As a business you probably already have a Facebook page where you keep your community up-to-date on what’s happening in your business. You stay active on Twitter and probably even keep close tabs on the LinkedIn account, but have you thought much about Google+? Believe it or not, according to GlobalWebIndex’s latest study, Google+ is currently the number two social media site in the world. Facebook continues to dominate market adaptation with 70% account ownership but Google+ is catching up with just over 50% account ownership by all internet users. Keep in mind this stat is referencing account ownership, not active users. Facebook also dominates in the active user category but Google+ isn’t far behind.
These account ownership stats are increasing partially due tot the fact that a Google+ account is mandatory whenever a Gmail or YouTube account is created. But, let’s face it – you most likely already have the account, why not take advantage of it for your business? Google’s search engine is currently the most popular in the world and businesses who have setup a profile with Google+ often get extra visibility in search results because all that extra information from their profile is readily available. Sharing photos and video is a great way to utilize a Google+ account for your business.
Not without mention, according to Google, search ads that incorporate Google+ information have a 5 -10% better click-through rate then just regular search ads. Because of the public profile, Google uses Google+ to discover new content, crawl new URLs, and index the new content very quickly. In fact it helps with organic link building too – like earning an editorial link from a valued site. According to new studies by MOZ, a URL’s number of Google +1’s is more highly correlated with search ranking because it puts a link on Google+ back to your website which adds real benefits.
Now it’s probably true that Google+ isn’t going to be the flavor of the month, but it is something significant that’s going to continue growing and maturing. Like Google’s Gmail, Google Apps, YouTube, and search, there is the potential for Google+ to be an essential part in how we use the Internet going forward. It’s important to look at the long game here and not write Google+ off just yet as “just another social network to update”. So keep updating Facebook, don’t stop the tweets, keep up on your LinkedIn, but add a little love to your Google+ too. That way no matter where your customers are, you’ll be there too.
Sources:
The GlobalWebIndex study full report, can be downloaded here.
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/09/20/12-awesome-social-media-facts-and-statistics-for-2013/#h7XRO7EIKaPCOCo6.99
http://upcity.com/blog/2013/11/top-20-stats-to-get-you-active-on-google-plus/
http://moz.com/blog/google-plus-correlations
