Google Plus (G+) is a waste of SEO-time – heading for the deadpool ?

First this though, as far as SEO goes, the Google Plus profile pages no longer have PR and Google Plus has turned off the dofollow links from their comments (just like it did on YouTube). Why Google exactly changed it’s policy, we’ll never know. My guess is that Google Plus was using this very dodgy tactic to attract webmasters to help it compete with Facebook. Like I said, very dodgy way of trying to get your social solution used.

Google Plus (G+) is a waste of SEO-time - heading for the deadpool ?

What still helps is getting G+ ‘likes’ because Google is using these into their search engine query results. Or at least they want to use it because there is little to no adoption of G+ buttons on sites and if used they show little to no interaction movement with internet users. And that lack of human interest in Google Plus and that G+ button is a MAJOR problem for Google.

Sure, certain researchers (like U.S. analyst Paul Allen) say that Google’s social networking site will have more than 400 million registered users by the end of 2012. But surely, Allen is confusing ‘users’ with ‘members’. A ‘user’ would indicate that he or she actually ‘uses’ the services. Hardly anyone is actually ‘using’ it as such, reducing every profile to just a membership and that’s it.

I do not quite understand why Google CEO Larry Page is actually saying that the 90 million members have a high level of engagement because that simply is not the truth. The space is empty, deserted and only would-be SEO spammers seem to have found a safe harbor there. Ironically it’s Google who said that getting G+ ‘likes’ on Google Plus would push your search engine rankings, giving these spammers the green light to infest the space with G+ baiting posts. But without any public engaging there is simply no ‘likes’ or in Google Plus’ jargon, ‘+’ to be obtained.

It’s not exactly rocket science to explain why. Unlike the accounts with Facebook, the Google Plus accounts are largely ‘manufactured’. Google thus artificially boosts the number of Google Plus users. When a new user creates any type of Google account (YouTube, Gmail, Adwords, Analytics, …) , the system requires that the user register a Gmail account, fill out a Google profile, and join Google Plus. Like SEJ put it correctly, it’s growth (of members) by brute force. But it surely doesn’t mean growth in engagement or use.

I would even go that far to say that Google Plus will be heading into the deadpool in the next 2 years, if not earlier. The Google genome simply does not have the human aspect covered. And it seems that circles really aren’t the solution either. In my case I have thousands of contacts to ‘circle’. But I simply don’t have the time to do that, making the whole useless at least for that aspect of Google Plus.

Google has shown again that it is unable to understand how people think and act. They are good at search (organic and paid) but they kinda suck at all the rest (YouTube isn’t really a Google offspring, heck, even Adwords isn’t). Only tech geeks think their way but most people on this earth are not tech geeks but ordinary folks, wanting to chat with friends, share ideas etc on platforms that do not seem to force you into doing things you would never have done in the first place.

As a result, if you really want to do SEO on an SMO level, start working with the social media that truly have an impact. Be sure to read the article on social media links and Google rankings. If you have a question, feel free contacting the muztec team.