GOOGLE PLUS Beginner s Guide For Real Estate

GOOGLE PLUS Beginner s Guide For Real Estate

Do you ever feel like this guy? I don t know what to do with Google Plus! None of my friends are on Google Plus! Image courtesy of Jill Whalen, Owner, High Rankings There are so many social media networks; I can t master ANOTHER one!

Why Use GOOGLE PLUS? It s Google; nuff said. Any Google products you can use can t hurt your SEO*. *SEO = Getting your website to the top of page one in Google search results. If you have a website with lead capture abilities, there are many ways to optimize your profile to get YOU more internet leads! Speaking of SEO, we ll show you how to optimize your profile page for maximum SEO power in conjunction with your website. Image courtesy of Tom Raftery Those ahead of the curve-the thought leaders like Chris Brogan and Scott Stratten, etc. are already there and Chris has given up Facebook for Google Plus. Those same thought leaders have never been more accessible on a social media site since the early days of Twitter. Your privacy is more in your control.

Before Getting Started with GOOGLE PLUS Now we ve established that you need to be on Google Plus. Here s how: First thing is first get a Gmail account*. That is the best way to get in. If your brokerage is already listed under the same address, you still need to get your own location address to be mapped correctly! Gather links to all your important websites: *Make sure your Gmail account is tied in with your business and its location for maximum SEO power. Next, be sure that your business is located in Google Places and/or Google Maps. If not, you will have to wait for Google to approve the business location. Do not skip this step, because this is how people will find your business. * Website, Home Search Site, Blog Sites * Social Media Sites Facebook, Twitter, Etc. * Social Bookmarking Sites StumbleUpon, Digg, Etc. * Review Site Profiles Yelp, Merchant Circle, Etc.

Signing Up and In To GOOGLE PLUS Now that you have a Gmail account, go to http://plus.google.com and sign in.* *Don t chose Create an Account. You already did this in Gmail chose Sign In. The first thing you want to do is create your personal profile. Google Plus will ask you for your Google Plus will encourage you to invite friends to visit your profile. DO NOT INVITE FRIENDS at this point! You do NOT want potential clients to see an incomplete profile with no posts! personal information, etc. Fill these sections out as completely as you can. Think about what you d like to accomplish on Google Plus. Most agents want to be found in Google search results, plus have traffic directed to their websites and blogs. Any questions about completing your profile, ask on our Facebook page (facebook.com/agentknowhow); however, read the very next page first it could answer a question! We ll show you how to do these things on the next pages!

Filling out your G+ profile! Once you see the red bar at the top, you can edit your profile. First, click under your name (arrow pointing up towards it in this guide). Then, carefully craft your keywords but be friendly! Introduction is where you want to be descriptive. You can use HTML here and anchor link your text keywords with important websites. If you don t know how to do that use keywords alone. Recommended links (on the right) is where you place all those websites we asked you to gather earlier. Don t skip this page. This is the most important step to getting found by consumers through Google searches!

Filling out your G+ profile! (Pg 2) Put something in your Employment section that will make people want to follow you! And of course, your last two jobs. When you are in your stream and hover your mouse over someone s name (see image above), a description shows that is different from the Description on your About page. This description is actually Employment, but we ll show you how to put something descriptive there to make people want to follow you. In Edit Profile, pitch yourself here in the Employment spot closest to the bottom. Leave the Job Title & Start boxes blank but check Current box. It will auto-fill 2012 but that s okay.

Circles on GOOGLE PLUS Don t be intimidated by Circles they are easy peasy once you understand them! Anything worth knowing has a learning curve, right? See the red arrow at the top? This is how you get to your Circles. The other red arrow points to how you can find people. You can also go the Search bar to the right of this, or find people on http://findpeopleonplus.com. Read on...

Circles on GOOGLE PLUS (pg2) Click on the gray circle to create your own circles. Use your imagination when naming circles! If you have several marketing niches, create a circle for each niche, like neighborhoods! Click on + Add a new person to add the people you ve found. Start typing their names..once they are showing up (like the super awesome Katie Lance of Inman Next above), then you can drag each person to the circles you ve created.

Circles on GOOGLE PLUS (pg3) Below is a wonderful explanation of Circles from local SEO consultant, David Bruce Jr. of FrederickWebPromotions.com.

How Do I Talk to People on GOOGLE PLUS? So, now you have your Circles ready. How do you talk to people? Click on the box below Stream where it says Share what s new Type a + sign and immediately following it, the name of the person you wish to talk to. (Ex.: +Audeliz Angie Perez) Then enter. Afterwards, type what you want to say. See below! Where the red arrow is pointing below, you can add a photo, video, link, or location. This won t show up on Angie s profile, but in her stream and mine.

