by Anne R. Allen
First I have to say how jazzed I am to be named one of the 16 Best People to Follow on Twitter by book marketing guru Penny Sansevieri at Author Marketing Experts, Inc. Thanks Penny! It’s a great list and I’m honored to be on it.
Okay, I know why you’ve been avoiding Google Plus. It’s nerdy, slow, and the new version is clunky, chaotic, and scream-out-loud frustrating. New Google Plus hides access to the “about” link—the main reason most people would visit a page—so you can’t find anybody’s profile without a secret decoder ring.
People who visit your page in the new version see a random jumble of other people’s photos. Google appears to want to create a chaotic mashup of Instagram and Pinterest for people with ADD and no desire to interact.
I asked people in my circles what they thought and got comments like this:
“Whenever they ask to change to the new one I decline—it’s really poor. ”
“It doesn’t seem they have a clue or want to build something that lasts.”
“Have you tried to send feedback? It’s like filling out a tax return.”
“I persevered for a week before giving up. When you have a ‘Google Page’, there isn’t an ‘About’ section AT ALL!”
Jonny Evans at Computer World said, “I’ve reverted back to using the old version. I’ll avoid using the new version for as long as I can… If they change permanently, I won’t use it for social networking anymore.”
Google Plus has also become diabolical about what photos they show. If you share a link to a web page, they will NOT display the featured image. They insist on taking the most obscure photo on the page.
For your book page at Amazon, that will be one of the “also boughts” which means the photo will inevitably be a competitor’s title, not yours. When I post about a sale on How to Be a Writer in the E-Age, I always get the cover art for Kristen Lamb’s Rise of the Machines. I love Kristen, and want to support her, but not at the expense of my own sales. I can only hope that she gets my cover art the same way.
Right now, you don’t have to switch permanently to the new version, but I’m sure they’ll force us all to do it one day soon. And the sadistic photo-switch happens in both versions.
So I understand why people resist it.
I heard lots of complaints about Google Plus even before the new version raised its ugly head. It’s sooooo slooooow. And a lot of people tell me they simply don’t want to feed the mega-tech companies that are controlling our lives. Google can act like a big bully.
I hear you. Anti-Google sentiment is one of the reasons we moved this blog from Blogger (owned by Google) to WordPress dot Org (way more complicated than WordPress.com, BTW.)
Two things made us decide to make this difficult move, even though we loved the Blogger blog (Except for its unfortunate relationship with Google Plus, Blogger is easy-peasy and user-friendly, even for the most non-techy newbie):
a) The free Blogger blog didn’t have enough security. It got hacked, and pirates stole all our content and put it on some weird site in Brazil, re-directing all our links to their icky site. The blog itself was blank for nearly a day until Johnny Base worked his magic and got our content back. Not one of my happier days.
b) Commenting on Blogger was becoming increasingly difficult for readers, especially those not on Google Plus. In fact, Blogger is phasing out its “followers” widget and new blogs ONLY can have followers through Google Plus. (I discovered that when I started my new Camilla book blog a couple of weeks ago.) People were feeling bullied.
But yes, you still want to be on Google Plus. Here’s why:
1) Google Plus is Essential for Visibility
It turns out it’s the single most important social medium for spreading the word about your books. Yeah. That surprised me too.
Listen to what Peter McCarthy—a Penguin Random House Marketing VP—said in The Hot Sheet last month:
“One uses Google Plus because most people don’t have a Wikipedia entry.
It is very hard to get Google to understand who you are in any exact manner, especially if other people have the same name and are more well-known than you. So, the more reputable profiles one has, and the more they are tied to other reputable platforms, and the more they mention that you are the author of X and Y books, which are set in Z place, the more virtuous things happen.
(The Hot Sheet is behind a paywall, but you can sign up for a free month. It’s from long-time industry experts, Jane Friedman and Porter Anderson and full of the most up-to-the minute news in publishing.)
And why should we care about getting Google to understand who we are? Here’s what publishing industry pundit Mike Shatzkin said in the “Shatzkin Files” in January:
“Approximately 25% of Amazon’s traffic originates as a Google search. One quarter. And Amazon is one of Google’s very largest advertisers.
Google also has an enormous impact on an author’s ability to be part of the merchandising process. Google Plus hasn’t turned out to be much of a social interaction platform, but an author’s profile there can have a big impact on how the author and his/her books rank for search…In short, Google Plus author pages are nearly as important as Amazon author pages, a fact totally independent of the traffic either of them gets.”
I’ll repeat that:
GOOGLE PLUS PAGES ARE NEARLY AS IMPORTANT AS AMAZON AUTHOR PAGES.
And as for Apple—they don’t even seem to have an internal search engine for iBooks. At least I can’t find one. To find my own books there, I have to do a search for my title in Google and add “iTunes” after it.
2) Google Plus Works Fast For Getting a Site on the SERP
One of your #1 goals as a writer, published or not, should be to get on the first page of search results in a Google Search.
Even if you’re not yet worried about sales, if you’re not published and planning to go the traditional route, remember that agents Google you when considering whether to represent your work. And if you’re planning to self-publish, obviously it’s even more important (see #1)
Posting to Google Plus is the fastest way to move up the search ladder. Last month, I started a new blog for my Camilla Randall mystery series. But I almost forgot the cardinal rule for new blogs: bookmark it, because it can take months to find a new blog in a Google search.
