Don’t Delete Your Google+ Profiles Just Yet: The Network Still Provides Benefits for Brands

Screen Shot 2014-05-28 at 3.00.34 PM

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the future of Google+.  A quick Google search of “Google+ is dead” nets several articles debating the future of the social network. The headlines read:

  • “Google+ Is Walking Dead.”
  • “Is Google+ Really Walking Dead?”
  • “Google+ Isn’t Dead. It’s Just In A Coma And On Life Support.”
  • “Google+ Isn’t Dead. Long Live Google +!”

In 2011, when I got an “invite” to join the new exclusive social network, I was excited about the possibilities. Would it replace Facebook as the social network du jour? Would Google finally launch a successful social media platform (RIP Google Buzz)? I was disappointed when, within a few short months, Google+ seemed to lose its luster.

Speculators have been hemming and hawing over Google+’s longevity since just after its launch, but those questions increased last month when Vic Gundotra, head of Google+ social efforts, announced that he was leaving the company. To add to the PR firestorm, Tech Crunch published an article citing a “source” that claims that “Google+ will no longer be considered a product, but a platform — essentially ending its competition with other social networks like Facebook and Twitter.” Google denied the claims.

(W)right On’s conclusion: Don’t delete your Google+ profiles yet.  While the future of the social network isn’t clear, it still provides a number of benefits for brands:

SEO: Google is a search engine, so it makes sense that Google+ provides significant SEO advantages. Google+ content itself – meaning content you post to your page – can rank in search results in instances where your website may not. Google+ also allows for near-instant indexing, whereas simply putting up new content and waiting it out usually takes a few days.

According to Forbes, “linking your Google+ page to your content via Google Authorship markup will cause the headshot and stats from your Google+ profile to show up in Google’s search results pages next to content you have written. This includes a your profile picture displaying within search results next to your content, which has been shown to draw user’s eyes and significantly improve click-through rates.”

Further, when someone follows you on Google+, it is much more likely that your content will appear higher in their search results. And when other Google+ users give a link multiple +1s, the pages shoot up in the search rankings.

No Pay for Play: Facebook has more active users than Google+. But with the latest change to its algorithm, Facebook has recently become “pay for play,” which means it’s difficult for posts to gain traction unless the page owner pays money to “boost” them. This means that “free” Facebook marketing may no longer a viable way for businesses to reach consumers.

[RELATED: Pay for Play: Will Facebook Get In Trouble?]

Quality Visits: According to a recent report from Shareaholic, Google+ actually has the second highest social media post-click engagement. YouTube took the #1 spot and Facebook is down at #5. So although Google+ drives fewer referrals compared to its competitors, it turns out the traffic it does drive is actually quite high on the quality scale. Google+ users spend more than three minutes diving into links shared by their circles, view 2.45 pages during each visit, and bounce only 50.63 percent of the time.

For these reasons alone, we recommend that brands include Google+ as one part of a comprehensive social media strategy. What are your thoughts on Google+? Is it dead, alive or maybe just sick? Join the debate in the comments.

https://wrightoncomm.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Screen-Shot-2014-05-28-at-3.00.34-PM.png 786 591 (W)right On Communications (W)right On Communications https://wrightoncomm.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Screen-Shot-2014-05-28-at-3.00.34-PM.png

Julie Wright

President + Founder

Julie Wright is President of (W)right On Communications, Inc., the award-winning integrated strategic communications firm she founded in 1998. With offices in San Diego, Los Angeles and Vancouver, B.C., her team handles complex communications challenges for B2B tech, cleantech and energy, healthcare, tourism and hospitality, not-for-profit and public sector organizations. Wright and her team elevate the agency experience through data-driven insights and measurable results for client partners.

Earlier in her career, Wright served at several public relations agencies and in-house as Director of Marketing for a financial institution. She began her career as a journalist, working as a radio news anchor.

Wright currently serves as a director and past chair of the San Diego North Economic Development Council and a director of CalTravel. Her previous community service has included director of the Los Angeles chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators, board vice president of the La Jolla Village Merchants Association, trustee for the Tri-City Hospital Foundation and chair of the President’s Advisory Council for California State University San Marcos.

Wright was named a “Woman Who Means Business” by the San Diego Business Journal and a “40 Under 40” honoree by the San Diego Metropolitan magazine. She was also recognized with the annual Fran Aleshire Award for community leadership by Leadership North County and founded the LNC Alumni group, which is now 400 strong. Julie was named IABC San Diego’s Communicator of the Year in 2025.

In 2025, Wright received San Diego Press Club’s Andy Mace Award for outstanding public relations and the Communicator of the Year award from IABC San Diego. She has also been named a “Woman Who Means Business” by the San Diego Business Journal and one of “San Diego’s Best Marketing Executives” plus a “40 Under 40” honoree by the San Diego Metropolitan magazine. She was also recognized with the annual Fran Aleshire Award for community leadership by Leadership North County and founded the LNC Alumni group, which is now 400 strong.

Wright holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of B.C. and a Master of Journalism degree from the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of Western Ontario. She is a graduate of the Leadership North County program as well as the Corporate Directors Forum Governance Academy.

She lives in San Diego with her husband, has two sons in college, loves being outdoors in Southern California and Vancouver, and has a passion for elephants, frogs and Champagne.

Twitter LinkedIn Facebook