The Google Plus Settings You Need to Change Immediately

I have a love/hate relationship with Google+. Maybe you do too.

Google+ is not just an ordinary social network. It shares some features with Twitter and Facebook, yes. But at the end of the day, it’s a social network plugged into the largest search engine in the world.

That, my friends, for better or for worse, is why you need to be paying attention to Google+.

When I first signed up for Google+, I gave my profile a quick once-over and didn’t touch it again until just recently. Huge mistake. There’s some serious Google juice in them ‘thar Plus hills, and I was letting it go to waste.

Having an un-optimized Google+ profile is like leaving money on the table. It’s just waiting there for you to take advantage of its Google-packed power. Take a few moments and make these changes. You’ll thank me for it later.

Optimizing Your Google Plus Settings on the Profile

We’re going to concentrate on beefing up four different areas. You can find them under the “About” page on your profile. Those areas are:

1. Introduction
2. Employment
3. Education
4. Places

According to Google+ guru AJ Kohn, these are the four areas that Google looks at when indexing keywords. In other words, these areas are where you put the stuff that you want to be known for.

Introduction

Look at all them keywords!

As you can see, I’ve focused on a few different keywords for this section. I want Google to index me with these keywords in mind:

• Social media
• Productivity
• Blogging
• Monk Development
• Center for Church Communication
• HopeOnline.tv

When I look at my career, these are the topics, subjects, or projects I’m best known for.

Most of those keywords have a link attached to it to help with SEO even further. For instance, “social media” in the last paragraph links to the “social media” category here on the blog, “productivity” links to the “productivity” category, etc. The point here is to make it clear who you are and what you want to be known for.

Answer this question in the Introduction: If someone types your name into Google, what are they going to find?

Employment

This is the way we go to work.

This is pretty straightforward. Keep this section updated with all the places you’ve worked. I get multiple hits per week from people looking for:

justin wise lutheran church of hope

It’s never a bad idea to make sure Google knows where you’ve worked/are working. Keep it optimized. Keep it current. Let people know how to find you.

Education

Droppin' knowledge.

Again, this section functions much like the Employment section. Always keep keywords in mind when inputting text. be as descriptive as possible. Don’t spill that Google juice!

Places

“Places I’ve lived” has been helpful to me for a number of different reasons. First and foremost, I’m battling it out with a Justin Wise in the UK for top positioning in search results. Declaring where I’ve lived will help people who might be searching for the U-S-of-A Justin Wise.

In my instance, this can also help people who I went to college with (Cedar Falls, IA) or interned with (Burbank, CA) find me a little easier. Google looks at this stuff, so I want to make it clear what I’m all about.

Conclusion

Admittedly, these aren’t drastic changes. But they will help. It will make your Google+ profile primed, pumped, and ready to go for search engines.

Like I said, Google+ is one of those necessary evils that you need to pay attention to if you’re going to be any sort of player in the social media space. You can’t ignore Google+, so make sure you use these tweaks to optimize your profile.

PS – While you’re at it, give me a circle the next time you’re on the Plus!