Have you heard that SEO is dead?
You heard wrong.
According to research, 93% of all Internet users begin at search engines.
By not using the tools in this post, you’d be ignoring an enormous chunk of your potential readership.
This post will explain 19 tools made by Google that will help you be a more productive blogger and increase your ability to be found on search engines.
How Google Can Help You Be a Better Blogger
- Google+
You can actually write posts at Google+. Link to your site at a pivotal part of the post, so people will be motivated to click your link and come to your site to read the rest of the article. Since I’ve had many Google+ users comment just on my headline, I add the words “Click to join the discussion.”
Posts should be about solving problems for the reader. If you put the link to the rest of the article at the part where the reader will get their problem solved, your page views on the article will rise.
Make sure you use relevant hashtags so people looking for your content can find it. When you start typing a hashtag, a drop-down menu of hashtags will appear. Click on the appropriate hashtag that is relevant to your content.
Testimonials:
“Although Google+ hasn’t turned out to be as enormous as we all thought when it came out, there is still a lot of value to be found. The best thing you can do is spend some time searching for communities of like-minded people in your niche or industry. Join those Circles and share content (not your own!) that really helps that community grow. These are also great places to ask questions and get knowledgeable answers. Graphics tend to do better than plain text posts as can be seen in this example which had over 60 shares and a good discussion.” Ramsay Taplin, the Blog Tyrant
Kathleen Aherne expressed her belief that Google+ is growing stronger than ever. She explained anyone who promotes at Google + will be found on the first page of Google the next day. It’s true. I proved her theory works!
- Google+ Communities
According to Blogger Tips Tricks, “Google Plus has highly active, close-knit communities which can give you massive exposure. Some of these groups have more than 100K members and have high chances of getting significant traffic if you post valuable posts.”
- Google+ Circles
You can follow people on Google+ just like you would Twitter. That way, if you are interested in their content, their articles will be visible to you. However, what if you are following people who aren’t all bloggers? You can group your Google+ connections into Circles based on your connection with them. I have Circles of connections for bloggers, friends, relatives, and work connections, just to name a few.
- Google+ CollectionsÂ
Start a collection so people can find your content. The point of a community is the content is based on the people who wrote the articles. In contrast, a collection is based around your interest in the topic. Click “Communities, Create a Collection.” Name and describe your collection. Add posts, links to posts, graphics, or anything you think will woo people to your blog.
- Google Adsense
If you are self-hosted, create an account at GoogleAdsense.com.  Click My Ads, New Custom Channel and fill in the descriptors. You will have advertisers bidding for space on your blog!
This tool will Email you links to a new story each time one is published in your blogging niche.
- Google Mention
Google Mention works like Google Alerts but is more aesthetically pleasing and comes with more options. Also, Google Mention charges a fee.
- Google Analytics
It not only gives you detailed information about the traffic and the audience of a website, it also provides detailed reports on content and conversion. Mark Newsome recommends using the site to find out where your traffic is coming from, so you can capitalize on your success at the search engine by continuing to put your efforts where they are effective. You can also find your bounce rate at Google Analytics.
If you want to see which social media sites are sending you traffic, follow these instructions: Go to Google Analytics. Make sure you have it set up for your blog. My method for seeing my traffic coming from social media sites is as follows: Click Acquisition (scroll down, look for the two arrows), Overview, All Traffic, Channels, Social, Overview. It will tell you how many visitors are coming from each one of the social media networks you’re spending time on.
- Google’s search engineÂ
If you want to improve your credibility with your readers and engage them at the same time, offer a startling statistic. This is an effective way to hook your reader. Use Google’s search engine to find a statistic related to your post topic. Go to Google.com. Type your keyword + statistics into the search bar. You immediately have an interesting hook for your blog post introduction. Look at sentence #3 in this article. I found the startling statistic that begins this post that way.
- Google Books
This tool is a little-known way to improve your keywords. Go to Google Books and enter your main keyword. When you enter your main keyword, you will be taken to a list of books on Google’s search engine results pages. Choose the one that fits your criteria. Make sure you choose the one that has the word preview listed in it. The previews contain keywords. Use them and beat the competition with this obscure tool.
