BY RICHARD REITZ
Q-Fold Editor
If it hasn’t happened for you yet, 2013 might be the year that journalists have to give some serious love to Google+.
While some have embraced Google+, a lot of us have taken the “I’ll pay attention to you when I see more benefit” approach. With an economy of time in mind, the investment value just didn’t seem to be there.
But it may now be time to clear out the tumbleweeds and start giving your Google+ page the attention it craves.
Here’s why: Author rank.
Google is using its Google+ social media as a way to prioritize content and enhance credibility. In other words, writers that are promoting their byline articles using Google+ are getting an SEO boost that’s pushing them higher in the search queue.
According to a report in Pando Daily, it’s something still not quite recognized by most media outlets; so jumping on this now could be a huge benefit to getting that article on the first page of a Google search.
You even get a headshot and a byline in the search line once you are a verified writer.
So naturally, the first step is to get yourself verified by Author Rank. You can do that here: https://plus.google.com/authorship
Once you get that in order, the rest is relatively simple. When promoting your latest article on social media, simply use your Twitter status update on Google+. Of course, you may want to enhance it a bit to add a little variety to your status.
Also, make sure that your Google+ headshot is the one you want associated with your article, because this is the one that is going to be pulled. So make sure you aren’t using a wacky Halloween costume photo here!
Erin Griffith at Pando Daily has a nice article with a bit more details about Author Rank and Google+, which I recommend as a good, quick read.
This could be one of those simple little adjustments that reaps big benefits for journalists.
Source: “How Google Author Rank Could Change Content Marketing and Journalism,” by Erin Griffith, Pando Daily, January 7, 2013
