How Google+ Pages Affects SEO

Google Plus is growing at a high rate.  Since its implementation in June, initially on an invite-only basis, it has collected 50 million users; this is a 16^th of Facebook’s users.  On November 7^th, Google Plus began allowing businesses to host profiles (i.e. pages), whereas before, it was only individual user profiles.  Google Plus is another means, like Facebook and Twitter, for businesses to get the word out about their brand, products, and services; Google Plus’ new business pages means a lot to the world of search engine optimization.

(Heads-up: You can Check out SEO Hacker’s Google + business page and include us in your Circles )

Before explaining how Google Plus pages will affect SEO, it is important to have a general idea of how the +1 button works.  Google Plus users can, “+1 the things around the web” that they “like, agree with, or want to recommend to others.”  According to Google, when users click the +1 button, they are publically showing that they approve of the brand, product, service, cause, etc.

Sharing +1s is done in the following mediums:

• Users’ personal recommendations.
  If a user chooses to do so, they can share their +1 of websites, business pages, and Google search results and ads with one or more of their circles and contacts.
• Anonymous recommendations.
  When anyone is on a website or page that has a product, service, etc., viewers can see how many times said product, service, etc. was +1ed.  Additionally, +1 recommendations now show up on some Google search results.

End-User Votes

Facebook’s “Likes” and Twitter’s “Retweets” already determine the order that websites appear on search engine result pages (SERPs).  The +1 button developed for Google Plus is meant to be Google’s version of the “Like” and “Retweet” buttons. Anyone on a webpage can see how many times something has been Liked or Retweeted, and now the same goes for +1s.

These buttons are used to gauge how good a product or service is based on strangers’ experiences.  However, the +1 button goes beyond “Likes” and “Retweets” because it takes recommendations from impersonal to personal, and ultimately, enhances users’ searches.  When Google Plus users are signed into their account and run a search with Google’s search engine, friends’ and contacts’ +1 endorsements show up in their search results. How the +1 Button on Business Pages Will Affect SEO Businesses can now use Google Plus to advertise their brand, products, and services.

Google Plus also enhances the personal influence element in customer service. People will be +1ing products and services with recommendations of their friends and contacts in mind – and this is one reason Google+ may pick up in popularity.

Increased Online Branding

Optimizing your Google+ page increases your chance to dominate the first page of your brand’s SERP. How? Well, because a Google+ page is Google’s. You can get a better idea in dominating your brand’s first page SERP if you take a closer look at the Search Plus your World Google+ algorithm they rolled out.

And Google will, by hook or by crook, put the most relevant results that they have in their database out there first before anything else – wouldn’t you agree?

Google+ Direct Connect

Basically, both Google Plus users and non-users will now only have to type in + before the name of a business in order to get to its Google Plus page.  For instance, “+Youtube” will take you directly to Youtube’s Google Plus page.

This makes finding a brand on Google Plus easier than finding one on Facebook or other social media outlets.  And that is exactly what users are looking for: quick and simple. You can check out how it works in this video. It’s pretty cool too!