Google+ was Google’s ambitious attempt to create a social media platform that could rival Facebook. However, the platform was ultimately a failure, and was shut down in 2018.
Google+’s EPIC FAIL: The Inside Story of a Social Media Disaster in Action
It’s important to launch a product at the right time. Google+ was too late to the social media market, and it never really managed to gain traction. Here’s what I remember about Google+’s downfall, and the obvious reasons why the platform failed to live up to expectations.
One of the biggest problems with Google+ was that it was over-integrated with other Google products. This made the platform confusing and difficult to use for many users.
For example, Google+ comments were integrated with YouTube comments, which meant that users had to have a Google+ account in order to comment on YouTube videos. This was a major turn-off for many users, who didn’t want to be forced to create a Google+ account just to comment on YouTube.
Another problem with Google+ was that it was simply too late to the market. By the time Google+ launched in 2011, Facebook was already the dominant social media platform. Google+ struggled to gain traction, and never really managed to challenge Facebook’s dominance.
Google+ was simply not a very good product. The platform was slow, buggy, and lacked many of the features that users were looking for in a social media platform. For example, Google+ did not have a dedicated mobile app until 2013, which was two years after the platform launched.
2017 – Google’s free website builder was launched
Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) has changed significantly since its launch in 2017. In 2018, Google added the ability to book appointments directly from your Business Profile. This feature has been loved by a lot of my sole traders local clients, like mobile hairdressers, restaurants, and gyms.
In 2019, Google added the ability to post product updates to your Business Profile. This feature allows you to show customers what new products you have in stock and when they’re available.
You have been able to upload videos to Google My Business since 2019. However, in 2022, Google announced that it would be discontinuing the ability to upload videos to Google My Business. This change took effect on April 1, 2023.
Instead, Google recommends that businesses upload videos to YouTube and then link to those videos from their Google Business Profile. This will allow businesses to have more control over their videos and to track their performance.
YouTube Video SEO and Best Practice
Once you have optimised your title, description, tags, upload settings and are all set, next is to link a YouTube video to your Google Business Profile,
- Go to your Google Business Profile dashboard.
- Click on the “Videos” tab.
- Click on the “Add video” button.
- Select the “Link to existing video” option.
- Paste the URL of your YouTube video into the field provided.
- Click on the “Add” button.
- In 2020, Google added the ability to create and manage Showcase Sections on your Business Profile. Showcase Sections allow you to highlight specific products, services, or offers on your Business Profile.
- In 2021, Google added the ability to post video and audio content to your Business Profile. This feature allows you to share behind-the-scenes videos, customer testimonials, and other types of content with your customers.
- More features and functionality: Google Business Profile has added a number of new features and functionality over the years, including:
- The ability to manage multiple locations from a single dashboard.
- The ability to post updates and announcements directly to your Business Profile.
- The ability to collect and respond to reviews.
- The ability to track insights and analytics about your Business Profile performance.
- Improved user experience: Google Business Profile has also made a number of improvements to its user experience, making it easier for businesses to create and manage their profiles.
- Expanded reach: Google Business Profile is now integrated with more Google products and services, including Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Ads. This means that your Business Profile can be seen by more people, across more devices.
2023 and Google’s AI Features
Following a period of Google Core Updates and HCU, now we are in the middle of a ‘review review’ as I’ve dubbed it.
Google is constantly developing new AI features for Google Business Profile. in October 2023, Google is currently testing a new feature that will allow users to generate creative text formats of text content, such as poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, emails, letters, etc. for their Business Profile.
Here’s more AI features that are available to users of Google Business Profile:
- AI-powered business description: Google can automatically generate a business description for you based on the information you’ve provided in your Business Profile. This can save you time and help you to create a more informative and engaging description for your business.
- Automated FAQs: Google can automatically generate FAQs for you based on the information you’ve provided in your Business Profile and on your website. This can help you to answer common questions that customers may have about your business.
- AI-powered insights: Google can provide you with insights about your Business Profile performance, such as how many people are viewing your profile, how many people are searching for your business, and how many people are leaving reviews. These insights can help you to improve your Business Profile and to reach more customers.
- AI-powered moderation: Google uses AI to moderate reviews and to remove reviews that violate its policies. This helps to ensure that your Business Profile is filled with accurate and helpful reviews.
- AI-powered search: Google uses AI to improve the search results for businesses. This means that your Business Profile is more likely to be seen by potential customers when they search for businesses like yours.
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