But luckily, when I wrote my first post there on January 1st, I shared it on Google Plus.
A few days later, a search for “Anne R. Allen’s Books” brought up that Google Plus entry with the link to my new blog. It came up third in a Google search after my Amazon and Goodreads pages. (And above Google Play.)
It took less than a week instead of months or years. Just from one share on Google Plus. So I can confirm what these publishing experts are saying: the Google search engine gives priority to stuff posted on Google Plus.
3) Google Plus Hangouts are Free
Google Plus also still has their “hangout” feature, which allows virtual meetings with up to ten people absolutely free. Skype charges a fee for groups that size.
If you have Google Hangouts enabled, you can receive and make phone calls from your landline. Calls from anywhere to the U.S. and Canada are free. With Skype, you need to pay for a monthly subscription.
You can see a comparison of Google Hangouts vs. Skype by Kara Deyermenjian at Tech Target.
Do I used Google Hangouts? Nope. I’m old and allergic to cameras. But lots of authors use them to talk to book groups and readers.
4) Google is one of the Four Top Tech Giants
Mike Shatzkin says, “the environment today for marketing and delivering books is shaped by what Professor Scott Galloway of NYU Stern School of Business calls “The Four Horsemen”: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.
So Google Plus is as important to our marketing as Amazon and Facebook. (And I guess we all have to pay more attention to Apple, although they make me crazy with their Apple-devices-only exclusivity and lack of an internal search engine.)
5) Twitter may be Fading
Since I have a big Twitter presence, it makes me a little sad to write that. I love Twitter because I only have to spend a few minutes a day there and I can get a huge amount of information about what’s going on in the industry.
But Joshua Topolsky wrote in The New Yorker in January that we may soon see The End of Twitter
Twitter has been plagued by widely circulated misinformation as well as what Topolsky calls “roving flocks of hateful, misogynistic, and well-organized ‘Gamergate’ communities that flooded people’s feeds with hate speech and threats.” He said, “The company seemed to be wholly unprepared to handle mob violence, with few tools at its disposal to moderate or quell uprisings.”
I’ve been a victim of some of that mob violence myself, so I get what he’s saying. Lots of celebrities have been quitting Twitter recently because of the rampant hate and cruelty.
And of course Twitter has famously been used by terrorists, but as of this week, the Twitter police are working hard to shut out the bad guys.
But Twitter is definitely less cool than it was, and Topolsky adds that younger people are dropping it for Snapchat and Instagram and something called Peach. (No, I’ve never heard of it either, which is probably why kids like it.)
He says:
“We live in the Age of the Upgrade, and the generation raised on the Internet is the most fickle of brand champions: it loves something passionately, until it doesn’t. Then it moves on.”
Is Google Plus Going to Replace Twitter or Become Another Instagram?
Nope. Not if they keep the new version. It’s utterly useless for networking. And old Google Plus was more like LinkedIn—a business tool rather than a place to chat and share funny pictures and videos. I don’t see it competing with the popular networking sites.
But this isn’t terrible news for authors. It means all you have to do is put up a profile there and forget it, like Goodreads. You can use it to share your book launches and new blogposts and only stop in once a week or so.
If you want a little bigger presence there, you may want to join a group or two. Our Google Plus Group for Writers is pretty quiet, but we have some good info posted there a few times a week and it’s a good place to get the answers to questions about tech or the industry. (NOTE: it is NOT a promotion site. Don’t use it to advertise your books.)
But you can pretty much ignore the rest of Google Plus once you’re there. Just make sure you ARE there. Obviously it’s way more important than we thought!
At least right now. Here’s another quote from Peter McCarthy’s piece at The Hot Sheet.
“One day Google Plus will be a primary source, the next day it won’t be, then again yes, then again sort of. Ditto Wikipedia. Ditto Twitter. The sources used will change every day. What doesn’t change is that being in multiple major places with good, solid, consumer-friendly content is SEO. And SEO matters. Do it, or you may find yourself lost.”
And as Porter Anderson says in the same piece, the bottom line is: “When people want something, they look for it. If you have it, get found.”
Right now, the way to get yourself found is through a profile on Google Plus.
by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) February 7, 2016
What about you, scriveners? Are you on Google Plus? Do you hate the new version? Do you think Twitter is fading? What do you think will take its place?
***
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***
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Hmmm. I tried Google Plus when it first appeared, couldn’t understand why I cared, then dropped it. It sounds as though Google Plus may be a digital pet I need to re-adopt (though I must admit I really don’t like spending time caring for all the digital pets already milling around at my feet). Thanks for another informative post.
Charlie–“Digital pets” is a great way to look at your social media accounts. They do need care and feeding. But G+ needs less care and feeding than most, and the important thing is just to be there. It will also do wonders for your blog. When I share my posts on Google Plus, they immediately come up in a search.
When you mentioned not being about to find the About button, I was puzzled. But upon inspection, I haven’t upgraded to the new version. Thanks for the warning – now I won’t.
Twitter is fading? Bummer, my following has really been growing there for the past couple months.
I don’t use it very much, but I know it’s important, as my profile there has over sixteen million visits. So, not dumping it anytime soon!
