Google+ Branded Pages and the Future of Google
Guest Post by Spencer Spellman, freelance travel writer and social media expert
Whether you like it or not, it seems that Google as a social media platform is here to stay. Google+ got a lot of buzz over the summer when it launched, providing for many, yet another social media application, and for others, an alternative to Facebook, as Google+ honed in on features that Facebook hadn’t, such as enhanced privacy and better organization. However, this buzz was short-lived, as traffic significantly dropped in the weeks and months following the launch of Google+. Nonetheless, Google+ has bounced back with traffic spiking again with the recent introduction of branded pages.
Word spread quickly about the new Google+ pages with thousands of people being among the first to start a page. In just a few minutes you can have a Google+ page up and running for yourself or your business. When creating a page, you’ll fill in some details, such as what type of page you’re creating, and then start adding information about your business, along with multimedia. From there, you can start growing your page. There isn’t the same versatility with Google+ as there is with Facebook, such as FBML, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since it brings consistency across the board. Therefore, you won’t be spending the same amount of time customizing it as you would a Facebook page.
The main question you need to answer is whether it’s beneficial for your business. Google+ recently crossed over 40 million users. However, this is the number of registered users, which is much different from the number of active users. Google+ is still in its early stages. Most of the users are merely early adopters with a keen interest in technology. I strongly recommend analyzing your audience before choosing to sign up for a Google+ page and not just do it because the number of registered users suggests that you should.
It’s uncertain what the future of Google+ is, but the introduction of Google+ pages is evidence that Google is invested in this new application. Unlike Facebook, Google+ is an open network, making it easy to search for not just people and pages, but also for information being shared. This isn’t something you can so easily do with Facebook. Ultimately, Google+ isn’t just about being another social network. It’s about being another arm of Google’s search functionality. The implementation of the +1 button, in addition to Google+, proves that these elements will be a part of Google search going forward.
Do you use Google+ brand pages? If so, what results have you seen?
