What is Google Plus?

We have often stated how Google is the pace setter when it comes to the internet. But one of the things that they did not get the heads up on is social media . That was down to websites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and the many other smaller social media pages that exist out there in the big wide world that is the World Wide Web.

But not being ones for being left behind, Google decided to finally dip their toe in the social media marketing world and last year rolled out their own site that was billed to take on and hopefully topple Facebook’s stranglehold.

So how did their first 6 months in the world of social media marketing work out. Well keeping things in perspective, actually very good. They have already in 6 months crossed the 62 million mark in terms of people using the site and that number is expected to grow wildly over the coming year.

So What Does Google Plus Have to Offer the world of Social Media?

First things first one of the key differences to bear in mind about Google Plus is that it has not originated from a private network. When Facebook and Twitter started up they did things gradually and developed their audience over time.

Google is a public website and this is why it will work in the long run. With so many people using the site to search for products, advertise, watch videos and much more, Google already has a ready made audience to get ahead when it comes to social media marketing.

From the outlook it looks like just another social media site but when you get down do it, this site offers so much more. For Twitter fans it brings the same update format but it rids of the irritating 140 character limitation. A feature that is bound to eventually see Tweeters switch over, as and when Google Plus grows in popularity.

For companies looking to use the web for marketing Google Plus is brilliant for different reasons. The way the site works you choose circles in which to join that determines who you connect with. So if you are a business and you want to get your company noticed for a specific reason, for example in Barsbank’s case, Technology then you simply join the technology circle. This means that whenever you post something as a company, only the circles you have joined can see your content making it more specific for the user.

This feature is great for networking with people and in turn, generating business.

Secondly it is largely rumoured and expected that, as Google Plus continues to grow,  the site will start to have a bearing on Search Engine ranking.

So basically if you are a user who posts content on Google Plus and/or has the Google Plus button on your websites or blog posts. then you will stand a better chance of appearing at the top of the Google search results.

This might be a great thing for businesses users and bloggers or it could simply be a very clever marketing tactic from Google Plus.

The way it is supposed to work is that you sign up for Google Plus and join and create your own circles, whilst implementing the Google Plus button (basically Google’s equivalent of the Facebook Like button) on your websites or posts elsewhere. In return Google will take this into consideration when determining page rank. The other thing that Google are allegedly proposing to do is affect your page rank in the search results looked for by the people who you create circles with. So just because you network with them, when they search for a product that is relative to your website on Google, your website will be returned to them.

These are the clever social media marketing ploys for users of the sites but it could be just hearsay, being talked about so that new users, particularly bloggers and businesses, sign up for the site and therefore increase its popularity.

What is expected from Google Plus in 2012?

Google Plus is widely predicted to make a breakthrough this year as a social media site thanks to a well put together advertising campaign in America involving several celebrities. There is also the fact that they are currently developing their site to work with Android handsets.  As I have written in previous blogs, more and more people are buying mobile applications and using the mobile web, so this is only going to increase Google Plus’s audience even further.

At the moment it is estimated that around 600,000 people are signing up to Google Plus a day. With the likes of YouTube and the power of Google Search you can expect that figure to increase over the coming months. In fact one researcher thinks that Google will hit 400 million users by the end of 2012. That is half amount currently using Facebook and if it happens it will display a staggering growth rate that will have the whole of the social media marketing world looking over their shoulders.