12 ways to increase Google Scholar Citation count

Every researcher wants to have a good citation count on Google Scholar, ResearchGate, etc. This blog post aims to provide a list of ways to increase citations on Google Scholar. In this post, we have provided 12 ways to increase your Google Scholar citation count.

Moreover, the post will also help you increase your citations on ResearchGate. The more citations you get for your research papers, the higher your Google citation count will be. So, we will be focusing on getting citations for research papers.

Increasing the citation count of your research paper will also help you to increase your h-index.

Increase Google Scholar Citation count

The article that is referred to while writing a research paper is known as a citation. Generally, in the academic world, researchers with a high number of citations are considered to be publishing good-quality papers.

Citations help in increasing job opportunities for researchers. Google Scholar provides a service where a researcher can track his citations, and calculate his metrics based on the information provided by the website. In order, to use the citation services provided by Google Scholar, the researcher must create a profile in it.

Google Scholar is very easy and free to access. The impact factor can decide the quality of a research paper. Thus, it is necessary for a researcher to have a high number of citations as it affects the impact factor. For increasing a good citation count on Google scholar, the following steps can be followed.

Also, read: Best tools, websites for Ph.D. students, Tips for publishing in high impact factor journals

Steps to increase Google Scholar citation count

1. Scope of the article

A researcher should pay keen attention while writing a research paper. The paper should be able to include those research results which can have an immediate impact on society. It should be able to solve practical problems. The research paper should always be able to overcome challenges and introduce new technology.

2. Linking evidence to the paper

A researcher is expected to give evidence to the statement presented in the research paper. This can be done by providing links to the supporting evidence. Adding relevant links in the references of a research paper increases the citation count. This is possible as a reader is easily able to access the related sources and evidence for the research paper. He may prefer research papers with more references. Thus, citing it in his own work and increasing the citation count.

3. Keyword Selection

A researcher should carefully choose his keywords. He/she should select at least 4 keywords for his/her paper. After selecting keywords, repeating them is necessary. The researcher should properly repeat these keywords throughout his/her research paper included in the abstract, introduction, body, and conclusion.

3.1 Title

The title of the research paper should be short and descriptive. It should be around 60 words, including the keyword related to the topic. A title should not be too long or very short. He should write it in a clear, precise, and brief manner. The number of authors included should also be limited. While writing the title, punctuation should be given the utmost importance. Using more question marks in the title leads to a decrease in citations. As a reader prefers answers more than questions. Similarly, using colons in titles gives more clear titles, leading to more citations.

3.2 Headings

A researcher should divide his research paper into a good number of paragraphs. With them placed under proper headings. These headings should include keywords. These keywords help Google Scholar identify the context of the research paper and increase its viewability. Thereby increasing the citation count.

3.3 Abstract

The abstract forms a crucial part of the research papers. The lines of the abstract should include at least 4 to 6 keywords. These keywords should ‌explain the main idea of the research paper. Search engines can rank research papers higher if they properly optimize keywords. They shouldn’t be used excessively as they might lead to the un-indexing of the research paper. Hence, selecting keywords is essential as it enhances the chances of appearing in Google’s top search results. Therefore, the chances of getting more citations

4.  Accessibility

A research paper can be easily viewed and cited if it is published in an open-access journal. If this case is not possible, the manuscript should be posted in a repository. The research paper must be shared widely. It can be shared on various social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. The research papers that are easily accessible and available to the public have a good number of citations.

5. Self-citation

A researcher can cite his previous papers in the present paper. These citations should be relevant and related to the present research paper. Thus, self-citation also increases the citation count.

6. Inclusion of tables and figures

A research paper should have reliable graphical data like tables, figures, and a graphical abstract that is more informative. This ultimately helps in making research papers more viewable, thereby increasing the chances of getting cited. Figures increase the maximum chances of getting more citations.

7. Promotion of research papers

Promotion of research increases Google Scholar Citation count. It is important for a researcher to promote his work among other scholars. Such scholarly websites are Science Direct, Research Gate, Kudos, etc. These websites give a researcher a platform to share his research paper with peers, obtain their suggestions, and improve the visibility of the paper. As visibility increases, the citation count also increases.

8. Avoid mentioning a country’s name

Research papers that have a specific country name are restricted to limited searches. Those not having a particular country name are considered for international audiences. Therefore, not mentioning any specific country garners more searches.  The more the number of searches, the more the visibility and citation count.

9. Collaboration with fellow authors

A researcher can increase his citation count for a research paper by collaborating with famous researchers. An author should consider researchers who have already published famous articles and research papers for collaboration.

10. Quality of the research paper

The quality of a research paper is one of the best factors for increasing Google Scholar or ResearchGate citations. A researcher should write his research paper with accurate information and relevant graphical data to support it. He should avoid using redundant data and organize the paper according to the guidelines provided by Google Scholar.

11. Reusability

A researcher writes his research paper revolving around the main idea. However, the chance of increasing citations is greater if the main idea is reusable. Other researchers can employ this idea and create another new piece of work. Such research papers on reusable ideas are given preference. 

12. Original and effective 

A research paper that has an original idea is more effective than one that is based on it. Hence, a research paper that publishes a breakthrough result is likely to have more citations.

An effective research paper is one that has experiments that can be done practically with actual results. These results and findings can be used by other researchers in their work. Thus, increasing the citation count.

These are the 12 effective ways by which a researcher can increase his citation count in Google Scholar.

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Thanks for visiting PhDTalks. We hope that the post will increase your citations on Google Scholar and ResearchGate.

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