Alex–Don’t upgrade unless they force you to. I’m hoping if enough people complain, maybe they won’t do that. And you have 16 million views! And I was feeling so smug about my 9 million. Ha!
I actually don’t buy it that Twitter is “ending”. It may have lost a little luster, but I think it’s an incredibly important news source. And I sure use it a lot for getting the word out about blogs and books.
I forgot to ask. How do I un-upgrade???
Yes, Twitter is for me pretty similar to my investment decisions. Pretty much as soon as I make a financial decision–which might have been a good one for a long time–it goes south. 😉
Shelley–Yeah. The day I got named one of the 16 Best People to Follow on Twitter, the New Yorker came out with that article “the Death of Twitter”. Sigh.
Oh, that’s so how I’m feeling. Technology is extremely challenging for me, and I’m just getting comfortable on Twitter. Please, Twitter, rally! Here’s me dragging my feet over to Google +…one of these days.
Deb–I totally relate. I suppose the fact that old people like me are finally getting the hang of Twitter is exactly why the kids are leaving. Sigh.
I have a G+ that I mostly use for hangouts, plus it automatically shares my blog posts. I’m glad to see it’s something you can make and forget about since I really don’t have time for it. I try to check it once a week since I do have friends that sometimes post on it.
I’m not a big fan of Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or Pinterest. I’ve been blogging with WordPress, but that’s about all I do for promotion, other than stuff I do with my secret identity that’s way more popular than my author identity.
https://jessilroberts.wordpress.com
Jessi–It sounds as if you have a perfectly fine G+ presence and you\’re using it wisely. We need to monitor our social media presence wisely, or it can take over your life and there\’s no time to write!
Good post and it’s why I use Google. That’s where I get the majority of my hits, and it takes time to build that. Years. I’m not there to post my dinner or my summer vacation. I’m not there to post my political beliefs. I’m there to get web presence. And it’s easy. 🙂 http://www.ryan-field.blogspot. com
Ryan–I think that’s why I like it too (at least the old version)–it’s easy. One post and your post gets on a search results page. You can’t beat that for return on your time investment. And no–it’s never been about posting your lunch or your new haircut and I haven’t run into much political debate. It’s a businesslike site for grown-ups.
This might not be the popular answer, but I’m on Google Plus and have a great time. However, I never set up a professional page. Rather, I converted my personal over to my professional – a mashup of sorts. Maybe that’s the difference, I don’t know. But I do know that I do more sharing to Google Plus lately than anywhere else. For the simple reason that blog posts, pics, and yes, book marketing seems to last so much longer there. I’ve had people comment on stuff I shared three to six months earlier, something that would never happen anywhere else (besides StumbleUpon, but that’s an entirely different subject). As far as Twitter goes, I doubt we’ve seen the end of it. There are too many people who love it.
Sue–I didn’t even know Google Plus had separate personal and professional pages. That may be a part of the new version I’m trying to ignore.
I just have the one page, and I used it for writing related stuff only. You’re right that posts seem to stay “evergreen” on G+. I think that’s because Google searches give precedence to older material, so a search may bring up one of your old entries on G+. Great to hear you’re having fun there. I do enjoy the quiet pace and serious discussions that can happen at the G+ for writers site.
I just checked my profile. I’m using the old version too, which is probably why I enjoy Google Plus. So scratch my earlier comment. The new version is awful!
I have been steadfastly ignoring Google+ because it didn’t seem very relevant or far-reaching. but now I guess I’ll have to give it a look-see. Sigh. :/ But thanks for the info-valuable as always!
Lisanne–Most people think it isn’t important because there’s not a lot of activity there, but it’s like the Yellow Pages: you really want to be listed there.
Yes in all caps! I mean, YES! I never found G+ as useful as FB but I’ve stuck with it doggedly, and post my blogs and releases there. For fellow authors, it’s actually better (I have a good-sized circle); but for anything friendly or meaningful I expect to find it on FB (and I post my personal rants there).
I’m so jazzed to confirm your advice about being found. While getting ready to present to newbies on How to Love Your Blog, I figured I’d better put my own name to the test two weeks ago. Just my full name, like the website I run. And Google search was all over it; every result on the first page is “me”, and the #3 result is from G+ (when I shared a blog post there). So absolutely right and I agree this is crucial stuff. Thanks as always Anne!
Will–You’re right G+ is bad at being Facebook, but it’s great at being G+, which is why I think the new version is so silly.
Congrats on building your platform so well that you get the whole SERP.. That should be every writer’s goal!
*Sighs deeply* Ok, so if I understand correctly, I should just have my profile out there and join the Google Plus Group for Writers and just see how it goes? I actually went out and looked for a few friends, who haven’t done anything on Google+ since 2014…
Shelley–You don’t even have to join a group. Just post a profile and see what happens. Johnny’s video I linked to will help you do it in a snap. If you’re already there, then just use it to post your blogposts and book news. Even that will do wonders for your SEO.
I love my new found outlet! I think t will be okay as long as people just don’t get crazy.
Rahshemah–I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying G+. It will pay off.
Anne—The other day I tried to like/comment on your post at G+ but could not figure out how & finally just gave up. Call me Hopeless. Call them Impossible. But it was super frustrating!
