What are a few ways you can increase engagement on Google+?

Google+ can be a great resource when it comes to increasing your search engine rankings, finding new clients and driving traffic to your website or blog, but the key to achieving any of this starts with engagement. It is therefore important to know how to increase engagement on Google+.

The tips below are just a few ways to increase engagement on Google+. They are simple and effective, and you can start implementing them right away!

Create Niche Circles

Circles are a great way of divvying up your network. Say you are a tech blogger with a side passion for fishing. You might have hundreds of people in your Google+ network for blogging and another set of network members for fishing. You probably won’t want to share the same content with both of those groups.

By creating niche circles filled with users that fit specific criteria, you can share content targeted to those users and expect considerably higher engagement than if you are simply sharing content to the public.

(Hint: When you share to circles, users receive a popup notification. On the contrary, when you simply share to Public, your network will not receive a popup.)

Give and Take

We all want to see our engagement levels rise, but in order to get other users familiar with our brand and build up our Google+ network, there needs to be a little give and take.

Take time to go through your feed and communities and comment on, +1 or share content you find intriguing or relevant. People appreciate the gesture as much as you do, and rarely does it go unnoticed. So take the time to engage with others and it will not be long before you see the same.

Join Relevant Communities

Google+ Communities are among the greatest features on any social network; this is particularly true when it comes to business and engagement.

By joining Google+ Communities relevant to your industry, you are joining groups of people that have an already expressed interest in what you have to say. Half the engagement battle is fought as soon as you step in the door! By sharing relevant content to the groups, you can expect significantly higher engagement rates than simply sharing to a broad, unspecific audience.

Join Hangouts

Hangouts are a great way to involve yourself and your brand in the conversation organically. Google+ hangouts are designed to share stimulating ideas and conversations, and by actively parrticipating in them you both give more of a personality to your brand and have the opportunity to showcase your expertise with a group of interested peers.

These are just a few of the ways you can go about increasing your engagement on Google+

How do you increase engagement on Google+? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!