This guide will help you understand not only how these two are different, but how you can use them to your advantage.
Google has far more products and services now than anyone could have predicted in its search engine infancy. But with so many options available, it may start to become unclear what each one is for, or at the very least, how the services differ from one another. Between Google Plus and Google my Business, marketers may not realize that the services differ in value depending on the company that uses them.
Getting on Google+ will help Google's Web crawlers index your site, leading to higher placement during a Web search. It will also ensure that customers get the right information when they search for your business on Google.
But getting started on Google+ can be confusing, especially if your brand is already juggling a Facebook page, Twitter account and profiles on other social networks . Read on to learn how to make the most of Google+ to promote and grow your business.
Brent Carnduff described it as “as the interface between you and Google local search activity.” In short, Google my Business is your online dashboard for your business. It shows you different channels that define your business on Google.
The first thing you’ll notice after setting up your company on Google my Business is Google’s location feature. Usually, when you look up a business on their search engine, you’ll see a range of information in a neat card on the right-hand side. As you can see, it includes the business name, photos, a map, reviews, contact details, and operating hours. This gives visitors more information, and assures them on the reputability of the business.
All of this can be managed in Google my Business. You can choose which details to share, and which photos visitors will see. Once you create a location, Google will send you a verification postcard in 4 days to confirm that the location is real. Once you input the code from that postcard, Google will list your location on their search engine.
In addition, Google My Business gives you key data with Insights and Reviews. Insights shows how many views, clicks, and followers your website may get, while reviews show a deeper form of engagement, the written testimonials of real customers accompanied with a star rating.
What’s the difference?
Due to the various changes both Google Plus and Google my Business have undergone, it’s perfectly normal to be confused with the purpose of each one. What is the difference between them, and what purpose does each one serve?
Dashboard v. Social
Try to look at it this way: think of your business as a fancy dinner or a birthday party. Google my Business is everything to do with how people find your party and how they get there. Google+ is about the actual party itself, and what kind of things people talk about when they’re there. Google my Business is a dashboard- it allows you to see different kinds of information that relates to how your business is found on Google. Google+ is a social network, that allows you to more closely connect with your visitors online.
Plus as Part of Business
In other words, Google+ is just one aspect of Google my Business, which contains a number of other features. While Google+ is its own thing, Google my Business allows you to link your accounts together, furthering the point that Business acts as a dashboard for your business online.
More info on my Google+
“With Google+, you can share links, videos, pictures, and other content with people who share your interests. And you can see what other people have shared in your stream. You can always choose who you share with.” – Description found on Google+ Help.
The search giant's social network is increasingly integrated with the entire Google ecosystem, from search to Maps to YouTube. Engaging with Google+ isn't just a way to share updates and deals with your customers; it's also the best way to ensure they find your business in the first place.Getting on Google+ will help Google's Web crawlers index your site, leading to higher placement during a Web search. It will also ensure that customers get the right information when they search for your business on Google.
But getting started on Google+ can be confusing, especially if your brand is already juggling a Facebook page, Twitter account and profiles on other social networks . Read on to learn how to make the most of Google+ to promote and grow your business.
What is Google+ Local?
Google+ Business, Google+ Local, Google Places — these are all platforms launched by Google in the past few years to help customers find local businesses. The tech giant hasn't made it easy for business owners to distinguish between each platform.
So, before we get to the nitty-gritty of using Google+ for promotion, a little explanation is needed.
Google+ launched in 2011 as a social media platform for individual users, with personal profiles that function just like Facebook profiles. Later, Google launched Google+ Business, which let businesses and brands get their own Google+ profile — just like Facebook Pages for businesses.
Google+ Business users can share status updates, photos, videos and more, just as business owners can do on their brand's Facebook page.
Around the same time, Google launched another service called Google Places, which consists of pages displaying your business's location, contact information and consumer reviews. If you want your business to be listed in Google's Web search results and to show up on Google Maps, sign up for Google Places.
