Social Media Metrics For Dummies

Pinpointing Moment of Traction with Google+

The moment of traction could also be called the “best time to share on Google+ or other social sites,” but I think it’s better to avoid that. The best time for you may not be the best time for your fellow content generators, and this section is intended to help you find the best time for you.

I wish I could take credit for noticing this metrics master tip, but in this case credit (and gratitude for letting me paraphrase his observation in this subsection) goes to eagle-eyed Christopher Penn who first shared his observation on search signals in Google+ and on his blog Awaken Your Superhero.

If you look at Google+ shares, you’ll notice a rather unique URL. This URL was interesting when it was first spotted by Chris in mid-2011, but it has become a bit more important now that Google has begun to force Google+ and profile integration between all Google products, including search, onto users. By the time this book is published, everyone will have the personal search option to contend with, which is one way to track your analytics more accurately in the face of that added layer of complexity.

Here’s an example of a typical Google+ URL:

http://plus.url.google.com/url?sa=z&n=1329081546445&url=http___magnitudemedia.net_2012_02_early-riser-with-a-social- tech-question_&usg=vnTdqmgsWQtHTrNDz928mYWbqMI

The stand out part of this URL outside of the normal variables is the 13-digit number within the URL that appears to be a UNIX time stamp. It’s a ...