You can now embed a G+ post on your site. Google has just announced that the Google+ Sign-In is being integrated with Google’s Authorship Program. And they are integrating it with WordPress too. The G+ post integration is just one of the new features.
What makes this so exciting is that viewers can +1, comment and follow the author from your site.
Note: This is brand new and I’ll be updating this post periodically as news rolls in.
How to Embed a G+ Post
First, you’ll want to know how to embed a post.
Sign in to your G+ account and locate the post you want to embed.
1. Click the down arrow in the top right of the post.
2. Click Embed Post.
You’ll see a pop up box with code in it that looks like the one below.
It’s likely that the code will already by highlighted in blue for you.
3. Copy to your clipboard.
Paste into WordPress
4. Login to your WordPress site and create a new page or post where you want this G+ post to appear.
5. Input any text or content you want above the G+ post.
6. Then, switch to the Text View mode on the right upper side of the text editor.
7. Next, paste the code from your clipboard below the content you’ve added.
Have a Look
Now go have a look at your page/post.
You should see something like the one that I have embedded at the end of this post.
NOTE: You will not see the embedded G+ post while in the Visual View mode of your text editor. You either have to Preview it, or Publish and then View Page.
Links that are Not Supported
If you find that your embed doesn’t work, the problem could be your link.
You must use the canonical link.
It will look like this:
https://plus.google.com/116816557257681654233/posts/1dmGMAaBHvk
Links that are not supported are:
Custom URLs
https://plus.google.com/+RonnieBincer/posts/4GasrJnQZ4T
NOTE:+Terry Simmonds found a work around for this and the issue below. If your original URL has a /u/ or /u/0/ in it, just remove it and the link will work fine.
URLs with a u in them
https://plus.google.com/u/0/106189723444098348646/posts/MtVcQaAi684
Mobile web Google+ URLS
http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=https%3A%2F%2Fplus.google.com%2Fapp%2Fbasic%2Fstream%2Fz12
Post Types that Are Supported
The following posts will work.
- Posts with images – Clicking the image directs the visitor to the image view on Google+.
- Posts with videos – Clicking the video will play the video within the embedded post.
- Posts with links to a community – Visitors can click through to view the community as they would in the stream.
Post Types That Are Not Supported
- Posts from within a community
- Posts that are restricted to a Google Apps domain
- Private posts
- Events posts
- Hangout on Air posts
More Info on What Works and the API Code
Here’s an article from Google on what is and is not supported.
Things to Notice
When you take a look at the post below, you will see in the upper right a button that either displays the Circle you have me in, or a Follow button, if you don’t have me Circled already.
This makes it super simple for folks to easily follow you on G+ right from your site.
You can also +1 the post and make a comment on it if you are signed into to your G+ account while you’re reading this blog. How cool is that?
Testing Testing
I’ve got a test page running where I’m experimenting with other embedded posts. The first one is for +Michael Bennet’s original post on the mega Drive Deck. As you will see, it is cutting off the right side of the image.
And, if you poke around in that post, you’ll see that it is fully interactive. You can click any of the linked images and see that Deck. Cool again, huh?
Reasons to Embed Google+ Posts
There are already folks making posts about ways you can use this. Here are a few from shortly after this was announced.
From +Stephan Hovnanian Smart uses for embedded Google+ posts
From +Denise Wakeman Three Reasons to Embed Content on Your Blog
More to Come
I’ll be adding to this post as more news and ways to use this feature come down the pike.
An Embed Example
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Great information and so detailed. I will be using this for informative blog posts in the future for FB and G+. Thanks MaAnna
Delighted you found it useful Tammy! I’m updating this post as news and tricks continue to roll in.
You are the first one I heard it from, MaAnna; thanks for the heads-up!
Plenty more coming on it Ana. And I know you’re all over this too. Looking forward to seeing your posts about it.
MaAnna, do you think taking the Embed code example from one of our posts and simply changing out the post’s unique ID will work? I see that some of my Posts on G+ don’t have the Embed Drop-down choice even thought they are Public posts, so I was thinking that the technique I mentioned could be a work-around technique to be able to embed even those posts.
Definitely something we’ll want to check into Ronnie. Via the super G+ community, I’ve already seen a couple of workarounds. Betting we’ll all find more over the next few days. You can bet I’ll be updating my tutorial on it as I find them. And will start with yours.
Thanks for the fantastic post +MaAnna Stephenson – Does this mean you will do away with your usual comments section in favour of the Google+ comments as we\’re starting to see engagement and interaction influencing SERPS?
Glad you enjoyed the post, Phillip. No, I’m not ready to install the standalone Google+ Comments yet. Just don’t like the idea that they are independent of the post on your site. That’s one reason I really like this embed feature. Comments made anywhere stay with the post. I’ll be using it judiciously for now, but see a lot of potential for those Decks.