Make Your Links Look Lovely

Last week, we talked about the various controls you can use when posting to Google+. This week, we're going to look in a little more detail on one of those controls - the Link button. For many pages, there is a lot you can control when you share the link. Taking a few second when you share a page will help people understand what you're sharing and can make your share look better.

1 - To get started, click on the link icon when you want to share what's new. This info also works if you're sharing from the page itself using the Share or +1 buttons on that page.

2 - Enter the URL for the web page you want to share and...

3 - Click the add button. If you change your mind, you can cancel the link by clicking on the X next to the add button.

Then it gets interesting. Google will try to read the web page and get some information about it. This may include the title of the page, some text or other descriptive information about the page, and an image from the page.

4 - Review the graphic. Usually, Google is pretty good about picking a graphic that makes sense, but not always. If you move your mouse over the graphic, you'll see two arrows that let you pick which graphic you think goes best. If none of them do, you can click on the X on the graphic to remove the graphic.

5 - Review the description. Again, Google is pretty good about picking text for the page, but sometimes what it picks doesn't make sense. If you don't like the text, or you don't want text with what you're sharing, you can click on the "Remove description" line to remove it. The title of the page, however, cannot be removed.

Change your mind about linking here? Go ahead and click the X to remove the link completely.

Once you have that done, you can enter additional comments about the page, select who you want to share it with, and click the Share button.

More to Sharing than Sharing

So you want to share what's new? No problem. Just type in your text and click Share, right? What about names and circles? Or sharing a photo or video? And how do you prevent your post from being re-shared?

Here is a rundown of some of what you can do when you share a thought.

The non-option
Your first option, of course, is to post nothing. Change your mind? Just click the X in the upper right corner. But be sure you mean it.


Photos, Videos, Events, and Links
You may want to share some pictures, or a YouTube video, or an event, or a link with your circles. Pressing each of these buttons lets you do just that that. Sometimes you can change how each of these shares look - and we'll discuss that in a later post.


Who?
Of course you're going to add who will see this. The easiest way is to start typing in a circle, person, or one of the special send groups such as "Public". You can also press the "Browse people" button to select circles or people you follow.

If you select a circle, hovering over that circle gives you a brief idea who is a member, plus it lets you send a notification to that circle. Use this sparingly! People get irritated if they get a notification for every post you make, but it can be useful to make sure your family sees when you've posted great new pictures.


Follow the Down Arrow
The down arrow on the side of the user/circles field lets you set some additional options (as illustrated).

If you "Disable Comments", people won't be able to comment on your post. Duh.

If you "Lock this post", then people won't be able to share the post. (But keep in mind that some people are clever and will get a screen shot, so this isn't perfect security.)

Both these settings can also be done after you make the post, but this helps you do it up front.


Conclusion
Take a look at the options you have when you post a message. They help you create quality posts that are perfectly tailored for your audience.