Google+ Local Pages – A Game Changer for Every Business

The trend in search is toward social and local content for consumers who are increasingly mobile.

Google just made a bold move to bring it to the forefront by automatically converting existing Google Places pages into new Google+ Local business pages.

In other words, if your business had a Google Places page it has now moved to Google+. Even if you had no plans for creating one, your business still needs to be learning more about Google+.

Search and The Evolution of Google+

Few of the more than 100 million users of Google+ are active on the site, but look for that to change, especially for local businesses that have been dedicating the majority of their effort to their Facbook page.

Early last year it became apparent that Google was placing greater emphasis on social content, and for a couple of reasons. One is that social provides context. Who you associate with affects your decisions and choices, and that is highly relevant for search results.

The second reason is that Google is in the business of indexing content, and social is where the action is, because most of the content being created on the web these days is social in nature.

Google made an effort some time ago to help you aggregate all of your personal social content within your Google Profile.  The smart move was to take special care to have a Google Profile that was as accurate as possible. And those of us that did this were rewarded when our Google Profile became the About tab on our personal Google+ profile.

That was a signal of things to come.

Earlier this year Google started automatically setting up a Google+ account for anyone that signed up for a gmail address.

That was another signal.

Now that Google Place pages are part of your Google+ business page, the handwriting is on the wall.

There will undoubtedly be more to come.

What Google+ Means for Your Business

It now appears likely that all things related to search will eventually be integrated into Google+.  This will include maps, images, and virtually any other content that is served up by an RSS feed.

Businesses that have been ignoring Google+ are really going to have to scramble to get up to speed. Look for links below to resources to help you get started or learn more if you are already in the game.

What is really going on here?  It’s simple – there is race between Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ to be the king of social, local, and mobile.

The mobile space is especially vital for local businesses, but it nevertheless applies to every business, because while yours may not necessarily be local, 100% of your prospects and customers are.

Think about that.

If you are going to meet your customers where they are, you have to start adapting to a web that promises to give greater weight to search results that are both local and social.

Consider that Google controls 2/3 of search results in North America, and even more in other parts of the world. The message is clear – ignore Google+ at your own risk.

Use Social to Help Google Help Your Business

In many respects Google is doing every business a favor by creating one global marketplace – and bringing it to every consumer via their mobile device so that they can make the best decision for their location and social circumstances.

Google understands that when choosing a restaurant your choice will be dependent upon the company you are with and where you are.

Facebook understands this too, but their business model is not designed to make this information readily available to consumers.  If it were, Facebook would be searchable.

The new Google+ Local content is searchable both within Google+ and on the open web. 

If this is not a game changer I don’t know what is.

Here is a screenshot of search results for restaurants served up by Google+ by my logging in and clicking on the Local tab (noted by the red arrow), with Google naturally using my location to determine the most relevant results.

The bottom line is that only the establishments that have a presence on Google+ (local or non-local) will be represented. Those that are favored by your connections in your Google+ circles are more likely to rise to the top of the search rankings, which is one more reason to engage with Google+.

These developments serve to underscore one undeniable fact: Facebook is for friends and Google+ is for business.

There is no question that the activity on Facebook greatly overshadows that on Google+ … for now.

Yet, what happens in Facebook stays within Facebook – and that does not benefit your business objectives.

If you want to learn more about the recent conversion of Google Places to Google+ Local pages, you can get more here.

Google+ Pages for Business are Now Open is a short article that will help you get started with Google+.

My video interview with New York Times best-selling author Chris Brogan, author of Google+ for Business, will help you use Google+ to get understand the finer points of Google+ for your business.

How about you?  What’s your take on the new Google+ ?

Let us know how in a comment below – or simply share this with your communities using the share buttons below so that they can participate in the conversation.

Until next time, Jeff

The Art and Science of Social Caring

How many times have you heard someone comment that they do not care about the idle chatter their connections publish on the social networks?

This may be what they enjoyed for lunch, how blue the sky is today, and that they are loving life or otherwise … HAVING AN AWESOME DAY!

The truth is you should care about everything your social connections share with you.

Here are two important reasons why.

The Art of Caring – It’s the Right Thing to Do

For any relationship to succeed, there has to be certain amount of give and take. This is especially true when the relationship is one-to-one, such as a partnership. Yet, aren’t all relationships one-to-one?

Consider what it means to be a successful business in a local community.  Every single customer, whether larger or small, expects you to care about them. That’s why they engaged in a relationship with you.

The culture of business is becoming increasingly social, and it is going to favor those businesses that find ways to care – even when they don’t.

The art of social caring is is doing so regardless of the conditions or circumstances – as a favorable outcome is most likely only possible as a result of respectful and gracious social behavior.

It’s the right thing to do.

The Science of Caring – It’s the Smart Thing to Do

When you show you care about your network of social connections by retweeting or otherwise sharing what they share with you, you are building the social graphs that communicate a great deal to the respective networks. What do these digital maps known as social graphs do for you?

  • Reinforce the alignment you have with your closest connections, thereby keeping you connected.
  • Encourage alignment with new connections that share their interests, which may well include new customers.
  • Better describe who you really are, both offline and online. If that is someone that cares, that’s good business.

Have you ever wondered why Facebook delivers to your newsfeed the updates of some friends and not others? Do you want to get your old friends back? It’s very simple, makes comments and Like their posts to send a digital message to Facebook that you care.

Isn’t it interesting how digital social networking mirrors real life?  Ignore someone and they go away – do the opposite and you have a friend or customer for life.

Facebook is notorious for manipulating what we all see in our news feeds. However, if you play the game well on sites such as LinkedIn by staying connected, you are guaranteed to build a network that will serve you well.

That’s smart for making friends and building your business.

How are you staying connected with your important relationships?  Leave a comment below or on your favorite social network.  You can reach the most popular ones with one of the share buttons below. 

Until next time, Jeff

Photo Credit: Free Digital Photos

5 Best Practices for Local Small Business

Today is Small Business Saturday – a day dedicated to supporting small businesses in local communities. Much of the publicity surrounding this marketing effort to create awareness for small businesses is on the word small. Yet, isn’t being local more relevant? Location is often what differentiates small businesses that are part of the fabric of […]

Read the full article

Social Media Tips for Local Retailers

What is the primary goal of a local retailer?  Getting people into the store. That’s what I’ve learned while doing my research for my keynote presentation next week to about 750 retailers. If you are an online business you want to drive traffic to your website because that’s your place of business.  If you are […]

Read the full article