title: “Unlock the Ultimate Engagement Strategy: Learn How to Integrate Google Plus Comments to Your WordPress Site!” date: 2021-05-21T18:00:00+08:00 draft: false

Are you looking for ways to increase engagement on your WordPress site? One strategy that you may not have considered yet is integrating Google Plus comments. By doing so, you can provide more opportunities for your readers to engage with your content and connect with one another.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps of integrating Google Plus comments to your WordPress site so you can unlock the ultimate engagement strategy.

Why Google Plus Comments?

First, you may be wondering why you should bother with Google Plus comments when there are already plenty of other options available, such as WordPress comments, Disqus, and Facebook comments.

One major advantage of Google Plus comments is that they can provide a boost to your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Since Google owns both Google Plus and its search engine, comments left on your site through Google Plus can help improve your ranking in search results.

Additionally, Google Plus comments can help facilitate discussions and conversations around your content. With its focus on connecting people with shared interests, Google Plus can help foster a sense of community among your readers.

How to Integrate Google Plus Comments

Now that you understand the benefits of Google Plus comments, let’s dive into how to integrate them into your WordPress site.

  1. Sign up for Google Plus and create a Google API project. You’ll need a Google Plus account to get started, and from there you can create your own project within the Google API developer console.

  2. Install a Google Plus comments plugin. There are several free and premium plugins available for WordPress that can help you integrate Google Plus comments. One popular option is Google+ Comments for WordPress by Fyrebox.

  3. Connect your plugin to your Google API project. Your plugin will prompt you to enter your Google API project credentials to establish the connection between your site and Google Plus.

  4. Customize your plugin settings. Once your plugin is connected, you can customize several settings, such as the size and color of your comment box, whether to allow anonymous comments or not, and whether to show social sharing buttons.

  5. Start engaging with your readers! With Google Plus comments now integrated into your site, you can start engaging in conversations with your readers and encouraging them to connect with each other.

Tips for Maximizing Engagement with Google Plus Comments

To truly unlock the benefits of Google Plus comments, consider these tips for maximizing engagement:

  • Respond promptly to comments to keep the conversation going
  • Encourage readers to leave detailed and thoughtful comments
  • Use your comments section to ask for feedback or opinions on future content
  • Offer incentives or rewards for active commenters

By incorporating Google Plus comments into your WordPress site and following these tips, you can create a vibrant and engaged community around your content.

Conclusion

Integrating Google Plus comments to your WordPress site can provide a unique opportunity to increase engagement and optimize your SEO efforts. By following the steps we’ve outlined in this article, you can create a more dynamic and interactive experience for your readers. Give it a try and see the difference it can make!

If you have been visiting sites hosted on the Blogger platform, you will find that the comment section has been replaced with Google Plus Comment. In WordPress, you can easily add Facebook comment system, but what if you prefer to use Google Plus comment instead? Here is how you can integrate Google Plus Comments to WordPress.

Pro and Cons of using Google+ Comments

The good thing about Google+ Comments is that people have to login to their Google account before they can comment. Real name and photo will be displayed instead of some bogus name and image. You will also see lesser spam on your blog.

On the other hand, you might see fewer comments as it is unlikely that all your readers have joined Google+. Also, people might not be willing to have their name and face appear in the comments.

1. Google+ Comments For WordPress

In addition to Google Plus comments, this plugin also add Facebook, Disqus and Livefyre comments to the mix so you can choose which one of them to display in your blog.

  1. Download and install Google+ Comments for WordPress. If you search through the WordPress Dashboard, you will find that there are several plugins of the same name. Make sure you select the one that is developed by Brandon Holtsclaw.

  2. Once installed and activated, go to “Comments -> G+ Comments”. In this page, there are a few things that you can configure. The “Tab Order” is where you can add the different type of comment systems to your blog. For example, if you add “gplus,facebook,livefyre,disqus,wordpress“, it will show Google Plus comments, Facebook comment, LiveFyre, Disqus and WordPress comment in the respective order.

  3. The next section is where you add your Disqus and LiveFyre username, if you have added them to the list.

  4. The last section is where you configure the name (label) of the comments that show up in the frontend. Once you are done with the settings, click “Save Changes”.

This is what you will see in the site’s comments section:

2. Google+ Comments

Google+ Comments by Alex Moss is yet another useful plugin that you can use. It comes with some useful features, like shortcode and css class, for you to easily integrate and customize Google+ comments in your theme.

Once installed and activated, go to “Settings -> Google+ Comments”. You can enable/disable the addition of Google+ javascript file. If you have been using another Google Plus related plugin, chances are this script has already been added to your theme. Disable it only if you are sure the script is already inserted into your theme, else the G+ comments won’t work.

Next, you can configure whether the G+ comment will show up in Posts, Pages, or only the Home page. You can also set the width and make it responsive. Lastly, you can change the label and add a CSS class so you can style it in your stylesheet.

At the bottom of the Settings, there is the instruction for you to add shortcode to your theme/post.

3. Google+ PlusOne Comments

There is no settings for Google+ PlusOne Comments. Once activated, it will automatically replace your WP comments with Google+ Comments. As simple as that. If you are looking for a simple, no-frills solution that just works, this is the one for you.

4. Google+ Comments Widget

While the name of this plugin stated that it is a widget, it is not a widget. Don’t go to the Widget section and expect a widget for Google+ Comment. You won’t be able to find it.

Google+ Comments Widget works just like the above 3 plugins. It retains your old comments and displays them alongside the G+ comment box. One thing though, it might break your design (if you choose to retain the old comments). Test it first before you make it live.

Conclusion

While Google has made the Google+ comment system available for Blogger, it is easy to integrate into WordPress as well. My personal favorite is Google+ Comments by Alex Moss. Feel free to try them out and let us know which you prefer.

Damien Oh started writing tech articles since 2007 and has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry. He is proficient in Windows, Linux, Mac, Android and iOS, and worked as a part time WordPress Developer. He is currently the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Make Tech Easier.

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