Here are a few reasons why I say YES!

Google+ might not be the social network you use first for socializing, but it has huge advantages for businesses.

I don’t like to beat a dead horse (or a living one, for that matter), but in case you missed one of my many previous posts on the subject, here again are the benefits of Google+ for your business. Because it really can help grow your business.

Google+ posts are searched as web pages, and naturally Google+ is going to rank posts on its own social site towards the top of search results. And if you are connected to the individual who is searching, your posts are going to rank even higher thanks to Google’s Personalized Results. Just because you aren’t getting as much engagement on Google+, it doesn’t mean your posts or profile aren’t being viewed.

Google will automatically generate a page for your local listings. These local results will appear in local searches, which is especially important for mobile searches because they place priority on local searches. And for users in Chrome, Google Maps, or using Google Search Engine, local Google+ pages will rank at the top of results. As mobile search becomes increasingly important to search engines, directory listings or local listings will also become more important to mobile SEO. 

If you post your blogs or articles on Google Plus, the search result will include your name and link to your Google profile. Although Google Authorship project has been canceled, connecting your business profile to your content will still matter to Google, even if they might change how it is displayed over time. Personalized results means anyone you are connected to on Google Plus will be more likely to see your posts, which will build your brand and increase your organic (non paid) exposure to your target audience.

Thanks to Google’s high rank of its own social network, more people are clicking on and visiting content from Google+ than Facebook. Google+ receives 1.2 billion visits per month compared to Facebook’s 809 million. 

If you post something on a Facebook business page, odds are that few people will see your post unless you spend money to promote it. Organic reach (non-paid) has been steadily decreased by the Facebook algorithm, and some sources suggest it could reach zero in the next year or so. Google+ has its own ad network (Adwords) which so far is not connected to Google+. Essentially, your Google+ posts rank well without any cost on your part.

We all know what a powerhouse Google is. From the Android device to Gmail and Chrome, millions of users are accessing Google’s gadgets and virtual services every second as a primary part of their daily lives. And Google is focused heavily on connecting their services (“One Account, All of Google”). What is the benefit of this for you? Your Google+ posts and image shows up in Gmail. You can connect your YouTube account to your profile. Your profile will show up in search results; much higher in personalized results for your connections. Because Google is everywhere, your content on Google+ will also be everywhere.

Google has other great features. Hangouts, Drive, and Photos are just a few of Google's interconnected services. Hangouts allows you to video chat for free through your computer or your mobile device with other Google+ users. You can video chat with multiple people, and some businesses record these hangouts and post them for even great exposure. Google Drive lets you create, manage, and store documents to share. Photos can be automatically uploaded from your mobile device, stored, and optionally shared on Google+.

Google+ is so much more than just a social network, which is probably why it has more visitors than Facebook. So if you haven’t already, join Google+, posts your articles, and claim your Local Page for more exposure on mobile devices. Then follow ApogeeINVENT for more tips like this!