The Benefits of Google+

If you have your doubts, or even strongly held beliefs, about whether bothering with Google+ is a good idea, you are hardly the first.

Googles social media platform came late to the game, way after Facebook had already entrenched itself as the worlds leading social networking site. Consequently the service felt like a ghost town. It seemed for a while that the only response youd get to a post on Google+ would be a lonely echo.

But things are changing. The service has steadily grown and improved since its launch in 2011, and consequently there are a lot of reasons why a presence on Google+ is only becoming more relevant to your social media presence.

Google+ Pages was launched on November 7, 2011 for all users. It allows businesses to connect with active users. It allows entities which are not individuals (such as organizations, companies, and publications) to set up profiles, or “pages”, for the posting and syndication of posts. It is similar to Facebook Pages, and just as important to your social media strategy.

Heres why:

The number of active Google+ users is almost the size of the population of the United States. At 300 million users, there is a huge opportunity for you to increase engagement with your audience when you post regularly on Google+.
What you post on Google+ influences Google searches. This is one of the biggest and longest standing advantages to getting involved with Googles platform. Posting content, especially content that people engage with, bumps your page higher in Google search results. This makes you more visible, which is highly beneficial to your brand.
Your local market will easily find you. Content that is posted to Google+ is linked to your Google+ Local page. This is the page that gets indexed to Google search results and has all your business information and reviews. Google+ content makes this page more visible and that brings in local business.

Given the benefits, it would be a bad idea not to utilize Google+. Its only getting bigger and better, and it has been proven to be a big asset in social media marketing. While social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter help your brand connect and engage with your audience, Google+ also adds the benefit of increasing your visibility across the web.

Googles tools are indispensable for rounding out your brands presence, not only in social media, but also for SEO. Check out this article to learn more ways to boost your presence in search engines using social media.