Web Master Academy Checklist #6: Connect with Google+

With Google+, you can create an identity and presence on Google. Use Google+ and other social networks to connect with friends, family members, and start a conversation around your site.

Create a Google profile

Your profile is the way you represent yourself on Google products and across the web. With your profile, you can manage the information that people see—such as your bio, contact details, and links to other sites about you or created by you. You can also link your profile to other social networks such as Twitter or Facebook. Create a Google profile.

Add the Google +1 button to your site

Adding the +1 button to pages on your own site lets users recommend your content, knowing that their friends and contacts will see their recommendation when it's most relevant—in the context of Google search results. If a user wants to share your content right away, they can also use the +1 button to add a comment, choose what friends (circles) to share it with, and post to Google+—all without leaving your site. All it takes is a snippet of code. More information.

Link your Google profile to your content

Authorship markup

Discover the benefits of Authorship.

Google may display authorship information in search results to help users discover great content by writers they enjoy.

If you want your authorship information to appear in search results for your content, make sure your Google+ profile has a good, recognizable headshot as your profile photo. Then, verify authorship of your content by associating it with your profile. More information.

Add friends and colleagues to your circles

The Internet is a big place, but you can make it a bit smaller by adding connections to customizable social circles. Circles are a great way of organizing the people in your life, and they make it easy to choose who you'd like to share posts and updates with. You can get started by importing your contacts from Gmail, or from entering in your contacts manually. More information.