Ruth–Well, that’s annoying. I wonder if they were trying to make you switch to the new version? I fear they’re going to make it impossible for anybody to interact. I have no idea why they think that’s a good idea.
Ugh! I cannot stand Google Plus! But I guess I’m glad I have myself established there. Still, I do almost nothing with it. I find myself on Twitter less and FB more. Not sure why . . .
Nina–I know how you feel. Google+ is clunky and slow and full of scammers. I used to get about 10 fake profiles a day following me. Luckily they’ve cut back on that. I get more on FB now, though. Those fake profiles with photos of military guys draped in US flags that all have two first names. Today it was “Gilbert Frank.”
But just having that profile on G+ is a big plus. Try sharing your blogposts there and see if you get an increase in traffic.
Twitter has a troll problem. I think people aren’t feeling as safe there as they do on FB.
I’ve been on Google+ for a long time, and I’m surprised to learn this. Next you’ll tell me that LinkedIn in indispensable! Mercy!
Steve–Oh, don’t get me started on LinkedIn. I hate it. They steal my address book and then tell me my mom wants to connect with me on LinkedIn–a year after she died! So invasive. And they ask people to “endorse” you in stuff you’ve never done and don’t offer stuff you actually do. I have about 50 endorsements in ghostwriting, which I’ve never done.
But yeah, you need to be there like you need to be in the phone book. Put up a profile, turn off all notifications and avoid it as much as possible. Google Plus isn’t quite as bad. Although with the new version, I might change my mind on that.
Ay, Anne, the new Google+ is unusable. I clicked on it a few weeks ago, screamed, then noticed a little link ‘Revert to classic Google+’ or similar. And recovered my sanity. I’ve been on Google+ for three years and accumulated around 5000 followers. Sound good? Not really. Maybe I’m not using it right but I’ve never, to my knowledge, had a sign-up to my list, let alone a conversion to sale, from Google+, despite posting wholesome content every week. (Ho! Maybe I should spam it with content every 30 minutes as some folks do, whom I dare not name? Nope. The only folk who respond to spam have spam in their heads. I don’t want them in my list 🙂 )
Has Google lost its way with Google+. It has never monetized it. What, in the sainted name of St Simeon Stylites, is Google+ for?
John–Everybody I know who has used the new version has the same thing to say. It\’s horrible! Congrats on having 5000 followers, but you\’re right. It doesn\’t mean much. The only people I interact with there are in my group. It\’s mostly only important because it talks to the Google search engine. I have no idea what Google thinks it\’s for.
Simon Stylites! I haven\’t thought about him since I was an undergraduate studying medieval art history. Hey, in those days you could become a saint just by being weird and living on top of a pillar. (I always wondered where he went to the loo, though.)
‘Hey, in those days you could become a saint just by being weird and living on top of a pillar.’ But that’s how I do it, Anne! BTW: Colostomy bags are getting better all the time… 😉
Anne, you do make me laugh. Congratulations on being in the top 16. I too am afraid of cameras so no Google Hangouts for me. But I do use GooglePlus for sharing my posts, art, and for sharing posts like this one. I didn’t even realize there was a newer version. Thank you for another informative post. ?
Tracy–Oh, good. Making people laugh is what keeps me going. 🙂 You have shared my posts in the past and I really appreciate it! Just keep ignoring the new version!
??
Okay, this is the kick in the butt I needed to go back to Google Plus. I have an account there, and have never used it. Really grateful for your posts which help to keep me abreast of the marketing world as it changes (and changes, and changes).
Thank you, Anne!
Melodie–It would probably be worth your while. Even if it’s just to share your blogposts and launches. You’re right about the ever-changing marketplace. As Peter McCarthy said in his quote–it changes daily. But our need for SEO doesn’t. Alas.
Haha! ? Love the title! And I need this. Thanks for tackling this topic. Off to read.
Sarah–See you on Google Plus! 🙂
Wow. That is a lot of information to take in. And, yikes, I’m not thrilled to read about Twitter (as that’s my main social media). Also, I don’t know what to do on G+ so that’s either really bad (clueless) or good (the new one won’t bother me because I can’t miss the old one). Anyway, lots to think on here. Thanks!
Sarah–If you’re not on G+ yet, they’ll probably only offer you the new one. So just sign up and put up a profile and bookmark your page. Then share your blogposts or other news there and forget the rest. You can try to find me an join my circle, but that will probably be too difficult now, so I probably shouldn’t have said that. They really don’t want you to interact. I have no idea why.
I have a G+ account. Don’t know why. Automatic because I have gmail probably. But I rarely use it. I should tidy it up. And pay more attention to it going forward. I always viewed the G+ as a like button. ? Will start sharing my own blog posts. Thanks!
I’ve just checked the link to World Weaver Press and I’m afraid that they’re closed to subs till 2017. Just thought I’d let you know.
Noeleen–Thanks for letting me know! They were only open for one week–wow! I hope I didn’t overload them. I’ve deleted them now. Thanks.
Thanks for this information Anne and I will be taking up your advice. I had been on Google Plus for years, but a few weeks ago I was so annoyed with all the new changes, I opted out of it altogether. Since reading this, I see your point and am back on to it (now that I’ve calmed down 😉 ). Fortunately I found my way back to the original look. Bliss! I’ve re-joined Google Plus for Writers also, which I always found to be one of the few communities worth being a part of.
