PRIME SEO STRATEGY: READ ON.

As a former luddite, I can understand the hesitation to join the ranks and be “social” on the many popular online platforms.  For a long time I refused to participate in any networks, until a manager at Forbes told me that I “had” to create a twitter account because “what kind of blogger doesn’t tweet?”

As a business writer, I didn’t see the value in using social media to promote my articles because Forbes is always associated with money, free enterprise, etc., and I thought the articles would speak for themselves.  It wasn’t until I began to write about travel that I became intrigued by the thought of “sharing”.

My “tagged” travel photo collage on Google+.

Extensive travel led to catching the travel bug.  In the blink of an eye I had transformed into a photojournalist.  I wanted to show people the amazing things I’d seen and the incredible places I visited.  Every trip I took seemed so random and I suddenly found myself tweeting photos and crazy experiences.  This led to the creation of Emerald Traveler.  Recently I joined Pinterest, and now I have a newfound appreciation for Google+ (nope…still not on Facebook).

My Google+ profile page:

I’m a Google+ rookie but I already see the clear advantages of utilizing the platform for SEO.  Tonight I’m sharing Ten Dead Simple Tips To Take Advantage Of Google+ For SEO, by Cyrus Shepard, an SEO expert.  It is a must-read for bloggers or anyone wishing to share their awesome life experiences to the max.

Here’s a little preview of the article.  To read the full piece, click here.

Not so with Google+.

Here’s an experiment: If you use Google+, perform a search for your name and check the domain distribution of first 100 results. The graph below shows what happens when searching my own name.

When promoting a blog, article, project, etc., Google+ is an essential tool for search optimization.  So, if you haven’t joined Google+, do it now.