Here's where it gets complicated.
Google Places still exists in name, but it was integrated with Google+ Business this fall under a new name: Google+ Local.
You can still sign up for Google Places. Doing so (and verifying that you are actually the owner) will still allow you to create a basic local listing for your business. When users search for local businesses on Google or Google Maps, they can still navigate to your business's Places page, which now appears as a basic Google+ page — even if you never signed up for Google+.
But signing up for Google+ Business can have big benefits. Doing so will activate social functionality on your business's profile, allowing you to share updates, deals, photos and videos. It's also the only way to customize your profile with personal touches, like a custom banner image.
Google recommends that you sign up for Google Places first to create a basic local listing for your business. Once the listing is up, you can easily activate Google+ social features in your account settings.
Google+ Business, Google+ Local, Google Places — these are all platforms launched by Google in the past few years to help customers find local businesses. The tech giant hasn't made it easy for business owners to distinguish between each platform.
So, before we get to the nitty-gritty of using Google+ for promotion, a little explanation is needed.
Google+ launched in 2011 as a social media platform for individual users, with personal profiles that function just like Facebook profiles. Later, Google launched Google+ Business, which let businesses and brands get their own Google+ profile — just like Facebook Pages for businesses.
Google+ Business users can share status updates, photos, videos and more, just as business owners can do on their brand's Facebook page.
Around the same time, Google launched another service called Google Places, which consists of pages displaying your business's location, contact information and consumer reviews. If you want your business to be listed in Google's Web search results and to show up on Google Maps, sign up for Google Places.
Here's where it gets complicated.
Google Places still exists in name, but it was integrated with Google+ Business this fall under a new name: Google+ Local.
You can still sign up for Google Places. Doing so (and verifying that you are actually the owner) will still allow you to create a basic local listing for your business. When users search for local businesses on Google or Google Maps, they can still navigate to your business's Places page, which now appears as a basic Google+ page — even if you never signed up for Google+.
But signing up for Google+ Business can have big benefits. Doing so will activate social functionality on your business's profile, allowing you to share updates, deals, photos and videos. It's also the only way to customize your profile with personal touches, like a custom banner image.
Google recommends that you sign up for Google Places first to create a basic local listing for your business. Once the listing is up, you can easily activate Google+ social features in your account settings.
“Google My Business connects you directly with customers, whether they’re looking for you on Search, Maps or Google+” – Description found on the Official Google my Business Page
The first thing you’ll notice after setting up your company on Google my Business is Google’s location feature. Usually, when you look up a business on their search engine, you’ll see a range of information in a neat card on the right-hand side. As you can see, it includes the business name, photos, a map, reviews, contact details, and operating hours. This gives visitors more information, and assures them on the reputability of the business.
All of this can be managed in Google my Business. You can choose which details to share, and which photos visitors will see. Once you create a location, Google will send you a verification postcard in 4 days to confirm that the location is real. Once you input the code from that postcard, Google will list your location on their search engine.
In addition, Google My Business gives you key data with Insights and Reviews. Insights shows how many views, clicks, and followers your website may get, while reviews show a deeper form of engagement, the written testimonials of real customers accompanied with a star rating.
Lastly, Google my Business gives you the option of accessing your business’s Google Plus and Analytics account. Here you can manage your presence on Google’s social network, and yield important data on who your visitors are, and how they interact with your website.
Why you should care
Studies have shown that nearly all consumers use the Web to search for local businesses. Overall, 20 percent of Web searches have local intent, and that number jumps to 40 percent for mobile searches, according to Google.
If you want your business to be in the mix, you have to take action. The more you engage with Google's Web ecosystem, the more visibility your business will have in two different types of Google searches. A standard Google Web search will be more likely to position your business close to the top of the search results if you are actively engaged. Google+ Local pages are automatically shown when Google knows a search has local intent. Consumers can also seek out businesses by searching within Google+ itself. A local search on Google's social network will return only Google+ Local pages, so your page doesn't have to compete with traditional websites and ads that appear in a regular Web search.
