Goodbye Google+. Does Its Shutdown Impact Your Business?

by | Feb 14, 2019 | Digital Advertising, Digital Marketing Blog, Local Search Optimization

 

Google’s attempt to compete with Facebook in the social media space has officially been declared a failure. In December 2018, Google announced their decision to shut down Google+ for consumers in April 2019.

What went wrong?

  1. Nobody used it. For most, Google+ never became a part of your daily life like Facebook or Twitter. Google+ just never gained the traction Google originally envisioned. According to Google’s blog, 90% of Google+ user sessions lasted less than five seconds.
  2. There was a data breach. Sometime between 2015 and March 2018, Google experienced a significant data breach. Up to 500,000 users have been affected. So it came as no surprise that this once social network competitor was officially done.

Do you need to do anything?

Maybe….

  • Do you have a Google+ link on your website? If so, have it removed within the next couple of months.
  • Have you used Google+? If so, all the content you have posted on the platform will be lost, including the Communities (groups) you’ve built. Here’s what to do:
  1. Download your Google+ data. Download and migrate your Google+ data, but you can start ahead by backing up some of your data using Google Takeout. Google Takeout is a service that Google offers its users to make it easy to export your data.
  2. Do a security check up. Individual users should check the security for their own Google accounts. Use Google’s Security Checkup Tool.
  3. Put more effort into Google My Business Posts. Google Posts is a more effective way to promote your business with Google – for free and with less work. It’s part of your free Google My Business listing, and dead-simple to use.

Want to learn more about Google Posts? You’re in luck. Smart Link Solutions is a Google Partner Agency, and a Google My Business Trusted Verifier.

In fact, if you Contact Us in the month of February– we’ll perform a FREE Local SEO audit of your business and provide recommendations on how you can improve your Google rankings.

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If you want more clients while optimizing your marketing costs and increasing revenue, it’s time to see what Smart Link Solutions can do for your business.