Google+ Brand Pages and Search Results
Google+ Brand Pages and Search Results
Previously, my Intrapromote colleague Dylan Price weighed in on Google+ Pages for businesses from a social perspective, and whether your brand should be utilizing them in your social media arsenal. Now let’s talk about Google+ Pages for business and their affects (both current and potential) on a SERP (search engine results page).
To kick off our search exercise, let’s go “Raw” and look at one of Google+’s Pages for businesses partners, WWE, and see if its page is bringing the “Smackdown.” (All right, no more wrestling puns).
A quick Google search for [WWE] displays some interesting results:
What we see is WWE’s Google+ profile integrated into the result for its official site, rather than a standalone result. Interestingly, this is different than a search for another early Pages partner, Toyota USA:
Here we see Toyota USA’s Google+ Page as a standalone result. These two SERPs show us slightly contrasting views of brand searches, but what about content searches? We’re talking some non-branded or long tail queries here, folks. This is where we really see Google+ Pages for business being a boon.
What happens if a user searches for content on Google+, but that user does not follow a brand’s page? Nothing much and here’s an example. Currently, a search for [where is the undertaker] (which is, by the way, taken directly from content posted by WWE) has WWE’s Google+ Page nowhere to be seen on a SERP. We get the same non-result with a [Long Beach Racers Toyota Tacoma] query for Toyota USA.
Now, let’s see how those results change for a user who follows a brand. On November 11th, Toyota USA posted content publicly (meaning, to no specific Circles) on Google+ about “The Camry Effect,” an interactive social media campaign. When searching [the camry effect], a user who does not follow Toyota USA receives relevant results (including The Camry Effect page as the first result), but nothing for Toyota USA’s Google+ Page. However, a user following Toyota USA on Google+ receives more tailored results:
This SERP depicts the obvious advantage to building a brand’s following. Not only does a user following Toyota USA on Google+ receive the notification along with The Camry Effect page’s result, but they are also presented with Toyota USA’s Google+ post on the initiative as the fourth result.
The Bottom Line
We suspect that as brands continue to leverage and learn how Google+ Pages work best for them, that we will start to see Google+ posts on the SERPs. That said, just as with other social media channels, brands are going to get out of it what they put in.
Staying diligent on Google+ by regularly pushing out fresh and enticing content, interacting with users, and actively courting new followers will lead to said users sharing and +1-ing that content. As shares and +1’s grow, we suspect Google+ content to perform well on SERPs, further supporting a brand’s main site and its content.
Should your brand leverage Google+ Pages as another “Rock”-solid weapon to drive user engagement, share, connect, and ultimately, drive traffic to your site lest you be “Undertaken”? (Okay, so I lied about no more wrestling puns). We’d love to have a discussion about how we can help you succeed on all fronts! Lastly, don’t forget to check out Intrapromote’s Google+ Page.
Adjusting The Volume: Google Cranks It Up with Google+ Pages
Pump Up The Volume
What’s the hot topic around the Intrapromote water cooler this week?
Probably no surprise after Google’s announcement about the release of their corporate Google+ properties: Google+ Pages for businesses.
When the Google+ platform launched, it seemed to launch with the volume knob set to 11. Over the past few months, we have watched the volume knob settle in to about a 3 as the honeymoon ended and some skepticism has crept in over the adoption rate of Google+ among social media users.
To its credit, though, the music still sounds pretty good set at 3. And we are already seeing the volume getting cranked up again with Google+ Pages for businesses.
Google+ vs. Facebook – Dueling Banjos
We think Google+ is a sleek upgrade to the social media systems we have come to rely on and the features are extremely user friendly. “Circles” and privacy-minded content controls seem to make this network an attractive alternative to Facebook. We also must not forget that Google+ is hardwired to their almighty flagship product: search.
Will Google+ have enough decibels to be heard over Facebook’s “wall of sound”? What will it take for the masses to adopt the Google+ platform?
Let’s take a moment and return to 2007, the year in which “The Facebook” overtook “Myspace (A place for friends!)”. Take a look at the user volume numbers in 2007 versus today:
In 2007, at the height of Myspace’s popularity, it had a staggering 110 million users. Facebook overtook Myspace the following year and just keeps growing. Currently, Facebook has a half billion more users than Myspace had just four years earlier.
There is little doubt that the mass migration to Facebook had something to do with functionality, a sleek look and the added features that Facebook offered over Myspace. But what really propelled Facebook was user demographics.
It’s one thing to ascend to the peak of a twenty-something’s hill; it’s quite another to plant your flag at the top of everyone including your grandma’s hill. Myspace did not allow you to plan your family reunion, did not allow you to connect with your employers, and most certainly didn’t allow your grandmother to comment on your graduation pictures. Google+ has a long way to go to attract the masses, but there is explosive potential from a user demographics perspective.
We think Google+ will figure out exactly how to make itself relevant in a Facebook culture. A step in this direction is what Google announced this week – Google+ Pages for businesses.
If enough companies begin to connect and offer value to consumers with Google+, this will go a long way toward helping Google+ operate alongside Facebook.
Does your company have a strategy in mind to leverage Google+ Pages as a viable marketing channel to your customers? We’d love to talk with you about it. And keep watching our blog as we continue to watch and share our analysis on the evolution of the Google+ platform.
