Google + improves search rankings

A recent study highlighted that Google+, the social network launched by Google, can help to improve search rankings. Traffic driving strategies rely heavily on social media marketing and Google+ is another platform for businesses and brands should use to raise awareness.

A number of UK newspapers use the networking platform, but the number of +1 recommendations for content is not largely down to the size of the follower base.*

For example, The Financial Times has the most followers but the Mail Online readers recommend far more stories more frequently using +1. The FT's Google+ has 372,159 followers and a weekly average share of 670 +1s. The Mail Online was ranked fourth in terms of follows with just 35,490 in comparison. Despite this, the site had a weekly average of 10,493 +1 recommendations, yet this could be down to having the largest online readership amongst all UK newspapers.

Ben Austin from SEO Positive said:

"It's increasingly important for publishers and brands to recognise the potential of Google+ and how it could improve search rankings. Google is consistently developing new ways to improve search which will have a direct impact on search rankings. Now, as Google search moves into a more social sphere, sharing and +1 recommendations take a more prominent role in SEO campaigns.

"SEO Positive could help businesses push up their page ranking with results driven SEO services."

Google is continuously building on search and social tools to provide users with a better experience. Search, Plus Your World is the latest development which marries the traditional search engine with personal search results in Google+ and profile searches.*

In the future there is certainly going to be an even further direct synergy between how many likes and shares a page has and where that content ranks in terms of search engine ranking. With more people using social networks and spending longer online, search engine optimisation techniques are now more important than ever to master.