I am not going to lie, I have had my frustrating moments with Google+, but really it isn't hard to integrate into your WordPress website / blog and it is worth it! Google+ is used in ranking factors, and why not doing anything / everything you can to grab seo advantages?
To help you succeed, I am pulling together a round up of options for you to integrate Google+ into your blog.
1. Authorship
I know what you are thinking - will this girl ever stop with the Authorship! I first wrote about it here in 2012, and on my own blog even earlier.
Here are the official Google steps for setting up authorship. You can use a plugin or check your WordPress theme; some have places for you to verify from within their dashboard.
As soon as you see your avatar pop out on a search page you will be so happy you went through the effort, especially since results with an avatar are 47% more likely to get a click. This structured data testing tool let's you know immediately if you set things up correctly or if there is a mistake.
2. Add A Plus 1 Button
This is equivalent to the Like, but with Google's super power.
If you like to hard code, here is the code, of you if prefer a plugin I use Really Simple Share Buttons by WhileTrue
When you add a link to Google+, the title of the page / blog post, will show in the first line of text, so make sure to craft your titles with care. If you have a target keyword, I suggest that you use it here. I know the creative writers out there will be annoyed with this bit of advice, I hear you - do what works for you.
3. Add A Google+ Badge
This allows people to easily follow you right from your website.
I used the New Google+ Widget plugin for WordPress. You can also hard code your badge with this simple script from Google.
4. Add Google+ Comments
Personally, I don't think this is a great idea, I think you should keep your comments under your ownership and not put them into the hands of plugins or platforms, but people seem to like this option, so I wanted to include it here. You may try this plugin, GPlus Comments.
5. Tracking
Tracking which posts are successful for you is interesting and important. You can install this social media Google Analytics Dashboard into your account by clicking here. Or if you want to see how popular you are check out CircleCount.
Question
Are you using Google+? I would love to know how you have integrated it into your WordPress site and how it is working for you. Are you noticing that your followers are growing?
Great post Eileen – thanks for sharing this!
Solid article Eileen. However, is it also not (more) interesting to post these articles as a company being? If you do not like to ‘connect’ yourself that much to the company ánd that way you are building your brand stronger, and not so much the personal brand. Which is the author.
I’m convinced with the power of Google+, will surely read your next articles. Thanks for sharing!