You have a business. You have a website. You are on Facebook and Twitter, and you hear that Google+ is growing into a good place to be for your business and marketing strategies. Or maybe you already have a page on Google+ but you are wondering what you are doing there. After all, Google+ does not have nearly as much reach as Facebook or Twitter. Right? Well, no. Wrong actually.

Google+ is not just another social media platform; like it or not, especially for businesses, it will become (if not became) the social media platform that will bring to fruition your online marketing strategies and translate into more search results and online visibility.

Let’s preview some of the basic reasons why Google+ is necessary and actually useful for your business.

1. Google+ as a platform seems to attract a lot of users who are into technology and business. Top brands on Google+ are Mashable, Android and Chrome. It is a place to market your business, even if it is not technologically related. Sounds vague? Read on and more will be revealed!
2. Google+ allows you to segment your audience into circles and offer your various circles different content based on their areas of interest. For example, you can create a circle for people who are interested in Smart Phones, another for people into web design, and maybe another circle for people who want to get random tech news. This structure allows you to take your marketing strategy further by directly reaching your customers and prospects based on what they want from you. Not to mention that this can help cut back on the un-follows you might get because you are sharing content not everyone is interested in.
   
3. The no-word limit on Google+ allows for conversation. You can use your Google+ posts to share your ideas, ask your circles questions and get feedback. You can post your opinions and conduct informal surveys about your products and services by gauging reader response to your posts. In brief, Google+ posts give you the opportunity to do more than just share links to information. It’s gives you plenty of room for your personality and your business’s charisma to shine.
4. Google+ communities allow you to build or join groups of people with similar interests. Google+ communities are a place for sharing information, links, articles, videos, pictures and other media with like-minded people. Joining or creating a community, posting quality content and giving people useful information allows you to grow your following and link to more people in your domain as well as customers and potential clients. When you join a community, you cease to be a spectator and you become a participant in the conversation. Your posts, ideas, links and other material show up on the community page for all members to see and comment on. Read on to see why this is very important in the context of Google and visibility in search results.
   
5. Google 2.0. A term coined by Google+’s Vic Gundotra. You know what this means, right? Google+ is not just a social platform; it is a social layer. Being connected to Google+ plus also connects to other Google features and services, increasing your exposure. For example, through your page on Google+, you can connect to Local to show up on Google maps. Mildly put, that’s pretty good for business.
   
6. Hangouts. We could write a whole post on Google+ Hangouts, but we won’t – not right now at least. Let’s just say that Hangouts (Google+’s live chat/video conference feature) gives you the chance to connect with your audience and interact with them directly, as well as helps you share and find material, communities and people relevant to you and your business.
   
7. Google+ as a platform is nowhere near as saturated as, say Facebook. Google+ grows daily and allows you to be heard over the noise. And let’s face it, it allows for more meaningful communication as it seems to be directed, or rather used, for business, getting information and such, instead of for mostly posting baby/cat pictures and the like.
   
8. Google as a search engine keeps turning the tables on SEO techniques. Well, it’s doing it again. Search, plus Your World now makes it possible for you to appear in the search results of people who follow you or have you in circles on Google+. Let’s say one of your followers is searching Google for ‘waterproof smartphones’ and you happen to have written/shared content about that topic on Google+, you will appear in that person’s search results. Can you see the implications for this? Point 4 explained! Growing your community and number of followers is not just about ego and pride; it has a direct and practical benefit for your business and for you.
9. With this final reason for not ignoring Google+ we might be stating the obvious, but it is worth mentioning anyway: Google+ is Google. How wise is it to ignore Google? Really?

So, what are you waiting for? Get on board the Google+ bus already.

If you have Gmail, you are already on Google+, all you need to do is activate and get started. If you don’t, it’s really simple to get a Gmail account.

Check out this link for some great Google+ resources

Your turn. What do you think of Google+? Any other reasons you can think of why not to ignore this platform? Share your thoughts in the comments. We’d love to hear from you :)