Legal Internet Marketing Blog
As you’ve probably heard by now, Google finally released their own version of Facebook’s Fan Page, simply titled Google Pages (not to be confused with Google Places). While Google’s new product may not have as much functionality as Facebook Fan Pages (at least not yet), the potential it has for being an effective marketing tool is unmistakable. Although Facebook is still king as far as business specific profile pages are concerned, it may not be long before Google Pages become not only a necessary part of any legal Internet marketing campaign, but the desired platform for businesses to represent themselves in the world of social media.
For anyone familiar with Google+ profiles, Google Pages basically follow the same format. There are four sections that a business is able to utilize in order to market its brand, with one of those areas set aside for businesses to interact with other Google+ users (very similar to Facebook in the sense that it takes on a newsfeed type format and is ordered with the most recent postings of not only the company but also its followers). In the remaining three sections, businesses may upload videos, photos, and fill in information about their brand. The information section, otherwise known as the “About” section, is the most versatile in that it allows users to link back to their website, practice area pages, biographies, etc. and can include keywords to help the page rank.
Other than the profile itself, the other aspect of Google Pages that you should pay particular attention to reveals itself during the initial setup process. You see, Google Pages can be associated with Google Places pages, which are widely used by businesses everywhere to help establish a foothold on Google Maps and improve their search result rankings. While the connection between Google Pages and Google Places is relatively small at this point in time, with the only evidence of such being a link to a Google Map associated with the businesses address, it may prove extremely significant down the road. And if Google Pages find themselves intertwined with Google Maps search results, the edge in the “page” wars between Facebook and Google may shift to search king Google, leaving social king Facebook in the dust.