A symbol of things to come? An opening shot in a new war between two giants? I’m talking about the new top-right share button recently added to Google’s classic, white search page. It may just look like a link into Google’s social network, Google+. But, it’s really so much more.
The Sleeping Giant Awakens
“We’re seeing the beginning of a war,” says Michael Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner. He’s talking about a full-on battle between Google and Facebook. “All the folks I’ve talked to have indicated the executives at Google now get it,” Stelzner says. “And Google+ is part of the master plan of integrating all their services together.”
“The area where Google+ could really shine is integration back into Google,” says James Gross, founder of Percolate. “Brands are really excited about Google+ with Google search.”
“We’re going to be rewarded by Google by producing highly relevant content,” says Stelzner.
Immediate Rewards
“If you can target your ideal customers and get them to put your brand pages in their circles, and build that community,” blogger Jonathan Crossfield says, “when they hit the buying phase, and go to Google, your content, because of that relationship, will rank higher.”
“Google has made it very clear,” says Stelzner, ”that content is king and content is key to Google+.” Having that content quickly integrated into Google Search provides “almost immediate search engine results,” Stelzner reports.
Another important benefit for Crossfield, community manager at Ninefold, is the ability to leverage Google Analytics to see who’s sharing what content. “You’re able to construct the path your content took to hit the maximum number of users,” he says.
The Time to Act is Now
Stelzner says early adopters are going to get the most benefit from Google+. “You’ve got to claim your publishing site,” he says, “and set up a Google+ page and link those together.”
“Google docs and apps are incredibly easy to use,” says Gross. In the future, he continues, Google could be “an incredibly slick application for enterprise.”
