With about 100 million subscribers, Google+ is far from posing a serious threat to Facebook’s nearly one billion strong user base. But the search giant is trying to leverage it’s considerable audiences in other areas to close the gap. The latest step in this direction is the replacement of Google Place pages with Google+ Local pages. SEO writers have been anticipating this move since the launch of Google+ Pages for businesses.
The shift has been handled quite smoothly. According to Google senior executive Marissa Mayer, as many as 80 million Google Place pages have already been converted to Google+ Local pages automatically. While some business owners are likely to find the dramatic change disorienting, it will hopefully be for the better.
The changes include inclusion of a ‘Local’ tab in Google+, integration of Google+ Local pages across products like Maps, mobile and search, inclusion of a circles filter for finding suggestions from family/friends and, free availability and integration of Zagat reviews. With moves like these, business owners are being forced to enter the social media fray. While this increases the customer interaction potential, it also requires entrepreneurs to find out more about various features of Google+ in order to make the most of it. Those who put in the required effort are sure to be rewarded.