Google Has Stopped Trying to Make Google+ Happen

Social Network Comes Full Circle

In 2011 Google introduced its own social network to the world, one that would one day be a rival to Facebook and Twitter: Google+. With now about 540 million monthly active users, it would seem that Google+ has failed to compete with social media giant Facebook. And that number may not be entirely reliable as it also counts the Google accounts that interact with Google+, in any way.

Source: weknowmemes.com

In an attempt to make Google+ 'happen' and truly compete with Facebook Google started, and there is no other way to put this, shoving Google+ down people's throats. Essentially, Google was forcing people who have no interest whatsoever in joining the social network to sign up. This plan backfired spectacularly; Google+ became the social network people avoided at all cost. Google tried to change that, coming up with small ways to make people join: for instance, if you want to comment on a Youtube video you have to have a Google+ account. If you want to join Gmail, you have to open a Google+ account as well.

This 'making people join Google+ at all costs' policy received a lot of criticism and did nothing to help with Google+'s popularity. In an unexpected turn of events, slowly but surely, Google have decided to abandon their social network.

Source: weknowmemes.com

You no longer have to have a Google+ account when you create a Gmail and you can choose to click, like most people will, on the 'No Thanks' button. There has been no official announcement of Google's departure from Google+, but in April Vic Gundotra, who was in charge of the social network, left Google. Nowadays, you can even use Google Hangouts, one of the cooler features of Google+, without a Google+ account. More and more you can start doing things with Google services without being a part of Google+, which is a victory in itself. Hopefully the next victory, for people who use Google regularly, will be the ability to comment on Youtube with only a Youtube account again.

After only three years, Google+ can really be called a failure despite all of Google's best efforts. Will we see Google+ disappear completely from our screens in a few years time? It seems very likely, and no one will mourn its disappearance.

Laura Veit

Laura is a recent graduate from University of East Anglia in Film and Television Studies, currently interning as a content writer but hoping to one day live off her writing. Follow her @LauraAtSMF.

Source: http://www.socialmediafrontiers.com/2014/09/google-has-stopped-trying-to-make.html#.VCqLHhY0-Sp

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Why Use Google Plus for Business?

Google Plus is a valuable tool for business promotion and marketing.  And given that each time you log onto your Youtube channel or your Gmail account Google is going to hassle you to set one up, you may as well set one up. Obviously, you may not have a Gmail account or a Youtube account. However, even if you never  intend to open either type of account, you should still consider Google Plus for marketing your business.



Google is attempting to get all its users to sign up for all the Google services, such as Gmail, YouTube, Calendar,Drive and Blogger.  And, when considering the prevalence & usefulness of each type of Google account, this is not such a bad idea.  Gmail is very popular and respected email service. Youtube is the greatest video offering site out there. Drive is extraordinary for file sharing. Calendar is ideal for organizations that need to impart work plans. Blogger is a decent blog website. And Google search, is the highest ranking website on the internet.

All of Google services are useful, and freely available to use for personal or business purposes.  But why have a Google + account? Because all you need to sign up for a Google + is a Gmail account, and because it is extremely easy to manage and attract other Google + users to your site. However, Google + is not as popular as  Facebook.

In order to persuade Google users to utilize the Google Plus platform, Google recently introduced a dashboard when enables users to manage their business profile, their business address on Google maps and manage their YouTube channel.

Google Search is the most mainstream search engine online and is the most lucrative of all the free to use sites online.  By establishing and keeping an up to date business Google Plus page, it will help your business rank well in Google's search engine, and, if you link your website to the Google Plus page it should follow that your website will also rank well.


Google Plus has a number of great features that e gimmicks and the dashboard. With Google plus you can post a wide variety of content while using #hashtags to encourage discussion. You can follow, +1 (or Like) and interact easily while potentially attracting new customers to your business. it is also easy to join groups that are relevant to your business, and use 'Hangouts' to run webinars or video conferences.

Although Google plus has great features, and is reported to have over 500 million account holders, it does not appear to be that many users are actively maintaining their Google Plus page. 

So while Google Plus is useful to have, it may be best to put more time and effort into other social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, for promoting your business.


Given the reasons already stated, it is a great idea to keep a Google Plus business page, and should the use of Google Plus start to really gain favor, by the millions of Google users, it is a great asset to have that you can access promptly.

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Your Google Searches May Help Decide Your Facebook Ads

Marketers can now use search engine queries to better target their Facebook ads.

Image: Mashable, Karissa Bell

The ads you see on Facebook may soon look a lot like the ads you see on Google.

Marketers are now able to take keywords from your search query on Google (or Yahoo or Bing) and use that information to offer you more targeted ads in your Facebook feed.

That's thanks to ad technology created by Facebook ad partner Kenshoo Social. Kenshoo's technology is still in beta, but won't be for long. The company says that many of its clients should have access to the service in the coming weeks.

If you click on an ad that results from a search query, marketers can use Kenshoo to pick out keywords from your searches to better target you on the social network.

For example, if you search for "red running shoes" on Bing and click on a Nike ad that surfaces, Nike will recognize the keyword that surfaced that ad (probably "shoes") and then send you shoe-related ads on Facebook, too.

Previously, companies could target Facebook users that visited their sites with ads based on their interests on the social network. But the new technology offers up the search keyword that resulted in the site visit, something that was previously unavailable to marketers.

In other words, companies don't just know you visited their website, they know what you searched for that led you there. And now they can follow up with you on Facebook.

"For the first time, there's a gateway, there's a bridge between [search data and social data]," says Doug Chavez, global head of marketing research and content at Kenshoo. "Search, whether it's Google or Bing or Yahoo, is a massive data base of consumer intent that has largely gone untapped" by social media.

Facebook and Kenshoo worked together on the technology, but their partnership is not exclusive, according to a Facebook spokesperson. That means other marketing companies (and Kenshoo competitors) could build similar tools, a move that would still benefit Facebook.

Kenshoo's tool works by matching up anonymous Internet cookies from Facebook and the search engine, but user queries are not scanned in full. Nike, for example, would not be able to read every word you typed into your search query; the company only gets to see the specific keyword that triggered the ad.

"If you're providing a better experience for me, or helping me get a better product at a better price or get better information, consumers are generally pretty fine with that," says Chavez. "I don't see this as big brother at all."

Kenshoo is also a Twitter Ads API Partner, but wouldn't say whether similar technology is in the works for Twitter marketers.

http://mashable.com/2014/06/04/google-facebook-ads-search/

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