Debbie–I’m glad you’re back on G+ so you can stay in the writers group. I do think it’s a good group. I felt the same way. I almost quit when I saw the new version, but then I found the button for switching back–I was doing a happy dance. Thank you, Google gods! Now if they’d just get rid of that awful mess and leave us in peace.
Anne, joined Google Plus, but compared to Facebook, so very not fun!!!
And after reading this post today, pootled back in and made a few adjustments. But the adjustment i most want to make, which is the descriptive below my name – I cannot find how to!!!!
I have spent an hour too long at Google + when I could have been chatting away to specialist groups on FB and which actually assist me in aspects of my writing.
I have tried to find Collections of interest (historical fiction) and there aren’t many – some with only one follower (or like me: one post)
Please reassure me that Google Plus is going to be worth any effort in the future. I want to like it, but like Twitter, I get dizzy just looking at it!
Prue–You’re absolutely right that G+ is not fun. The trick is not to compare it to FB. Think of it as more like the phone book. You want to be in there, and you want to keep your info updated, but you can’t do much with it. Especially with the new version. So turn off all the notifications and just use it as if it were the phone book. Keep your profile up to date, share your posts and launches and forget it the rest of the time.
“I love Twitter because I only have to spend a few minutes a day there and I can get a huge amount of information about what’s going on in the industry.” I’d love to see a post about your Twitter and Facebook strategy, Anne. You have such a great presence on both. How many minutes per day do you spend? What do you prioritize? I know you’ve covered this subject here and there, but I’d appreciate a comprehensive how-to and I’m sure others would, too.
As for Google+, like many people I tried it and dropped it. For years, was a rumor that Google was also going to drop it. But you’re right…articles posted there rank high on searches. I’ll have to give it another try. Thanks for another great article!
Debra–Maybe I’ll have to do a post on how I use Twitter. I mostly just check my @ messages and every so often check the pages of people in the industry who post a lot, like Porter Anderson and Elizabeth S. Craig.
Google Plus can be easy–just put up the profile and news of your blogposts and don’t worry about interacting. They don’t seem to want you to, anyway.
I joined G+ back in its early days … struggled with it for a while and decided there were many easier ways to engage. I presume my profile is still there, but still not going to bother until they do a ‘pesticide’ run and get the bugs out.
Widdershins–That’s the problem–G+ doesn’t do much to allow you to engage with other users. But you are engaging with Google search engines and that benefits YOU. It’s not about making them feel bad (they won’t). It’s about using it to promote your own writing.
Great timely post. I too, hate the new google+ format. It’s not intuitive at all. But, I did get into when there was the big buzz about authorship. I made sure I did everything suggested and I think it seems to have helped my rankings. I like a couple of the groups and notice things I post in those groups also show up in google searches.
I’m guessing and hoping that by posting in groups related to my website that I also help my authority which is something talked about with the new Panda?
Yup, I’m not sure what else to do with google+ but I do notice if I post relative content and invite people from a “group” many come over and check out my blog. That’s gotta be worth something.
~ Tam Francis ~
http://www.girlinthejjitterbugdress.com
Tam–I think you use G+ wisely. I see your posts and I appreciate it when you share mine. You’re doing it just right.
I write under different names. Is it possible to have more than one Google Plus account?
Mark–I don’t have a clue. I know that lots of fake profiles follow me. It must be easier than FB to create fake accounts, so I would assume it would be easier to create pen name accounts as well. Try it and let us know!
Ha, I did the obvious and googled it. More than one personal account is against their terms of service, but you can use Google Pages. What that means exactly I haven’t discovered yet but will look into it.
Mark–Thanks! I love how we all can learn from comments. Several people here today have said they started “author pages” so there must be a thing like FB “like” pages on Google Plus. I didn’t know a thing about them until today, but I’ll sure look into it. Come back and tell us what you learn!
Sorry to comment again, (feel free to edit it into my other comment 🙂 ) but what in the world is the Collections part about? Your blog inspired me to go look, found the revert to old. Thank God! But now I’m curious about this “collection” menu item. Hmmmmm.
I’m so glad you found the button to go back to old Google Plus. I’m afraid I don’t know anything about the “collection menu”. I haven’t even noticed it. 🙁
Excellent post as always Anne. I’m with you on all your points. I agree on all counts about google plus, but I use it as you said, to send posts there and the odd time I visit, I share other’s stuff. I’m all over social media, so I’m grateful when I google myself I’m always all over the first page, so I think I’m doing something right. 🙂 And Oh my gosh, trying to contact google IS like trying to get to see the Wizard of Oz, too much work.
On another note, yes, I voted for your site on Indies.com. 🙂
D.G. I really appreciate it when you share my posts. I’m sure that helps with our SEO. And your platform is awesome. I didn’t even know about indies.com. I’ll have to check that out. Thanks a bunch.
Looks like I am in competition for page 1 with a composer named Tina Davidson when I searched for myself on Google (I show up on page 2). Do you recommend I add a middle initial? Also, if I search for “Tina Davidson writer,” then I show up on the first page. I signed up for G+ when you posted the video by Johnny Base but I rarely interact on it. Looking forward to Johnny’s upcoming Tech posts.
