I don’t know if you find this as unbelievable as I do, but people out there still don’t think that Google+ is important for businesses. In fact, there are TONS of businesses I’ve seen that haven’t so much as set up a G+ profile. It drives me CRAZY!

To put it simply… if branding matters to you, Google+ should matter to you.

Google+ and SEO

Let’s start this with the basics – something just about everyone running a business these days understands: getting your business found online.

Don’t get me wrong, I think every social media outlet has its place (even these uncommon social media sites). But, as the well-known cheer says, When it comes to SEO, G+ is the way to go!

Alright, maybe you’ve never heard that one, but the point is Google+ can make a huge difference in your searchability. Unlike other social sites, your Google+ profile and posts alike are search-friendly. It’s like having a mini blog at your disposal, adding more and more pages to Google SERPs that people can find you at. A major aspect of branding is just giving people the chance to see your brand.

G+ and Branding

When it comes to online branding, you’ve got to connect with people. Maybe G+ isn’t as popular as Facebook and Twitter with users, but with all the Circles and communities out there and how easy it is to use, you really give people a lot of great chances to engage with you when you’re active on Google+.

Having a solid profile in place also gives you a degree of clout. If people are searching for you and find you have no profile or (possibly worse) a cruddy one, it looks bad for your brand. People want to see that you care enough about what you do to promote it and devote some time and effort to it.

This Ain’t Facebook

Another interesting thing about G+ is that it isn’t other social outlets, which have their own expectations. Twitter posts are short and snappy with lots of hashtags. Facebook posts are usually a sentence or two, maybe with a pic or video. Blogs are generally 300+ words and take up their own pages on a website. Straying from these expectations usually isn’t a good idea, since people will probably think it’s too long or too strange to bother with.

Google+ gives you a nice middle-ground between a blog and a social post, in my opinion. You get the sharing and “liking” (+1) and hashtag capabilities, but since posts are SEO-able, you can go a bit longer and have more detail. The post pages even look more stripped-down and wide-open, and since most people don’t have much idea about what a G+ post should be like, you basically have free reign to post however you like.

Just remember to keep whatever you do post consistent with your brand!

Do you use G+ for branding? What works for you??