You may or may not have heard of Google’s attempt at overtaking the social network giant Facebook with its own social networking tool, Google+.
Debuting in 2011, Google+ gained huge momentum by the end of the year with 150 million registered users. However, towards 2013 and 2014, growth had slowed and the momentum Google+ initially had was lost.
The value of Google+ for personal users may be lost, but Google+ still stands for small businesses and it can’t be ignored, especially for small businesses that want to boost their online presence. Google+ is also a great resource to maximise visibility on Google’s search result pages. Brands should be still active on the social network platform since Google+ has around 20 million unique monthly users with 22% of online adults visiting at least once a month (www.stateofdigital.com). That should be enough reason to keep your business listing active but there are some benefits of Google+ that are still relevant today.
Search Engine Optimisation and Results Integration
What makes Google+ different from Facebook, Twitter, and all other social networks is that the social network is from Google. This means Google integrates Google+ business listings and posts to its search results. By combining your business’ Google + Local Page (Maps listing) with your Google+ Business Page, your business will be more likely show up at the top during location-based searches. Search Engine Optimisation is important for businesses to gather more visitors and to outrank competitors.
Google+ Communities and Google Hangouts
Communities in Google+ are a great way for connecting with others in your industry, strategic partners and potential clients depending on the focus of your community. You can connect with other industry professionals to discuss, collaborate or share ideas.
Google Hangouts is still a useful and popular tool that is part of Google+. You can easily host and record webinars and share them to your YouTube channel with ease. If your business heavily relies on video multimedia marketing and webinars, Hangouts will dramatically help promote your business effectively through Google+.
Website Traffic
Posting content to Google+ is also a great method to direct traffic to your website. As mentioned earlier, Google+ posts and content show up in Google Search results, meaning it is able to generate more traffic to your website. Google+ is a vital tool in generating and directing traffic to your website through a social network intimately integrated with Google’s other services.
Other Google Services Integration
Your Google+ Local Page is also a very important online marketing tool as it’s fully integrated into Google’s search listings, maps and mobile apps. By regularly updating your Google+ profile, you will continue to boost your rank and organic authority, which will only further assist visibility and traffic to your website. Google also makes it very easy to link your YouTube videos to your Google+ page.
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Fireworks can help you to set up a Google+ page and provide consultation services on how to use this social network to your business’s best advantage.
Give Fireworks a call on 1300 660 160 today!