By Shane Russo

In today’s marketing world, especially for small business, it’s all too easy to argue about which platform will be the most effective for a particular brand. The truth is that any platform has the potential to work for any business, especially Google Plus. With more than 300 million active users as of October 2013, it’s worth paying attention to, particular for B2B marketing.

Now, you may be thinking: “Do I really need to use another network?” Simply put, if SEO (search engine optimization) is important to you, then the answer to this question should be a definite yes. While it’s true that no one may love Google more than Google, there are many benefits to having an active Google+ account for your business marketing strategy.

First and foremost, Google+ should be a no-brainer for any business social strategy because it is indexed by Google– not to mention its ever-increasing number of members, no doubt very valuable to any business looking to network. And with visibility being so important today, this platform also has the added benefit of positively impacting social signals, page ranking, and pushing your posts and profile to the top of the search results. As you share their posts, users in your Circles will share yours, giving both parties an improved ranking. It’s really a well-conceived cycle that benefits everyone.

If you aren’t already on this social site, the time to start is now. Start by creating an account, complete with a thorough business profile. Once you have that set up, you need to become active in your communities right away, and like any other social network, you want to follow individuals and other businesses with influence.
Creating Circles will allow you to categorize your followers and choose who specifically sees your posts, a feature that can prove to be very helpful when sharing the most relevant content. When posting and mentioning others, use tools such as hashtags and mentions– doing so will help your posts get noticed and shared even more.

Want more information? Check out the infographic below, provided by SmartTollFreeNumber.com, for more details on setting up your account, what the circles are for and what type of content does best of Google Plus.

Shane Russo is an online business writer who is always looking for new opportunities to help businesses succeed. With a knowledge of business communications, technology, and globalization, he often shares his writing with fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners.