While Google Plus has been growing non-stop since 2011, the ins and outs of Google’s social media platform remain a mystery to many people and business owners. Therefore, HostDime has put together some essential steps to help optimize your Google Plus posts and increase your visibility.

Before you read this, make sure you check out our list of 40 tips, apps, and extensions that make Google Plus more enjoyable for both novices and experts.

How to Optimize Your Google+ Posts Like a Boss

1. Post publically by using the default “Public” so your post can be visible to anyone who’s added you to a circle. These posts will also be searchable on Google’s search engine.

2. Google Plus is becoming similar to Tumblr and Pinterest, rather than Facebook and Twitter in the way that people create posts. Early adopters use images to catch people’s attention in their feed. Even if you write a post or use a link, be sure there’s an accompanying picture to draw in eyeballs.

3. Tag influential Google plussers when you write something you think they’d enjoy. For example, if you write a post about SEO, be sure to tag relevant SEO experts by adding a + before their name in the post.

4. Every so often, share the link to a Google Plus post on your other social networks to see if others will follow you. Don’t forget forums like Stumbleupon and Reddit.

5. When creating a post, add revelant hashtags to get noticed in Google Plus’ search. Add a # before any word you want to be searched for. This works on both posts and now comments. Search for your friends’ hashtags only by filtering Google Plus search using Hashtags and Circles. Search for your hashtags only by filtering the search results by choosing the “From You” option.

6. Add back people who have you in circles and interact with them if you find them interesting. To see this, go to “People” and there will be a “Have You in Circles” option.

7. The more active you are, the more activity back you will receive.

8. Search out influential people in your niche and circle them. Then +1, comment, and reshare their posts. Find recommended users here.

9. You can find entire Circles filled with influentials by searching for “Circle Share” in the Communities section. You can add up to 500 people a day, sometimes with just one click of a button.

10. Add a badge for yourself or your business to add on your website like this:

11. When you write a detailed, relevant post, don’t just posted it on your profile. Post to all relevant Communities to welcome new engagers to your page.

12. Make sure your profile is optimized, as this is your digital business card. Link to all your websites you own, work for, and contribute to. Include all keywords you want to rank.

13. Choose quality or quantity. While you want to stay in people’s minds by posting at least once a day, much more than that will come off as spammy.

14. Vanity URL’s have finally been rolled out for Google Plus. Choose one that will be easy to remember to tell friends.

15. Include that vanity link in your email signature.

16. Use Text formatting to better illustrate a point.

Bold: *word*
Italics: _word_
Strikethrough: -word-

17. As you have surely noticed thanks to incessant pestering, YouTube and Google Plus are now integrated, with YouTube Comments linking to Google Plus. Take advantage of this by posting witty comments on YouTube videos to receive interaction and followers back to Google Plus.

18. You spent some time creating a post, but when should you release it? Timing+ helps with that by deciding when it is the best time to post for you. By analyzing your historical post data, Timing+ shows you when you have had the most interaction. This should help you reach more viewers.

19. Tweet inside of Google Plus via the Realtime Client. This extension includes realtime timeline search, sharing friends google posts on Twitter, tracking keywords, answering RTs, and much more.

20. While this will depend on how spammy you want to be, you could automatically direct message new followers on Twitter with your Google+ profile link: “Hey *name here*, thanks for following me on Twitter! Be sure to also check out my Google+ page!”

21. Hootsuite allows you to manage your Google Plus page in your account to update your page and schedule posts. As of this moment, this functionality is only for your business page, not personal pages yet.

22. Lastly, stay on top of your notifications and reply to everyone who interacts with you.

All Notifications – https://plus.google.com/notifications/all
Circle Adds – https://plus.google.com/notifications/circle
Mentions of you – https://plus.google.com/notifications/mentions
Your posts – https://plus.google.com/notifications/myposts
Photos of you – https://plus.google.com/notifications/phototags
Other people’s posts – https://plus.google.com/notifications/otherposts

Do you have any Google hacks to add to our list? Comment below!

Follow HostDime for News, Tutorials, Contests, and Specials

Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | YouTube | Instagram

[divider]

Jared Smith is HostDime’s Content Marketer. Follow him on Twitter and Google Plus.