Google Plus (G+) tried to be the little engine that could, but sadly it could not. Per their announcement this past Fall, Google, the king of everything internet will be stepping out of the social media networking game by pulling G+ to consumers within the next several months (bye-bye slated for April 2019).
The issue; lack of use and a newly found security bug. At first, people jumped willingly over to G+ to find a “Facebook alternative,” but after a while, those eager users just left. Google revealed that the usage and engagement of Google+ are even lower than some might have guessed, as 90 percent of user sessions lasted less than 5 seconds.
Google Plus’s Bright Start
In the beginning, Google put significant effort into pushing the adoption of Google+, including using its data to personalize search results based on what a user’s connections have +1’d. Companies utilizing G+ found not only a growing community to engage with but also better ranking within Google search. It was a promising start and well-excluded platform.
G+ launch in 2011 with great fanfare and anticipation from the business sector of social media. At every major marketing conference, social media experts were touting the glory of the platform. People were really excited.
What happened?
Google Plus, Then and Now
Google Plus was the talk of the town, especially within the SEO community and many discussions have taken place questioning its worthiness both monetarily, as well as time and effort.
Sentiments seemed mixed with some experts saying Google Plus was worth the investment because it’s a Google-owned property with millions of users across the platform.
Others disagreed, however, claiming that the network had low engagement with an overall lack of adoption. Google + just wasn’t a “Facebook killer” as people had hope and could never live up to its rivals Facebook, Twitter or even Tumblr.
While the idea of G+ and its features were promising, a lack of investment into the product and lack of keeping users on the platform couldn’t save it from its inevitable downfall.
Google Plus Lacks Security, Issue Number One for The Speedy Take Down
After the announcement for discontinuing use of G+, the public has been also made aware of a bigger issue than consumer growth: lack of proper security. Android app developers accidentally had access to users’ information after the November software update. In total, 52.5 million users were affected.
This is the second data breach for Google Plus. The first was in October, when up to 500,000 users’ data was compromised. Shortly after, Google announced it would shut down the platform in 2019.
So what now, Google?
First, luckily, we all were given a good amount of time to migrate off the platform. With a 4+ month warning, current users still have until April 2019 to find a new social media home. Welcome back to Facebook, folks!
Users can download any data from their Google account with a service called Google Takeout. Visit Google Takeout by navigating to takeout.google.com and logging in with your Google account. Your G+ data, can either be sent via email and downloaded as an attachment or saved to cloud services such as Google Drive or Dropbox.
The user should also make sure to update business and personal websites and remove the G+ icons in the header or footer of the website.
Keep Being social!
Don’t worry if you were a fan of G+, there are still some really useful platforms to network and build community plus brand recognition on.
Here is a list of other social networks that live on past G+ to post your content on:
Not sure where to go for your business? We have an excellent of social media specialists who can strategize with you, and what platform(s) will be suite your business and needs. Not only does the type of content you’re producing need to be taken into consideration, but also the type of business you have. There’s no “one platform fits all” in social. We’re here to help in your business success in social media. Contact us today.