google plus for business

Google Plus for Business Is Still Worth Your time

Since launching last year, Google Plus never really became the Facebook killer it was supposed to be. Instead, Google Plus offered a ton of great features that a lot of people overlooked, and Google Plus for business offers some huge potential for SEM and social media marketing. Check out these reasons what Google Plus can still be worth your time.

 Google Plus for Business

After more than a year on the scene, Google Plus never really caught fire like it was supposed to. Even though Facebook is the top dog for social media marketing, the truth is that Plus has a few interesting features that Facebook doesn’t.

  • Segmentation with Circles – Unique to Google Plus, circles allow you to segment your friends into different groups. Unlike Facebook which has one massive friends list, you can divide your contacts into different groups. This allows you to share certain content with certain circles and hide content from others.
  • Direct Connect – Sometimes searching for a business page on Facebook will return cluttered results making itdifficultto find a specific page. With Direct Connect on Google Plus, you can link you business page with a certain search word. For example, when you Google search “+H&M,” you are taken directly to the retailers Plus page. This feature makes it much easier for customers to connect with your business.
  • SEM Potential – Google has stated that the popularity of content on Plus may be factored into the ranking of search results. While this doesn’t mean you should drop your SEO efforts in favor of Google Plus, it may be something you’ll want to add to your overall campaign. That starts by adding a Google +1 button to your site.

 The +1 Button Is Your Friend

google plus one button

Meet your new BFF: The Google +1 Button

You have probably seen the [G +1] button popping up on websites and blog posts (there’s one right under the title of this post). If this button is used properly, it can be a major factor for increasing traffic to your website.

Consider the [G +1] as a combination of the Facebook “Like” and “Share” buttons. When you +1 a link, you are simultaneously sharing it with your G+ friends and telling Google that this is something that interests you.

So, why is it important? Google has stated that the +1 button will be a factor in determining search rankings. In addition, with Google’s “Search Plus Your World,” content that your Google Plus friends have “+1’d” will show up higher in the rankings.

Example of how Google+ affects organic search ranking and display.

Reaping the benefits of the +1 one button is as easy as adding it to your site. A few +1’s and you may receive a spike it traffic. Try it out!

Hangouts and Other Cool Features

Even though it is not a huge threat to the social media power players like Facebook and Twitter, Google Plus still has some unique features that you may not know about. These are just a few of the very cool features that are unique Google’s social network.

  • Hangouts: One of the most widely used features on Google Plus is the Hangout. This service allows connected users to “hangout” with each through video chat. Hangouts are a great tool for scheduling meetings or hosting webinars. In fact, we use it every Monday for our weekly staff meeting.
  • Excellent Mobile Interface: When Google developed their social network, they put a huge emphasis on mobile capability. We think Google Plus’ mobile app is one of the best available. Want to see for yourself? Download it on your smart phone and try it out.
  • Total Google Integration: Google’s suite of apps are some of the most useful tools available on the web. Google is continually adding new integration between the social network and apps like Drive, Calendar and more. For instance, when you start an event on Google Plus, it’s automatically sent to your Google Calendar. Pretty cool, huh?
google plus for business

Even the President is Getting in on the Hangout Craze

While Google Plus offers a ton of great features, your efforts on Twitter and Facebook should be a much higher priority for  social media marketing.

The Bottom Line on Google’s social network: It might be worth a shot