FridayFavourites

FridayFavourites
If you were busy yesterday here's Mick Sharpe rounding up the best on the Plus.

#fridayfavourites   #googleplus  

Originally shared by Mick Sharpe

Back to Old Kent Road

In a week that is seeing much discussion around the difficulties that the Old Establishment in Europe is having with the big, new kids on the World Stage I was pleased to see the response from Google showing the continued innovation, growth and new entrants in the sector. Far from the damaging monopoly feared by the EU. Yet, you can sense it will get a lot worse before it gets better.

It’s not about the numbers…

...but here are the numbers. Eric Enge shares the latest comprehensive study from Stone Temple Consulting in Hard Numbers on Google Plus Activity (http://goo.gl/jeVfJr) Over 500,000 Google+ profiles analysed, you’ve got to admire the do it justice approach. The findings are laid out in a very easy to digest form with a substantial conclusion that is worth reading. If you, or anyone you know, need any more convincing that Google+ isn’t going anywhere then Eric’s colleague Mark Traphagen tells us Why Google+ Isn't Going Away in his latest podcast (http://goo.gl/5t30uR). I’m really enjoying these Traphagen's Takeout Orders - I’ll take a rant at market price any day of the week ;-)

You may well have noticed the number of social profiles and content that are often returned in search queries. Brian Jensen noticed and shows us how to make the most of this opportunity to increase our online visibility in The Rise of Social Search (And How to Take Advantage Of It) (http://goo.gl/mBZMRB). Peppered with real examples you’ll find some sound, actionable advice in this post. Good job Brian.

People don’t speak finance

Stephanie Sims is the friendly face of finance and funding on Google+ (that’s a lot of Fs in one sentence!) Stephanie joins Thomas E. Hanna | BlogPhoto.tv for The Theory Of Funding Your Business (http://goo.gl/e5iB7n) and makes the finance speak intelligible for those at the coal face. Always sound advice from Stephanie - I really need to reduce the bus factor of my business! And that advice goes far beyond the financial, great stuff. Go get the book too!

If you’re looking to expand your services or improve your knowledge then you probably should take a look at this week’s The PYB show! (an experiment) (http://goo.gl/HPuU4p) martin shervington, still under the beardy influence of Travis Taylor, announces the new PYB Local Consultant Course and the reasoning behind the donation-based offering. There’s certainly a lot of value in Local Search for every business and this is a chance to get on board early and make a difference.

A guiding light

It’s here! Let’s Put Eagle, CO on the Google Map : A Case Study … (http://goo.gl/JnQfKq). A comprehensive review of the work undertaken by the EagleCO Vail2015 team. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of all that the team has achieved in this project and I’m really glad that they have gone the extra mile to give us the benefit of their gathered knowledge and experience. Anyone looking to improve their local presence would do well to take a long look at this to see how the team implemented the Audit, Localize, Optimize, Socialize strategy. A huge pat on the back to all involved - well done.

And if you needed any further evidence of the value to come from the project take a look at this post from team member Tim Sweeney: Ongoing Management of A Google My Business Account (http://goo.gl/UPkY0w) a comprehensive guide to making the most of a Google My Business listing. Read, absorb, deploy (and share in your local business community!).

Batting against the Big Boys

The opportunity for small business to compete in search has never been greater. David Amerland provides the expert guidance in the Small Business WebTech Show: SEO Help for Small Business (http://goo.gl/zZ07Yr). I have to acknowledge the continued efforts of Marilyn Moore and John Moore bringing this kind of expertise and support to the busy small business owner. The section on the importance of process particularly resonated. Everything works great up to a certain workload, all enquiries dealt with, adequate social media engagement, all good. Then I make the mistake of taking on that extra client, extra piece of work and bam - it all goes out the window! I know we all get the importance of the people-to-people engagement - after all people buy from people. For anyone who doesn’t point them to this show, even if they aren’t looking for a landscape gardener! The ever helpful #timestamp summary from RightStart Websites here (http://goo.gl/37Q07E)

Thinkers corner

Gina Fiedel has given us plenty to think about in Honesty Culture: Truth In Business - Who Are You? Who Do You Want To Be? (http://goo.gl/WcJexd). We all hope, and believe ourselves, to be honest in the things that we do in both our business and social activities. It’s the right thing. Respect and trust the reward for such honesty. But is it so? Gina points out ”We’re so utterly faithful, that sometimes we don’t even realize we’re lying to ourselves.” This is a rich vein, dig deep, and then ponder how honest can we actually be?

And finally…

Get behind the facade of democracy! David Amerland shares the latest Trews in Use Your Power To Empower Yourself (http://goo.gl/F2uqt2) It’s hard to disagree with the issues raised by Russell Brand, issues that become more and more apparent in our age of increased reportage and information exchange. Hell he might even get my vote and that’s saying something - the last time I exercised my right was 1983!


Have a great weekend wherever you are

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Created by Mick Sharpe of Bitingedge