For years, Google has tried to compete with Facebook on the social media bandwagon, and each time it has failed. Google even went so far as to make having a Google+ account mandatory for posting on YouTube, and has given extra weight to those sites that have a Google+ page when it comes to search engine placement. Yesterday however, Google announced it would be retiring Google+. What does this mean for you, the business owner?
Having a Google+ page gives you an extra advantage on the search results page, as shown in the graphic below:
It’s almost like getting a free ad on Google. With the changes coming to Google+, this may become less relevant – at this time we don’t know. What we do know is that over the next several months, it will no longer be necessary to have a Google+ page in order to have a YouTube channel. In fact, you will be able to remove the Google+ page without it affecting your YouTube channel – but don’t do this yet! If you do, it will wipe out your YouTube page, which you don’t want to have happen. Here are a couple of good articles about the changes coming to Google+:
- http://venturebeat.com/2015/07/27/google-is-dropping-its-google-requirement-across-all-products-starting-with-youtube/
- http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/28/farewell-google-we-hardly-knew-ye.html
As we learn more about what this means to you, we will let you know. Meanwhile, what are your thoughts?
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