Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Google’s algorithm that informs how search results are ranked constantly evolves. However, one element is clearly important: how your business fares on Google+.

So in case 250 million users, 150 million of which are active, isn’t enough reason to entice you to incorporate Google+ into your company’s social media marketing, ranking higher in search results is definitely a reason to get involved. That and the fact that Google adds more than 10 million new users each month.

While Google hasn’t come out and said exactly how Google+ figures into its SEO equation, social media experts have a pretty good idea of how it all works. “Google is using the number of +1s, shares and general activity on Google+ as a ranking factor in the personal results of logged-in users,” said Mike Arnesen, senior SEO analyst at SwellPath. “This even extends out to the second degree, so friends of your friends will be affected when you +1 pages.”...

What makes Google+ special? What are the best practices for it? And will Google+ end Facebook's domination of social networking...or will it break the Internet?

No matter how much encouraging news appears online about Google+, it's become hard for people, marketing-inclined or not, to shake the feeling that G+ "isn't worth the time." Most marketers and community managers say one of several things about...