Five key areas to consider with Google Plus

Measuring the success of your Google+ page and its effects on your business isn’t easily done. There is no one true indicator of how successful your page is, instead it is best to look at a variety of factors to establish whether your presence on the social network is reaping rewards. We suggest there are five key areas to consider.

1. Engagement
This is measured by the number of people who have interacted with the content you have created and shared on Google+. Ways people can engage with your content are:
* Sharing posts
* Commenting on posts
* Clicking on your content
* +1s on your posts
It’s all about numbers. The more shares, comments, clicks and +1s you receive will determine how engaged people are with your business.
Top Tip: To increase and maintain engagement, reply to comments and ask further questions to drive discussions further.

2. Platform Reach
How much reach is your content gaining and is it being viewed by the relevant people? These are two questions you need to ask yourself when considering the reach of your platform. You can measure this by considering:
* How many circles your page is in
* The number of relationships you’ve built with influential members of the platform
* How involved you are in various Goolgle+ communities
IMPORTANT: Forging relationship with influencers on the network is vital, as they will join in with the conversations you’re having with your audience and share your content with their followers, increasing your reach further.

3. Quality of Reach
Like all social networks, some engagements on Google+ can be spammy. You may have great content, but is it reaching the right people and how long are they spending engaging with you? You can measure this by considering:
* The lifespan of your content
* The depth of conversations
* How long people are spending on your site
If your content is being shared a lot, receiving plenty of comments and people are spending long periods of time on your page from referrals, then you are reaching the right people.
Try This: Regularly analyse your content to ensure appropriate people who have similar interests are interacting with your business.

4. Sales Numbers
In business, it’s all about the bottom line and how many sales you are making. You can measure how effective your Google+ page is at driving sales through ongoing interaction and relationships with your customers. By looking at the number of referrals to your Goole+ page alongside the number of sales you have made, you can gain a pretty good idea of the effectiveness of your Google+ page.
Top Tip: Building relationships on Google+ is key to driving sales. Conversations over time can turn your audience into paying customers.

5 Keep An Eye On Your Competition
Continually analyse your competitors’ performances on Google+, paying attention to the level of engagement with their content, what they are doing which resonates with users and what reach they have been able to achieve.

Remember: If it didn’t work for your competitors then it probably won’t work for you.