Google penalty for non-mobile friendly website:
I created a cut down, mobile friendly version of my old business website as Google now penalises unresponsive websites. This new website is really not much more than a portfolio of work (plus a Blog) and is designed to load quickly and be responsive to a range of media devices. This was a simpler fix to re-coding my old site. The theory was to just leave the old site as it was and continue to add material to the new one.
Social Media Increases Website Traffic:
After several months I realised that I needed to create an audience, as website the traffic statistics were not improving by themselves.
It was easier 10 years ago with my old website. All you needed then was good content. Now that Google has added Social media to its equation things are different. I had never created a Facebook business page as I disliked the ubiquitous nature of this media giant, only using it when forced to. Ignoring social media didn’t matter years ago and so I blindly plodded on the way I always had, with just a website and blog as my only form of advertising. Unfortunately when Googles algorithm started using social media factors as indicators of a websites popularity the old ways just didn’t cut it any more. It seemed that I would need to engage in social media….like it or not. I have little spare time and I really didn’t have the time to be immersed in other peoples lives, so (possibly foolhardily) I discounted Facebook once again. I decided to use Google plus as my social platform as you can choose “Communities” to engage with that are of personal interest. You can even start your own Communities. Great idea! I was a fan of actually learning things at the same time as Gaining Google algorithm leverage. The posts are easy to make and linking back to your website and blog is a breeze. You write some copy and post it in a community and then people link back to your site if interested.
How to use Google Plus Posting to Increase Website Traffic:
I have now been posting comments on Google plus for around 5 weeks just to see how things work. In this time I have selected to engage with Communities that may be interested in my business, such as Architecture and Future Technology. These will be the vehicle for gaining some Google traction. The idea is to post an interesting article with back-links to my website and blog for interested parties to find out more. It isn’t about sales… it is just about relevant traffic and increased numbers. I am also following several other Google plus users with similar personal interests and collections such as Neuroscience, Biology, Machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, Design and Art. This aspect of the Google Plus experience is more about an enjoyable way of learning about new things, rather than sales. It still has value however, as each comment I post puts me in front of an audience and it still links back to my site (via my profile and collections) if anyone cares to click on my Gravatar icon.
Google Plus Posting Increases Website Traffic by 500 percent:
I put my first post out with links back to my website on the 7th of February. As my Architectural business is in Adelaide, Australia (and we are at least 8 to 12 hours ahead of most of the world) this means that statistics will start showing up on the 6th of February and should continue for a day or two after. The statistics show a definite increase in use of between 500 to 1000% for this time-frame. I also noted that my impressions on Google for the same time-frame were the best they had been for a month and up 30 percent on the previous week. As I only currently have the one set of data and the change isn’t huge, this is harder to prove than the other statistics, but it is highly probable that Google may place some preference to links from “the mothership” and alter its algorithm accordingly.
As this trial worked, the next step is to continue to engage people and build a following. As the following grows they will become a large and receptive audience ready to engage. In order to do this a steady stream of good content needs to be either written or sourced. This will be a time-consuming task until the followers start growing by their own momentum.
It is early days yet, but the results are promising and to be honest I am enjoying the whole Google plus experience and would participate even if I didn’t have something to promote.
