Since there are still mixed reviews across the web, we decided to dig through all the jabber about this high-profile social network. We found some helpful resources to look into that will hopefully clear up the social clutter. To start with, it does not hurt to claim your Google+ business page. Why? At the very least, so no one else grabs it out from under you first.
How do I create a Google Plus Business Page?
Set-up is free and easy, similar to Facebook’s business pages. You will need to be sure to have a Google+ account (which you can build from a Gmail address)
before creating your business page. Hubspot offers a killer e-book on how to create and utilize Google Plus Business Pages.
Show me the Numbers!
Compete generated a 2011 analysis on how popular the site became since launch. Highlights include:
- In 7 months (through December 2011), Google Plus generated:
- 20 million unique visitors to it’s main landing page (half of Twitter’s unique visitors).
- 50 million visits
- 200 million page views
NetworkWorld has also discovered some interesting stats on the social site:
- Two-thirds of Google+ users are men, in contrast to Facebook having a higher user base of women.
- CEO Larry Page claimed Google+ had 90 million users as of January 19, 2012 (compare this to Facebook having around 800 million)
Simply Measured also posted a study on Google Plus brand page adoption and engagement trends based on the Top 100 Interbrand Brands’ Google+ pages.
Key study takeaways include:
- Companies post and engage primarily during work hours, Monday thru Friday. You won’t see the numbers spike as high during the weekend. 86% of engagement occurs during work hours (5am to 5pm) and 89% of engagement happens Monday thru Friday.
- Most posts are visual. In fact 65% of engagement comes from photo and video content.
Importance of Photos on Your Google Plus Business Page
After reviewing the above, it brought us to an important discovery from Simply Measured’s results and why photo posts are important. Google Plus was actually built for image sharing. Think about this: Google owns Picasa. Picasa has an image editor on Google+. Whenever you create a post with a link, it automatically generates a picture button where you can click through the images found on that page and choose one to put alongside your post.
Here’s another thought: Wonder why the newer social network Pinterest is doing so well? It’s purely pictures that stimulate visual interest and then generate re-pins (re-sharing). In summary, it may be useful for your Google Plus Business Page posts to have pictures alongside the content.
Construction Marketing Association Google Plus Page
What’s the deal with that +1 button?
Simply put, the more +1s a page gets, the more resourceful or popular those who viewed and +1’d the page perceived it. This is super helpful when browsing the web: you can get to the top pages quicker rather than digging around for them. Moreso, result pages that feature +1 content from your circles will appear sooner, mainly because Google thinks if you are connected with an individual, you may share the same interests.
There are reasons to believe that the +1 button is good for search engine authority. It encourages higher Click-Through Rates (CTR); if people see more +1s, they are more likely to click that link, not to mention the fact that it is a SEO tool created by THE top search engine (Google). Mashable recently posted a great blog on how the +1 button affects search engine optimization (SEO).
Keep in mind – you cannot +1 other pages unless you are logged into a Google+ account. Also, just because your site has several +1s, this does not mean it gets ranked higher in search results.
Are you concerned about how your Google Plus Page is performing? Check out this cool Google Plus Analytics tool that Simply Measured created that shows your Google Plus Business Page’s analytics.
What is your opinion on Google Plus Business Pages? Do YOU think it is worth it for businesses to use?
Please comment and let us know below.
I have to say this is the clearest explaination of the plus 1 feature on google plus. So it affects the search result ranks of people you are linked to only? Or at least that is the only verified function for now?
Hi Ann, It affects search result ranks of your friends and the rest of the web. If a friend of yours sees that you plus oned something, then there is a better chance that they too will plus one and improve the “score” of the post. Visit Google’s +1 Button site for more info: http://www.google.com/+1/button/
that is individualism, well for me G+ is a big help for the business since there are a lot of people into it and you could make your campaign easier than ever.