posted by Search
Earlier, we gave an update on Google’s announcement of Google+, which includes more details about its features.
In this installment, Josh Mathe talks about how Google is making an effort to measure how Google+ is being used.
Did Google give us a way to measure just how social it is?
Google didn’t just stop at creating a more shareable and interactive Web experience. They know that without being able to measure this, the value will not be understood. To help us measure value, they went ahead and added some new features to their offerings:
- Webmaster Tools - Google Webmaster Tools is now allowing us to track and monitor +1 usage. With it we can see how pages perform with the +1 and without the +1. Remember that just because somebody in some location may +1 a page does not mean it will rank higher. Only people you are connected to can affect your rankings.
It also allows you to see +1 activity for your site ranging from how many new +1s you have, how many you have total and general audience information. To put it simply, it lets you see analytics on how people are using your pages.
- Google Analytics - When we look at Google Analytics, we begin to see information about more than just Google +1. They are now allowing us to view more social information and how it helps our websites.
- Engagement - Social Engagement allows us to see typical Google Analytics information such as pages per visit, bounce rate, time on site, etc. to let us know if our social efforts are more valuable than our other marketing tactics.
For instance, if we are curious if someone who hits the Facebook Like Button while on our site is a more engaged user, then we can quickly and easily view those metrics thanks to Social Engagement.
- Action - Social Action lets us measure and monitor just that, social action. We can keep tabs on people clicking +1, Like, etc. from each social source. Google is working to provide a more robust and informative offering with social analytics and with Action being a very strong indicator, this will go a long way in helping to discover true value.
- Pages - This lets you get a more micro view of pages and their level of social use. With Pages, you can see which actions were taken on what page, what led them to that page, etc. You also get to see what pages are doing well for you and what pages need to step up their game.
For Google, the hard part is not going to be showing people the value, it will be pulling them away from the multitude of other social networks and starting over from scratch once more. However, sometimes a fresh start is just what people are looking for.
About the author of this post:
Joshua Mathe leads thunder::tech’s Search team and has worked in the SEO and pay-per-click industry for more than five years. He is lifelong Clevelander with a love of all things #CLE.
TAGS:
web, Development, Web development, social media, Google, Google Plus, social network, Google+, Google +1, analytics, Social Engagement, Google Circles, Google Sparks, Google Huddle, Google Hangouts, Google Instant Upload
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