How Do I Talk to People on GOOGLE PLUS? (Pg 2) Here is how my post shows up in the stream. And, it will show up in my profile of anyone I ve shared it with. If it s Public, anyone will be able to see it. Notice the red arrow pointing to a box under Stream with a downward pointing arrow in it? This will collapse your stream to reduce the noise * coming through. *Noise = Frequent or many posts, usually by the same person(s). Create a circle for real estate agents only-in case you have a question you d like answered you would rather the public not see, such as referral discussions.

How do I listen to people on G+? How do you know when someone has responded to one of your posts or comments? On the top right hand side of the screen, by your profile name, you ll see a number. This is the number of notifications you have, which means someone shared a post with you, commented on your post or comment, added you to their circles, or added you back. Click on it! You don t have to add everyone back that adds you! Just Like Twitter, your stream will quickly become filled with unwanted posts. Be choosy about who you add. Make a circle for locals, clients, or potential clients, one for vendors, etc. You could even break them down into inspectors, stagers, etc. You can also view the stream from one of your circles at a time to reduce the noise in your stream. Quality over quantity!

The importance of Google s Button You ve probably seen Google s +1 Button. This means that Google search results have gone social now. It is the equivalent of Facebook s Like button, but so much more. Google s search results now place heavy emphasis on this button. A +1 on your website, blog, or Google Plus, is like a vote to Google in favor of your business. The more people who +1 your content, the higher the search engine rankings. Placing the +1 Button within your content is fairly easy to do. However, if you feel more comfortable you can ask your web developer to do it for you. The code to place the +1 Button in your content can be found at: http://www.google.com/intl/en/webmasters/+1/button/ index.html

How to Use GOOGLE PLUS? NOW you can invite people, either on the right hand side of your stream where it encourages you to email your Google contacts, or you can just announce to everyone on your website and other social networks that you are available there now and provide a link to your profile! Just like Facebook, engage with people! People who are not in real estate have said over and over that they do NOT like spammers or agents that talk about how great they are! These people are not afraid to talk about things other than their business!

GOOGLE PLUS Hangouts Get ready for some fun Hangout is one of the best features of Google Plus! A Hangout is talking to each other on video. If you have a webcam on your computer or laptop, click on Start a hangout. It will tell you to adjust your screen, audio, etc. The person(s) you wish to Hangout with will see your name in their stream (click the Home icon at the top to get to your stream, or your user name in the top left in the black band), and a message will pop up for them to Join this Hangout. Or you can go to a person s post in your stream, and click on Hang out at the bottom (see red arrow below). Have a client located in another state? Hangout is a great way to communicate visually as well as verbally!

Create a Vanity URL for GOOGLE PLUS You know how your Google Plus profile has a long number in it, like https://plus.google.com/u/0/117515338325348102591/posts? Just like Facebook s Vanity URL, you too can have one on Google Plus! The long number you see above, 117515338325348102, you need to copy and get ready to paste. This is AgentKnowHow s number, and you will have another number. Go to http://gplus.to. Your Nickname will be whatever you want after gplus.to/, for example, ours is RealEstateCoaching. Your Google + ID will be the long number we asked you to copy. Paste it here. Click on Add. That s it!

GOOGLE PLUS for Real Estate Agents The most important thing is correctly setting up your profile to get found in Google s search engine. Talk to people! Get to know your community. Find ways to help people. Invite your friends. They are probably intimidated, too! You can circle (follow) or not circle (ignore) anyone you want! Create circles for niches, or important people you want to follow. Set up the +1 button on your sites and blogs. Encourage people to +1 the content they like to bring your content up in Google s search engine results! Do a Hangout with other agents to learn, and clients/ potential clients to get to know them on a deeper level. Let us know if you like this guide, and if you d like to see one for Business Profiles! If you have any questions visit or contact us! AgentKnowHow.com Education & Training for New & Seasoned Agents (424) 243-6816 Facebook.com/AgentKnowHow Gplus.to/RealEstateCoaching

I owe an eternal debt of gratitude to Suzanne Roy, owner of V.A. Work & Inman Next contributor, for introducing me online to Josh Galvan & Tizish, where much of the SEO information in this booklet came from. :) Thank you Suzanne & Josh! David Bruce Jr., owner of Frederick Web Promotions, whose uncanny intuition led him to start a Facebook Business Cooperative Group a year before Google search went social, and was kind enough to invite me to be among the first in this fantastic group, and taught us that the +1 button was going to be important just as soon as the +1 button came out! He inspires me with his SEO skills every day. Brenda Doll, my team s lead agent, for putting up with me as I learn new processes, and giving me freedom to pursue my dreams knowing that I remain loyal to the team. GOOGLE + Guide Acknowledgements Audeliz Angie Perez and dotjenna, for believing in me and pushing (coaching) me to dare to do things I never would have dared before coming into contact with them. I owe you both my. Special thanks for letting us use your profiles/posts as examples: Chris Brogan Shawn Warren Scott Stratten Cara Mancuso Katie Lance Mike Cathell Ricardo Bueno Forgot anyone? Let us know!