- Google Keep
This note-taking app has a really easy to use interface and comes with handy tags to organize your notes. The best part about it is that you can have reminders and repeat reminders. Also, you’ll never really need to backup your notes since the powers-that-be at the site keep your data secure. All you need is a Google account.
- Google Inbox
This app is designed to help you spend less time sorting through your Gmail.
Inbox is fun, innovative, and efficient. For example, you can view your Email’s contents without taking the time to open them. Also, the app bundles Emails with similar content for you, which helps speed up your Email browsing.
As you can see from the screenshot, Inbox bundled my Email for me. If I consider Emails in the “Social” category to be a low priority, I can look at them later. If I didn’t want to see them at all, I can delete every Email in the category with one click.
In addition to the “Social” category, other categories include “Promotions” and “Purchases”. You can even make your own categories if you desire.
You may forget the Emails in other categories since they come into your box randomly unless you make a folder in order to store them. Then, you have to take your time to review the folders. Thanks to Inbox, those days are behind you.
You can easily remember what else is in your Email inbox since you view all the Emails in that category at the same time.
Looking at the screenshot you can see that my Email inbox is organized by categories. You won’t be distracted by Emails crowding your box in random order, and your productivity will increase.
You will have four choices regarding what to do with your Emails: keep, save for later, delete, or done.
The days of sorting through your Emails are behind you since Inbox sorts them for you. In the time you save, you could be blogging!
The app also offers versatility. You can swipe or click “delete” to get rid of an unwanted Email. Also, the app also has a To-D0 List and a “Siri-like” function which answers questions for you.
You can access Inbox on the computer or on your phone. In addition, you can play videos explaining how to use the tool if you need a reminder.
Have you heard of Inbox? The tool has only been available to the public for the last year or two. If you haven’t heard of it, I predict you will soon. It’s amazing.
I am having fun using Inbox. It’s a good thing I have a Gmail account. This tool is for Gmail account users only.
- Google Calendar
My husband and I use this tool for sharing our schedules. The events he puts on the calendar are in one calendar, and my events are in another calendar which helps us stay organized. Google Calendar can also be merged with other calendars like CalenGoo.
This tool shows trending topics which are important if you want to find keywords people are looking for. Â
This site is similar to Google Trends. It shows you if people are searching for your keywords.
- Google Sites
The value of Sites.google.com is storage. If you and a collaborator make a site, it will appear at Google Sites in your drive. According to a study, millennials would rather collaborate using Google sites than Microsoft.
Bloggers have many reasons to send forms to people. You could use them to send interview questions to your case studies or other people you plan on interviewing on your blog. I send forms to people I would like to invite to be beta readers for my upcoming Ebook using this tool.
Head over to your search console account. Hit the search analytics tab which is under the search traffic category. Now you will see a list of keywords your audience is using to find your site.
- Google Docs helps you create three kinds of content, documents, presentations, and spreadsheets.Â
Many bloggers use Google Docs for distraction-free blogging. On more than one occasion, another blogger and I have examined the same document and written comments at the same time. Our comments each appear in a different color, so there is no confusion. For example, I use this effectively with my upcoming guest bloggers. There are 25 reasons this tool is useful for bloggers.
Conclusion
Use these tools, and you will see a huge increase in your referral traffic coming from search engines.
Many of the tools explained in this post help you  easily find keywords that are ranking high on Google. If bloggers put them in their posts, they can get the benefit of this organic traffic.
The purpose of the other tools are simple– to help you be an all-around more productive blogger. You will save time, and you will save money since all the tools except for Google Mention are free.
Readers, please share, so other bloggers and site creators know how to get their websites found on search engines.
Which of these tools are you using? What is your experience with them? Would you recommend other SEO tools? I look forward to your views in the comment section.
Click here to get your own downloadable PDF of my free blogging tools list.
Related Posts:
5 Free Tools to Help You Easily Improve Your Keywords
5 Free SEO Tools to Help You See More Website Traffic
How to Easily Get Your Blog Found on Google
6 Ways You Can Save Time Blogging, Technology You Should Know
