Google+ Advantage For Businesses

Google+ Pages Logo

Last week you may have come across my blog mentioning the need for Google+ Pages for Businesses. And wow Google responded quickly by offering pages for businesses. Google+ Pages presents to us a host of marketing opportunities and makes the web a lot smaller ! Yes ! Smaller. The reason why I believe this is going to happen is because of the fundamental difference of a Google+ page with a Facebook Page.

In Mark Zuckerberg’s words, Google“is trying to build their own little version of Facebook". But we all know the added power of  Google Search for Google + Pages.It may prove an edge to Google over Facebook. Let us look at the potentials Google+ Pages holds for businesses.

  

1. Better Search Opportunities

Enhanced Search Opportunities

Google offers something extra, something that Facebook and Twitter can’t offer - the power of Web search.Call it cost efficiency, Google+ Pages fair far better compared to Facebook Ads. Generally the domain Facebook.com generates a lower CTR(Click Through Rate). In comparison, a Google + Page would be search friendly, as Google has over 60% of the Search Engine Market. This would mean a higher ranking of your page and website without spending much moolah ! It boils down to lesser effort to optimise your rankings on search engines. Create a page, maintain it and link it to your website. Let the Google algorithms do the dirty work. 



2. Better Analytics

Be Informed !

Google Analytics provides with metrics like time spent on page, referring sites top content, and geographic information. All this was horribly missing in the Facebook Pages Insights. Google with its detailed Analytics is a far better option for all the number crunchers. Its opens up information and visitor behaviour, giving the page owners the ability to adapt by the minutes!

3. Learn from Facebook's mistakes

Integrating Facebook’s positives and avoiding the mistakes offer invaluable lessons to Google. Better privacy settings, customisation and ,making content visible to the entire web (under user's discretion) could make Google Pages an instant hit. How did Google master these tricks so fast ? Of-course, learning from Facebook's mistake of making its users the "experimental Guinea Pig".



4. Direct Connect

Type + a on Google Search Query. It Prompts Google + Pages

I see it as a way how the Layman would go about in search engines in the future. Simply type + followed by the name of the brand/organisation in the search query box and hit the enter button. You will not be taken to the search results page. Instead directly to the Google+ Page of the brand/organisation. It would save us the time to go through hundreds of search results by taking us instantly to the Official Google+ Page. A special notification gives the option to the user to circle the Official Page. Companies can enjoy the Direct Connect feature once the have linked their website to their Google+ pages and vice-versa followed by a check by Google Algorithms to test the authenticity of the connection.


5. +1 Counts and being Circled as a Business

Add the +1 Button to your website

Business pages will have something unique compared to regular  profile pages — an overall Google +1 count that shows on their Google+ page. This may change the way you drive traffic to your website. Added to this, Google allows the users to add pages to their Circles. So Pages do not entirely lie in a separate category as on Facebook, but could well feature in Circles including friends and family.




6. The Power of Live Chat and Hangouts

Let Your Fans Experience it all. Live !

You must have noticed that whenever you use Facebook as a Page, you Facebook Chat is disabled. For sending a message across, you depend only on your status updates. What if you need to communicate instantly with a fan? On facebook, you would have to keep commenting on a particular post. However, Google+ Pages offer instant Chats. Moreover, Hangouts could be an excellent tool to promote an event such as a product launch or a conference.

More features are set to be rolled out in the coming days. One of these could be added personalisation to the tall blank spaces on both sides of a Google+ Page and enhanced tabs to control the different sections of a page. Stay tuned !