I find it amazing how many clients I talk to who think Google+ is just another Facebook. They often dismiss it as another network that they can’t imagine having the time to figure out or participate in. Or, they look at the published stats about how many people are using Google+ and decide to ignore the network because their target audience is not using the network yet.
Google+ is not just a social media network. It’s an identification system launched by the world’s largest search engine.
Google+ has the power to affect our search results and Google is not afraid to use that advantage to penetrate the social media space and to use the additional data about our social behavior to make our search results even more personalized.
To see how much data Google uses when personalizing your search result, visit your dashboard: www.google.com/dashboard.
Google+ allows Google to see the relationships between entities. Be this people and companies they follow, or which bloggers they read more regularly, or which friends in their social networks they more frequently read posts from….the list goes on and on.
If you want to be found in Google, feed your data to the search engine by creating a personal profile, a brand page (if relevant) and by joining or creating a Google+ Community.
I wrote tips for Google+ engagement on the Ketchum blog. And feel free to follow me on Google+, or the Google+ page for local food pantry in my home town which my mother manages called the Come Spring Food Pantry.