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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Thoughts on Google+

"That's me."
~Brenda Meller
A friend asked me this question today, and I'd like to share my response on this blog. It deals with Google+, which still seems to be a confusing site that continues to get some attention.


Q: Tell me what you think of Google+ when you get a chance. I just started with it. 


A: As far as Google+ goes, I'm undecided. I think it's a tool launched by Google that is very self-serving. Prior to the launch of Google+, when I did a Google search of my name, my LinkedIn, Twitter, and Youtube videos came up first. Followed by a bunch of articles mentioning the social media sessions at Walsh College

Now when I do a google search of my name , my Google+ profile comes up first. And I've barely even used it. 

People will pay tons of money trying to optimize their webpages to get a #1 listing. It used to be that Google used an algorithm and would continuously change the rules about what they ranked as valid links. Those valid links in turn helped to determine organic search results. Now by being on Google+, my listing has changed. Since I have to play by their rules (i.e., Google is the #1 search engine), I can't deny the reason to be on Google+. But do I personally see any value in it yet? No. I see it as one more site I have to check. I'm most active on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube (probably in that order) and Google ranks 5th or 6th in priority for me after my blogs. Google+ seems too similar to Facebook and Twitter to me, with maybe a bit of LinkedIn thrown in. 


Readers: What do you think? 
Other marketing questions? Ask them here and I'll blog my response.