If your Internet marketing service provider is still not hooking you up to Google+, then it’s time for a serious conversation.
According to a report from the Internet Retailer, the new Google search tool is designed to “pepper search results with data from Google+.” Thus, it leaves online retailers little to no choice about signing up for an account on the fledgling social networking site. Many Internet marketing service providers have cited the advantages and the benefits of being on Google+ but so far, this seems to be the most compelling reason.
Jackie Jenkins, global manager of ChannelAdvisor Corp., offers expert advice to e-commerce merchants and their Internet marketing service providers. For starters, she advices retailers to “create and beef up” their Google+ pages, whether it’s a personal or a business page. As much as possible, complete all data, add photos and set up Direct Connect which enables users to type in a retailer’s name and go directly to their Google+ page. Any reputable Internet marketing company or Internet marketing expert will also tell you that on Google+, it’s all about the Circles. This can be quite challenging for the retailer because you cannot add users to the circles unless those users have added retailers to their own circles. According to Jenkins, one way to go about this is to “add the Google+ badge to your web site” and invite people to add you via your site and your other social media accounts.
Jenkins also adds that it is vital for users to be able to “+1” products in the same way that people can “Like” products. Thus, talk to your Internet marketing company about the possibility adding +1 to online ad displays.
Google’s new tool, “Search, plus your World” allows users signed into Google to click a button near the top of the search results page to “call forth content from the Google+ social network.” Google says that this feature can be used to include photos posted by Google+ connections, people searches, and other relevant Google+ posts.
For retailers (and their Internet marketing service providers), this new feature means that users searching for specific products can see that someone within their Google+ circle has also bought that item and that they like it (thus clicking the +1 button). The likely effect is that the user will go directly to the retailer’s Google+ link.