Google+. Good for all businesses?
-
Hi guys,
My question/discussion is regarding Google+ and whether or not I should advocate creating an account for one of the websites I work in-house for.
This particular website focuses on unlock codes for mobile phones and isn't a service that consumers would really want to connect with - which is what Google+ appears to be a vehicle for. It is a one off purchase website, and not something people will use regularly.
On the face of it Google+ offers very little for a company that operates in this fashion and makes most sense for B2B businesses.
I feel that by potentially creating a Google+ presence we are in fact attempting to manipulate the search rankings because it isn't a networking site that makes sense for our business and there is actually very little real reason for us to get involved with it.
I don't think Google would penalise any business for getting involved in their product, but we would only be using it to benefit our ranking position. Surely that is against everything Google themselves stand for?
Also, what real benefits have you guys got out of using Google+? If I am to create a presence there, this is the ammo I'll need to use to convince my manager with.
Thanks a lot.
-
Purple Indigo,
Robert's right on most accounts. Something that you might also want to think about is the "Google Rel=author" tag. If you're going to be using any kind of blog on this site, using the "Rel=author" tag that's tied into Google+ can help you rank higher in the search results and also give your brand some identity. I know you've mentioned that you don't consider this a product that you would want to use to connect with your audience, however the push in the search rankings might be something of interest.
-
Purple Indigo,
This particular website focuses on unlock codes for mobile phones and isn't a service that consumers would really want to connect with - which is what Google+ appears to be a vehicle for. It is a one off purchase website, and not something people will use regularly.
Will people ever review your product/service? A small amount of info in Google + would not hurt and it can help.
On the face of it Google+ offers very little for a company that operates in this fashion and makes most sense for B2B businesses.
For me, I disagree with it making most sense for B2B. First, it is simply a way of verifying your existence and controlling it first. Then any connection. IMO it is not a marketing tool per se. Frankly, I don't even want to go down the social media marketing road here..... If you have people giving you a plus it will have a minor impact on your SEO, again, IMO.
I feel that by potentially creating a Google+ presence we are in fact attempting to manipulate the search rankings because it isn't a networking site that makes sense for our business and there is actually very little real reason for us to get involved with it.
I really don't do any networking from our corp site nor do our clients per se. So what about 'manipulating' search rankings??? As long as you play by the rules is there something wrong with wanting to get as many customers as possible? Are you doing something you shouldn't be? etc.
As to the follow on to that paragraph about what Google stands for, well they want a good experience for the user and they don't want a lot of trash on the web. I am with them on that. They compete with other companies and Google+ is, at least, a partial response to that competition. I don't think they did it just so they could hug themselves at night.
Just like with Places, you need to own/verify your listing and get the info in it. I do not see a need for a full scale spend to over brand it. Make it clean, nice, be sure info is correct, etc. That is important and your manager needs to get it no matter what.
Hope this helps,
Robert
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Separate Google+ page per blog language?
Our corporate blog is currently online in four different languages (English, Dutch, German and French): blog.com blog.be blog.fr blog.de For these different blogging domains we have one single Google+ page on which we share the blogs' content in different languages. Would it be better to make four separate Google+ pages (per blogging domain)? What would be the advantages/disadvantages? Also, each article is posted in four different languages. But the author stays the same for all different languages. So one author always posts content in English, Dutch, German and French. Could Google consider this as spam?
Social Media | | jef22200 -
How to Optimise Your Facebook Business Page
Buongiorno drom hot & humid wish the clouds would clear ofdf wetherby UK 🙂 On this page https://www.facebook.com/philpottsltd and illustrated here
Social Media | | Nightwing
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc53/zymurgy_bucket/philpotts-official-page-as-is-1_zpsf900b6b3.jpg
Is the reason the Philpotts Facebook page does not appear for target term "Philpotts Sandwiches" down to no mention in the description & no mention in the url? Would like to know the classic way to do on page optimisation ( I know this is will be very limited ) for a Facebook business page. Grazie tanto,David0 -
Can no longer access my google + profile
A marketing firm set up my google + profile for my company a year ago. They no longer have the access to the account, and i need to either shut it down, or be able to access it and make some changes. Does anyone know how to delete a google + business profile or gain access to it somehow. Any help would be appreciated, Thanks
Social Media | | JesusD0 -
How many google+ authors is too many?
I've worked with a few sites with multiple google+ authors. rel=author works well and have no complaints. If you have a site with user generated content, would Google ever accept rel=author for every user we have a Google+ account for? Is 100 too many? 1000? 10,000? Anyone with big sites out there care to share your experience? Thanks!
Social Media | | andrewhyde0 -
Google+ Author Troubleshooting Advice
Buon Giorno from wetherby 🙂 Ok a week or so ago i went thhrough the hoops of seeting up a Google+ authorship link with the hope my beautifull & click worthy face would appear in the serps. But after following the following steps: 1. Link from www.davidclick.com to https://plus.google.com/u/0/114149997094688010790 using rel author e.g.: [https://plus.google.com/u/0/114149997094688010790](<a href=)" target="_blank">Find me on Google+ 2 Link back from Google plus by pointing back to www.davidclick.com in the Google+ contributor section Nothing has happened ie no picture in my SERP listing, click here for illustration:
Social Media | | Nightwing
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc53/zymurgy_bucket/authorship-tested-but-no-imagecopy.jpg So my question is please..."Have i done anything wrong? I put the code in place i think about two weeks ago" Any insights welcome 🙂0 -
Guide on how to transition you Google places listing to Google plus Places
I was wondering if anyone had a guide on how to transition your existing Google Places listing to the Google Plus local. I have a Google plus places listing for my business already and don't want to loose my reviews on my Google Local listing.
Social Media | | photoseo11 -
How do I use Google+ as a page?
A couple of weeks ago I created a Google+ page for my website and you can see the page here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/101532714567190382783/posts?hl=en I was logged in to my account when I did so. I'm now ready to start posting on my page and I cannot for the life of me figure out how. I've tried everything I can find to update that page as the page, but I cannot use Google+ as the page. I have no idea how to post anything. Please help!
Social Media | | DanDeceuster0 -
Google Games
Following a thread here thought I'd login to G+ only to notice the new Google games tab, lol you've gotta give em A+ for trying ...... Think Google should try to be a little more original, wondered what everyone else thought of this new addition? Lee
Social Media | | LeeMiller1