The process Google uses to rank pages in a Web search is complex and beyond the scope of this article. But know that the more complete and appealing your business's Google+ page is, the more relevant it will appear to Google, and the higher it will likely rank.
It's easy to see why it's so important for small businesses to get on Google+, but what about social engagement?
Sharing updates, photos and videos can also improve your business's search status. The more information you share, the faster your content is likely to be indexed by Google.
If you're hesitant to engage, consider this: Every Internet user with a basic account for Gmail, YouTube or any other Google Web service already has a Google+ page. Even if most people prefer Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, Google's social network is huge and growing.
As Google+ becomes the de facto home for business on Google, your business's profile is quickly becoming the landing page that will determine whether a potential customer becomes a real one. If your page is updated frequently with news, deals, appealing photographs and positive reviews, it's almost guaranteed to drive sales.
And users are much more likely to "follow" (or subscribe to) a frequently updated page, so they will be alerted to your updates every time they visit Google.com.
Frequent updates will also encourage users to share your content, which could land your latest post on the What's Hot tab, now accessible from every Google+ profile. If your business is featured in What's Hot, it could drive more followers and more sales.
Studies have shown that nearly all consumers use the Web to search for local businesses. Overall, 20 percent of Web searches have local intent, and that number jumps to 40 percent for mobile searches, according to Google.
If you want your business to be in the mix, you have to take action. The more you engage with Google's Web ecosystem, the more visibility your business will have in two different types of Google searches. A standard Google Web search will be more likely to position your business close to the top of the search results if you are actively engaged. Google+ Local pages are automatically shown when Google knows a search has local intent. Consumers can also seek out businesses by searching within Google+ itself. A local search on Google's social network will return only Google+ Local pages, so your page doesn't have to compete with traditional websites and ads that appear in a regular Web search.
The process Google uses to rank pages in a Web search is complex and beyond the scope of this article. But know that the more complete and appealing your business's Google+ page is, the more relevant it will appear to Google, and the higher it will likely rank.
It's easy to see why it's so important for small businesses to get on Google+, but what about social engagement?
Sharing updates, photos and videos can also improve your business's search status. The more information you share, the faster your content is likely to be indexed by Google.
If you're hesitant to engage, consider this: Every Internet user with a basic account for Gmail, YouTube or any other Google Web service already has a Google+ page. Even if most people prefer Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, Google's social network is huge and growing.
As Google+ becomes the de facto home for business on Google, your business's profile is quickly becoming the landing page that will determine whether a potential customer becomes a real one. If your page is updated frequently with news, deals, appealing photographs and positive reviews, it's almost guaranteed to drive sales.
And users are much more likely to "follow" (or subscribe to) a frequently updated page, so they will be alerted to your updates every time they visit Google.com.
Frequent updates will also encourage users to share your content, which could land your latest post on the What's Hot tab, now accessible from every Google+ profile. If your business is featured in What's Hot, it could drive more followers and more sales.
What’s the difference?
Due to the various changes both Google Plus and Google my Business have undergone, it’s perfectly normal to be confused with the purpose of each one. What is the difference between them, and what purpose does each one serve?
Dashboard v. Social
Try to look at it this way: think of your business as a fancy dinner or a birthday party. Google my Business is everything to do with how people find your party and how they get there. Google+ is about the actual party itself, and what kind of things people talk about when they’re there. Google my Business is a dashboard- it allows you to see different kinds of information that relates to how your business is found on Google. Google+ is a social network, that allows you to more closely connect with your visitors online.
Plus as Part of Business
In other words, Google+ is just one aspect of Google my Business, which contains a number of other features. While Google+ is its own thing, Google my Business allows you to link your accounts together, furthering the point that Business acts as a dashboard for your business online.
More info on my Google+