Tina–I am a BIG fan of middle initials. My name is probably the most common name in the US. Plus the most common middle name for women is “Anne” and the most common for men is “Allen”. And there’s an actress named Elizabeth Anne Allen who was in the Buffy TV series, so I used to be buried on page 40.. Put your middle initial on EVERYTHING. I’m really insistent about it, and it works!
Johnny has taught me a whole lot about SEO. I know he’ll have really useful things to teach us.
I refuse to “upgrade” to the new Google+ for the reasons you mentioned, and I hope they don’t force us to any time soon. Re: Twitter: I don’t use it much, but I like following all the publishing news and keeping up with authors I like. I’m curious about Instagram, and will probably go there next, just in time for it to go out of fashion, if I don’t hurry! 🙂
Jan–Yeah. Don’t you love it when they call it an “upgrade” when they really mean “we’re going to take everything you have and throw you in a fiery pit”.
I agree Twitter is good for news. That’s why I hope they don’t go under.
Instagram is where the kids are, apparently. So if you write YA, it’s important to be there. If you write for women over 25, it’s Pinterest.
Thanks, Anne. That is really helpful. I’ll keep that in mind. 🙂
I refuse to reinforce negative behavior which Google+’s inept set up truly is. I refuse to be bullied. If I disappear, then, I will disappear my own man. Thanks for your insightful post. 🙂
Roland–Robots don’t care about us or our personal feelings. What we need to do is learn to control the robots. So just put up a profile and leave. Use them like they want to use you.
Thank you for the post. I use G+ quite a lot, although not very socially (i.e. I don’t have many discussions there), and I actually like it. I’ve kept with the old version, because it’s very difficult to find circles in the new one. I’ve spend years putting people I like in specific circles and I want to be able to find them easily.
You mentioned the photos not being what you want when you share: I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you can actually choose which photo shows; at least in the old version you can. There’s a small arrow on the left upper corner of the photo and you can change it from there before you publish. You don’t have to settle with random photos.
Susanna–Yes, I’ve discovered you sometimes can choose from three photos, but usually none of them are the featured photo, unfortunately. And that’s only if you post manually. If you use a “share” button, they don’t let you choose. I have no idea why they do that. And I agree that the new version makes it impossible to find circles. It’s baffling.
I never tried Google +. I had no idea how good of a marketing tool it could be. If I ever get to the publishing stage, I’ll have to join.
Natalie–It would be worthwhile to put up a profile there now, even if you don’t use it, just to get that SEO started/
Hi Anne-interesting stuff on Google Plus. There has been a lot of chatter this last year about the importance of Google Plus. Everyone is scared not to be there because of the thinking that there is some kind of search juice available to people who are there. My biggest problem with the data about Amazon searches originating there is that I am not sure they are author name searches but book title and book category searches. It would be interesting to have that data–and we will never get it, unfortunately. I agree with your bottom line. Set up a profile there and keep it current. I think that is important for most social media channels. You don’t have to be active on them to have a profile as a redirect to channels where you are active. But for interaction there? It’s pretty much a wasteland at the present, as you said. And I doubt Twitter is going away, actually. It has established a niche as the go-to channel for real-time. And one thing I know from experience training students to use social media–younger people are always migrating so never base a strategy on that unless you write YA. They are always trying to go somewhere new and stay away from prying adult eyes. Their next move may be away from Snapchat as ads (and adults) start to clog the airwaves there. The hateful mobs the writer above refers to are rampant on every channel, not just Twitter, and Twitter is very good these days at squashing this kind of crap–much better than Facebook. So, I guess it is all a matter of opinion but people on Twitter know haters are lurking. I don’t think that is going to slow anybody down there. Everybody knows how to block and report and Twitter is much more proactive today about this stuff than they were even three years ago. Wow–I guess I wrote a lot–sorry to take up so much space. I love your blog–keep bringing it on. Thanks.
Chris–Thanks for all the great info! You’re the social media expert, so you know more about all this than I do. I’m SO glad to hear you think Twitter is healthy and strong. I sure depend on it. I agree there are trolls everywhere. But Twitter has been doing a massive clean-up, so it may actually be better than most right now.
I also agree that we don’t have to try to be active on all media. We’d never have time to write if we were. Just putting up a profile and keeping it updated is enough for Google Plus and Goodreads. We can’t do it all. Thanks!
Thank you, Anne,
this was my favorite line:
“…all you have to do is put up a profile there and forget it, like Goodreads. You can use it to share your…new blogposts and only stop in once a week or so.”
My question is: would the same “put it up and forget it” approach work for Facebook?
Sasha–Interesting question.. I know a lot of people aren’t active on FB but have a profile there. But I don’t think it does the same magic for your SEO as being on Google Plus. I think if you’re on FB, it’s best to be active. But some writers aren’t on FB at all. Ruth Harris has always avoided it, and she’s doing fine. 🙂
I used to loudly defend Google Plus, but now I can’t. It’s confusing, clunky, and handles like a bad shopping cart. Still use it, but hate it as I do, since I was dumb enough to upgrade to the new version.
Charly–Love the bad shopping cart analogy! You CAN switch back. I did. Look around the page and there’s something in very small print about “return to old Google Plus” or something like that. Click on it and sanity is restored!
