Is This The End of Google+?

August 6^th 2015 Sally Ormond Google, social media, social networking, the end of Google+

Google plus

Smart Insights recently reported on Google’s Bradley Horowitz’s announcement that “we made a few choices that, in hindsight, we’ve needed to rethink. So over the next few months, we’re going to be making some important changes.”

What is he talking about?

Well, you may recall back in 2013 you had to have a Google+ account if you wanted to use services such as YouTube.

Soon you’ll only needs a Google account to share your content, communicate with contacts and create a YouTube channel.

So, is the search giant giving up on Google+?

According to Google:

“What does this mean for Google+ the product? Relieved of the notion of integrating with every other product at Google, Google+ can now focus on doing what it’s already doing quite well: helping millions of users around the world connect around the interest they love. Aspects of the product that don’t serve this agenda have been, or will be, retired. But you’ll also see a slew of improvements that make this use case shine.”

If you’re already using Google+ as part of your marketing strategy, the best advice is to keep an eye on engagement and follower growth. Google have announced that those who never wanted a G+ account in the first place will be able to easily delete them, which could affect the size of your circles and communities.

The SEO advantages (however slight) won’t change and who knows, if Google are right and this new way of thinking turns it into a vibrant social network, you could be quids in.