Google, G+ and the Social Search
Google has become so much more than the most popular search engine in the world this past decade, adding all kinds of free business applications such as Google Docs, Google Calendars and Google Sites and now an enormous social networking site known as G+ (Google Plus)
The G+ social network is basically the rival of Facebook and is set up so that people who join can share a status, put up photos, share videos, post news and events and do just about everything else anybody can do on Facebook.
In addition, Google features “Circles” that allow people to categorize or customize their contact lists into groups such as Business, Best Friends, Acquaintances, Freelance etc. No more accidentally posting pictures of your Vegas bachelor party to your boss as everyone you know is nicely compartmentalized in their filtered list known as a “circle.”
To compete with G+ Facebook has introduced more filters and privacy settings but unlike Google+ these are less searchable than the Google+ profile pages that turn up “needle-in-a-haystack” results when Google searches it’s own social network.
Google+ Search Plus Your World
Google+ seemed a kind of ho-hum pale imitation of Facebook until recently it introduced a new feature called Google Search Plus Your World. Just like it sounds, this move is all about a greater personalization of the search process on the internet.
Whenever you search on Google now you (or your customers and clients) can access everything on Google+:
- Personal Results including photos and posts, including their own and those shared specifically with them
- Profiles of People that they might be interested in following
- People and Pages where users find people profiles and Google+ pages related to a specific topic or area of interest, and like Twitter allow people to follow them with just a click of the mouse
Google Plus has a definite advantage for businesses who are trying to glean more contacts, leads and customers from social networking sites.
What the New Google+ Search Your World Means for YOUR Business
As most ebusiness, ecommerce and internet marketers know, getting traffic is all about being ranked the highest in Google. The Google algorithm is likely to rank pages in it’s own social networking site above Twitter or Facebook.
When someone searches for your business, they will now be able to see your G+ Profile and your People and Pages which may have information about something they are looking for online. If what they are looking for happens to be something you are selling than you can easily see why it might be very important to:
- Attach your business links and business information to your Google Personal Page
- Attach links and photos of your business to profiles of people who buy from you, work for you or have testimonials about you
- Create as many pages related to your area of business as possible on Google Plus so you can be ranked higher than ever in the search engines
Given the potential of Google + Search algorithm to pull your URL up higher than your competition’s then it is a very good idea to create Google + Pages about your business and to make as many references, photos, followers, videos and indications about your business interests as possible as this is what is going to pull your Google Ranking above and beyond your rivals!