Google Plus – How Important is it? Search me…

Possibly the last thing we all need is another social network to manage; So, the first question is – can we ignore Google Plus, at least for now? Well, in the very

Is Google Plus all about search results?

short time Google Plus has allowed brand pages, 46 insurers and thousands of agencies have already opened accounts and attracting audiences. Allstate, Flo (Progressive), Aflac and AGLA have all come out swinging. Does that mean they see something exciting about the new social network?

In general, no, the reason is in the name. Google Plus is “an extension of Google itself”. Google even changed to iconic Google navigation bar to highlight the platform.

While their search algorithms have been best for a long time, the addition of social helps them better “understand” what visitors are really looking for. Google is seeking to unite recommendations and search. For an industry that lives on recommendations, this is important.
The Google +1 button will soon be everywhere and already on more than a million websites. It is the fastest growing social recommendation widget and receives 5 billion impressions a day. The +1 allows Google to track who is recommending and interacting with your brand.
It is widely believed that content receiving +1′s will appear higher in organic searches. Additionally, if a user is logged-in to Google Plus, Google will consider the +1′s of both the user and their connections to decide on search results. Google is assigning weight to social recommendations as a metric of content quality and relevance, making search results more personalized. When offered two equal options where one is recommended by a trusted friend, who’s going to choose the other?
The integration with search is critical to insurers. For many, social media is a sideshow but when it starts to effect search results, now that’s important.
Clearly, there are nice features in Google Plus. Circles allows insurers to separate audiences into customers, agents, employees etc. and post much more relevant content. Hangouts look cool and may even play a role connecting with an agent or customer service but these are “nice to haves”.
Consumers that choose to research insurance options online, and we now know that is the majority, could feel the effect of Google Plus even if they never join. In which case, insurers need to pay attention.

Click here to see an initial list of carrier Google Plus pages