Google has considered Google+ a failed experiment for a few years now and eventually led to the creation of Google My Business (GMB) in late 2014. The G+ social media network has been plagued by low participation and engagement since the start, and due to those same issues Google has decided to cut the dead weight. In late June, Google began sending notifications to business owners that unused G+ Business pages are scheduled for deletion.
How will the deletions affect local business owners and their online presence in search results?
Does Google+ Still Have Any SEO Ranking Value?
It is important to first note that the deletion of Google+ pages will not have any affect on Google My Business pages. Your GMB reviews, information and Maps data will remain untouched. As G+ Business pages evolved into the current GMB pages, reviews and data were periodically stripped out leaving empty pages with virtually zero value. Google+ pages have been nearly wiped off Google search results as well, minus the extremely occasional appearance of posts from major national brands, which tells us that Google’s own ranking algorithms have zeroed out the value of Google+ Business pages.
Our Omaha SEO and Web Marketing team find that G+ Business pages only have true value if they have built up a community of engagement with a large volume of consistent +1s, Shares, Comments or Follows. A common misconception is that posting to your Google+ business page means you’ve given it immediate value. True value comes from how other users engage and interact with the content you have posted by sharing, discussing with others outside the core group.
Should I Keep Using Google+?
Our SEO and Web Marketing team has created several G+ Business pages over the years through our website builds and marketing efforts. However, in our experience those same accounts have fallen by the wayside and joined the masses of other small business accounts that have gone nearly unused since creation or been completely abandoned all-together. Unless your G+ Business page has been carefully curated over the years and has garnered a high amount of engagement, we suggest taking a deep breath and letting it go. Focus your SEO efforts elsewhere.
I Want to Keep My Google+ Business Page. What Should I Do?
If you have been notified your G+ Business page is on the chopping block and want to keep the page, the process to do so is simple. Log into your Google+ account, navigate to your G+ Business page and create a post. You can also avoid deletion by commenting on another user’s post. Don’t stop there, dig deep and keep up your posts and comments to build your page presence and influence.