Love that analogy Charly.
Twitter is going out?? Oh, man.. I just started getting used to how it works. Dang it! I use Google+ primarily to just post new blog posts and little else, so I guess I’ve already been using it correctly. I dislike it in general. It’s hard to connect with anyone and this new version makes it worse. :/
Madilyn–I’m reading in lots of places that Twitter may be fading. But they’re working hard to weed out the bad apples, so they’re trying. The biggest problem seems to be that they haven’t figured out how to monetize the way FB has. But I’m still very dependent on Twitter, so I hope it will rally. Sounds like you’re using Google+ the best way. They don’t make it easy to interact, that’s for sure.
I’m on Google plus but rarely do much with it. Although when I read a post like this (usually on your blog lol) I’ll go and share a bunch of my past blog posts to G+. Sorry the new format is so difficult. Why do they do that??? Their web designers are bored?? I agree with you about Twitter, for sure. It seems to have outlived its usefulness, and I’ve been tired of it for the past year, just doing random things there to stay active. Really like the look of your new site!
Karen–I have no idea why tech people do half the things they do. My sister, who lives in the Bay Area with all the big tech companies thinks they are all guys who were nerds in high school and this is their revenge on the world for not getting a date to the prom. 🙂 I’m glad you like the new site!
Thanks, Anne. This is really helpful for those of us who don’t know exactly where to go with our limited time or, in my case, limited patience for social media. I will definitely go back to my Google + and pay more attention to it. And, congratulations on your recognition and on your new Camilla site. I love it!
Christine–Thanks! Yes, the great thing about Google+ is it takes so little time for a big boost in your platform. So you have more time to write!
I don’t agree with everything in this post. I don’t think every author should be on G+ just like I don’t think it makes sense for authors to be everywhere. Authors do need to be where their readers are online and that’s it. Otherwise, they are waiting their time and resources. I know people who were doing a lot of Google Hangouts and they’ve switched to Blab, which interfaces with Twitter. I think Twitter has come a long way in recent months with Periscope, larger images, and other features. I just don’t see Twitter disappearing into thin air.
Frances–Thanks for weighing in. I know you’re an expert in social media, so I value your opinions. I’m glad you don’t think Twitter is going anywhere. I can’t think of anything that could take its place.
Do note that Peter McCarthy and Mike Shatzkin aren’t recommending using Google Plus for interaction. They’re saying it’s important for SEO. With new G+ it’s pretty impossible to interact, anyway.
I’ve been meaning to get back on G+ so thanks for the prompt. I loved it at first and even toyed with the idea of doing all my blogging there, as some early adopters were recommending. Sort of glad I didn’t. But I am still using Blogger, so I think each post gets set to G+ automagically. Will check out the personal/professional aspect also. Sure hope Twitter doesn’t go the way of the dodo, but I’m girding my loins just in case.
Lissa–I didn’t know Google wanted us to blog there. Thank goodness that didn’t happen, or we’d all be tearing our hair out now. And that probably would have meant they’d phase out Blogger. If you have your blog set to auto-post to G+ you probably don’t have to worry about a thing.
I’m hoping they’re wrong about Twitter. I’m glad to see both Chris Syme and Frances Caballo–social media experts–think the prediction is wrong.
No Google+ for me. I was added to it against my will, and I eviscerate anyone who even tries to add me to their circles.
To clarify about the followers gadget, they are tweaking the code so that you need a Google account to follow a blog. Otherwise, you’ll have to subscribe to the feed. This is why people are seeing sudden drop-offs in followers (I lost about 20 overall, and I know of people who lost a few hundred or more.
G.B. I know the bullying tactics of tech companies are infuriating. But the person who added you probably did you a favor. Now you have the SEO benefits of a Google+ profile without having to deal with the site. If you read Mike Shatzkin’s quotes above, you’ll see the sales benefits of a Google profile are huge. 25% of Amazon’s traffic comes from Google.
Yes, I saw that they changed the gadget when I started my new Blogger blog a month ago. Instead of the old “followers” widget, it’s now “Google + Followers”, so to get your little picture on there you have to be on G+. They also made it very hard to comment if you don’t have a G+ profile.
Thanks for the heads up about changing back to the old version which I quickly went and did! I hate the new version with a passion but I faithfully post as much as possible to Google plus just in case… very sad to hear about Twitter’s imminent and possible demise – I hope it’s a rumour like Mark Twain’s obituary because I like Twitter and I have never had a bad experience there.
Fiona–Isn’t it nice to be back to the old version? It’s like when a jackhammer digging up the street finally stops. Let’s hope they get the message. I keep hearing about how many millions of people are leaving Twitter. Let’s hope we’re just losing the riff-raff and Twitter will keep its importance. I found out about Justice Scalia’s death yesterday before any of the news outlets reported it because I saw it on Twitter. I think it still has a lot of relevance.
Hi Anne,
Thanks for a great post, I will share it many times! I am always advising our clients (in a slightly vague manner!) that visibility in Google is so important, but this is practical advice and information that will help enormously.
I will admit that I have tried and failed several times to master G+, but it must be done, going to roll my sleeves up and make another attempt to get on with it.
