How SEO Will Keep Google + Alive
I just read a thought-provoking article at the New York Times. It begins by noting the recent eulogies given to Google + by such sources as Slate and Forbes. To be entirely transparent, if you would have asked me before reading this article, I’d agree. I simply haven’t (yet) seen what differentiates Google + from Facebook, and I didn’t see people moving their entire social network to a new platform.
And maybe that is true. But, as the NY Times article points out, that won’t necessarily matter. As the article points out, Google doesn’t view + as separate product. To them, it is the product, and the product is search. The NY Times article refers to + as
“a social layer that has always been intended to sit on top of the company’s flagship product: search”
Well said. With the debut of Google + pages for businesses, the day will come when not having a presence on Google + will hurt a businesses effort to rank highly in a particular local search market. It won’t be long before companies like 417 Marketing will be asking business owners if they have a page on Google +. Not because we are new+shiny product pushers or because it’s the cute thing to do, but because having this presence will be required to be on the top-third of the first page.
Who cares if this is a good thing or not? Maybe it is…maybe it isn’t. The point is that Google is in the drivers’ seat, and if they decide to place weight on whether or not you have a Google + page or not, we’ll all be rushing to comply. Maybe we should save ourselves the trouble and just get one set up now.
So that’s what I’m advising you to do. Soon, I’ll act on my own advice.
Thanks for reading, and let me know if you have any questions.
