Exposing Your WordPress Content on Google+

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If you’ve been following along with current social media trends, you already know that Google+ should be a large part of your social media strategy. The search engine giant’s social media site is a great way to expose your content and increase page views in a single swipe. Linking and posting your quality WordPress content to your verified Google+ account is a fantastic way to increase your audience and help your search results.

When Google launched Google+, they developed a system called Google Authorship. The Google Authorship program essentially vets blog owners before presenting them in search engine results. By linking your Google+ account with your WordPress blog, Google is able to verify the blog owner’s identity and then link their social media presence with their blog. The thought process behind the Google Authorship program is to provide your audience with more transparency, allowing your words to be backed up by your name and image.

The Google Authorship program manifests itself with user searches. When a user performs a search, the sites that have Google Authorship are listed with a picture from the Google+ account as well as a small snippet of the content. The simple act of adding a face to an article increases credibility.

One of the biggest disadvantages of online dealings is the intrinsic distrust of working with a stranger. Google Authorship through Google+ erodes this distrust by applying a clear screenshot of the author in addition to Google’s assurances of validity. Using Google+ as a social media tool requires transparency of the author, which allows readers to associate the author with respectability and leadership in the field.

Author rank is another positive benefit to attaining Google Authorship. Working your way up the ranking system is an arduous journey. Most blogs don’t expect to make meaningful advances to the front page until three to six months after launch. While Google won’t confirm the positive effects of Google Authorship, a case study of a brand new site skyrocketing up through the rankings makes a strong case for the authorship program having some effect on blog success.

The argument for Google Authorship improving author search engine rank is straightforward. By linking Google+ profiles to author blogs, Google can determine whether author content is useful and worthwhile in a search. This translates to trusted authors being bumped up in rankings while nonsensical garbage plummets to the bottom.

WordPress has consistently made it easier to connect with Google+. While the initial launch of Google+ required reposting content onto the social media site in addition to posting on WordPress, WordPress now makes it easy. Under settings, authors can choose to share their Google+ profile. Nothing will change in WordPress other than you will have the option of using your Google+ profile when leaving comments or posting articles. The WordPress service Publicize can be enabled to instantaneously share any posts made on WordPress with Google+.

While nothing is substitute for posting original content on your social media sites, Google+ benefits greatly from linking articles on your WordPress site. Google search engines can be alerted of any new, quality content being provided and rank it accordingly.

Google’s constant updating of its search result policy in the form of Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird and every animal in between points toward Google+ being built as more than just a simple social networking site. As blog spammers becomesavvier to what increases search engine rankings, the transparency of social media sites make them an excellent target for ensuring quality content is being presented during web searches. This is a great opportunity for quality bloggers to pounce on the open invitation of Google+, advance their rankings, and increase their audience through social media integration.

Ken Myers is a father, husband, and entrepreneur. He has combined his passion for helping families find in-home care with his experience to build a business. Learn more about him by visiting @KenneyMyers on Twitter.