course. Otherwise skip ahead to the Google+ Collections part.

Go to Google+ Brands page. Hit the get started button. Google will ask you what kind of company you are: storefront, service area or brand. Pick accordingly, then use Google maps to find your business worldwide. Then, it asks you to verify your business by calling your home office number. Verify and continue onward.

Now for the fun part—setting up your page. Add important details to your business, like what services, products or business you provide (using keywords!), hours of operation, photos and more (we’ll talk about that more part in a bit). Customize your page to reflect your business and grab a hold of a custom URL if you can. Here’s Quietly Google+ page:

Amplify Your Content: Create Google+ Collections

Google+ Collections are a recent addition to Google+ that act similarly to Pinterest’s boards or Flipboard’s Magazines that gives people the ability to create a space for their favorite things, broken down by topic. Shared either publicly, privately or within a set of specific Google+ users, collections can be followed and posts will appear on users home feeds on Google+ as well as the creator’s profile page.

This is your chance to showcase your content on Google+ by creating and curating collections. Create collections around blog posts you’ve published, what you’re reading on the internet, a collection of helpful tools—whatever aligns with your content strategy. Simply head to your profile, find the “Collections” tab and create a Collection by adding links, videos, photos, etc. If you’ve ever used social media, it should be easy enough. By using targeted keywords, Google will reward your content on its always changing algorithm.

We’ve created a few collections so far to organize our blog content, aggregating our content marketing content in one collection and all of our writer posts in another. From links, photos, videos and updates, Goolge+’s Collections will allow you to amplify your content all by playing Google’s game. They want your content to be shared and collected on Google+. So do it.

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Image Credit: Screenshot of Google Collections page