Google+ And You

Are you using the newest social network? You already know about GOOGLE… but do you know about Google+. The good news for businesses is that the launch of Google+ Business Pages.

Google+ Business Pages

According to Google – Business Pages provide businesses, products, brands, and organizations with a public identity and presence on Google+. This tool is described as “a leap forward in building relationships between businesses and people.”

Four Reasons to Use Google+ Pages

1. Improve your search results with adding the +1 button

Add and Connect the +1 Button

Google+ Business Pages are similar to Google+ Profiles but there are a few differences. Google+ Business Pages automatically have the +1 Button allowing visitors to +1 and recommend your Google+ Business Page. This lets you connect +1’s from your Google+ Business Page to your website. By interlinking the two, visitors can now view their friends +1’s and recommendations on Google+ and your website. If someone +1’s your page, your +1 count will also increase on your website and vice versa.

Google+ Rich Snippets

Linking your page and your website is useful because:

  • It helps you connect with your friends, fans, and customers.
  • It provides Google with information that we can use to help determine the relevancy of your site to a user query on Google Search.
  • If you want your authorship and picture to appear in SERPs (see image above) you can link your content to your Google Profile and vice versa
  • Your site will become eligible for Google+ Direct Connect.

2. Collaborate with your customers through Hangouts

Collaborate through Hangouts

Hangouts are a wonderful feature of Google+ for Business Pages. Hangouts allow you to connect with your Google+ fans in real-time via easy-to-use video chat. You can help customers solve problems or create an insightful Q&A session. Google also recently released a new Hangout feature that lets you make free calls to the U.S. and Canada. Wherever the whims of your imagination take you, utilize Hangouts to connect and create real, face-to-face transparency with your customers.

3. Target your posts to different customers through Circles

Share Customer-Specific Information with Circles

Target your posts to different customers through Circles. Circles are a valuable way to share posts to different customer segments of your business. Whether it’s promotions, demographic specific links or creating Circle specific Hangouts – Google+ is keen on allowing you to easily share the right information with the right customers.

4. Build your business connections through Direct Connect

Build Connections through Direct Connect
Google+ Direct Connect* is a new feature that lets you quickly navigate to a Google+ page using the Google search bar. Similar in function to a vanity URL or Twitter handle, if a user searches for +google or +pepsi they will immediately be taken to the Google+ page where they can then add the brand to their Google+ Circles.

*Google is still experimenting with Direct Connect and it won’t work for every Google+ page. Additionally, some users won’t have access to Direct Connect. As time goes on, we’ll make Direct Connect more widely available.

What should you do next? Make sure you setup a Google+ Business Page and get it optimized for SEO? Will your brand utilize Google+ Business Pages and get you ahead of the latest convergence of search and social media?  If that scares you… call us.  We’ll get you setup.