By the way, I am not sure if you have this Apple linkmaker url – best kept secret 🙂
http://linkmaker.itunes.apple.com/en-us/?country=gb
You have to remember to change the media type to Books each time, but it is easier than the Google search route.
Thanks again,
Diana
http://www.ebookpartnership.com
Diana–Thanks for stopping by. I’ve heard lots of good things about EbookPartnership. Thanks much for that link!! Good luck with Google Plus. Let’s hope this new version is short-lived.
Thank you very much Anne 🙂
The new Google Plus format has been hard for me to figure out. I don’t seem to understand how to find people’s profiles now that it has changed. I didn’t realize how important Google Plus was until I read this post. Thanks for all the info! 🙂
Jess–You and me both. I have yet to meet anybody who can find a profile on the new Google Plus. But it’s still important to have one. Even if humans can’t find it, the Google spiders can.
“And as for Apple—they don’t even seem to have an internal search engine for iBooks. At least I can’t find one. To find my own books there, I have to do a search for my title in Google and add “iTunes” after it.”
I don’t understand what you mean by this. When I use the iBooks app on my computer or my iPad, I can toggle back and forth between “Library” (meaning my library of books on my device) and “iBooks Store” (where one purchases new books). At either switch of the toggle there is a search field (it’s not hidden) that helps you to find books, either on your device or in the store. This is not a new function; it has been available for years.
I just did a search there and found eight of your books listed under “Fiction & Literature.”
Peter–Would you be willing to send me those links? It would really help. Apple bars anybody who doesn’t own an Apple device from searching iTunes. I’ve downloaded iTunes to my PC, and I’m constantly allowing their updates, but they still don’t let me search for my books. They recently broke all the links I was given by a friend with an iPad, and WordPress got all mad at me for the broken links. If you have current unbroken links I can put on my book page, that would be a huge help. Apple does not want anybody shopping there who doesn’t own an Apple device. They hate people who use Microsoft so much, they don’t care how many sales they lose. My email address is annerallen.allen at gmail dot com. Thanks a bunch!!
Do you mean the Google/iTunes links? I’m not sure what iPad links you speak of. I would be glad to do it once I’m sure of what you want. (Maybe I’m a little slow today.)
Peter–Thanks! What I need are the urls for the links to my books on iTunes so I can link to them from my book page on this blog. It’s good when people who want to buy from iTunes can click through to my buy pages without a search. I link to Amazon and Kobo and B & N and Google Play and Inkterra and Scribd, etc, but all my links to my books at iTunes stopped working a couple of weeks ago. No idea why.
But because I don’t own an Apple device, they don’t let me search iTunes. They have no internal search engine that’s visible from a PC. What I need are the urls at iTunes for each of the books.
It would be some work, so if you don’t have time, I understand, but I’d be really grateful. Or if I have an author page at iTunes, I could link to that if you have the url. But there’s no way for me to find out. I wish Apple wouldn’t play these exclusivity games, because it keeps them from giving Amazon healthy competition.
I’m glad I found this. Just this very day I was on Google Plus for the first time in a long time because I needed the URL for my own page so I could give it to someone. Easy to find right? It took me 15 minutes! I say this as someone who has managed websites and been online since the early 90s. Go to your Facebook page and the clean URL is right there. You can’t miss it. Go to Google Plus and you are presented with a jumble of characters wrapped in multiple layers of “view this page as” and “manage this page as” nonsense. I just want a URL that says /plus.google.com/myname. Even the SHARE button hides the URL. The SHARE button! However, after reading this article just now I’ve calmed back down. Mayhap I will get back in there and at least do the bare minimum as you suggest. Thank you for the calming words.
eeisherwood–I guess it’s reassuring to hear that even a professional tech person can’t deal with the new Google Plus. Isn’t it awful? A lot of people have been Tweeting this post, so maybe somebody at Google will notice. Why would a company ruin a perfectly good social media site and make it into something useless that everybody hates? Probably the same person who decided to unbrand themselves as the universally recognized “Google” and call the company “Alphabet” with zero people on the planet have done. I think the #1 rule at big tech companies is, “remember the customer is the enemy, make them as uncomfortable as possible and hope they’ll go away.”
But for now, a profile there is very useful. Then you hardly ever have to go back.
I’m late to this post–and late to Google Plus. I haven’t made the change yet, but was thinking about it. This post has help me make up my mind to jump in. I see that now (a year later) there is an about link right at the top of the page. so that’s good.
Southpaw–Actually this post is from nearly 2 years ago. I found some comments in spam from some guy who said he wouldn’t read the post, but he *knew* I’d been paid a bundle by Google to write the post. Haha. I wish. 🙂
Google Plus no longer functions as much of a social network. But the SEO benefits remain the same. It’s worth it to have your profile up there.
People!
Ha. I’m still in 2017. 😉 I started a profile, but after the third screen of turning things off (and there were more) so it my private stuff wasn’t shared with the world, I was out. Someone just told me about a “Brand account” which I may look into once I’m less ticked off with google. 😉
I haven’t tried to set up a Google Plus account recently. But I’m not surprised to hear they’ve made it even more difficult and unpleasant. That’s what they keep doing. Their motto seems to be “If it ain’t broke, break it., then punch your customer in the nose.” No idea what’s up with that.