Quite recently, I read an Italian article about Google+ failing. An interesting read, although I don't agree with the author's position, especially considering that last Monday Google announced Pages, a new Google+ integrated service.

Much like Facebook Pages, Google+ Pages are dedicated to business entities that would like to promote their image on social networks, with the intent of interacting directly with their fans and critics.

And YES, if you created an account for your company before Monday, you clearly disobeyed the service guidelines.

If you believe there is no difference between Facebook and Google+ Pages, and hence no reason to invest time creating your new page, then you are getting this wrong IMHO. In support of my statement, Google+ was recently (no more than two weeks ago) also made available for Google Apps, thus expanding the number of its potential users. And that’s the point.

We all know the additional value of Google Apps and the extensive use many companies are making of the Google cloud services; from Gmail to Calendar, and from Google Docs to Google Sites (OK, maybe not the latter).

Now, try to imagine Google Pages as an extra layer for your company, and all the possibilities underneath, and you may suddenly realise how half an hour of your time is a good investment.

For instance, the possibility to combine your “fan” information into a nice email template to be sent via an automated Gmail script (you can configure this using G Spread), or perhaps with MailChimp (which can be easily integrated into your application pool). This is just an example, but I think the use case may be a wise one.

Another interesting thing about the page is the direct relationship Google+ Pages has with the search engine. In this case I’m talking about Google Direct, which is the possibility for Google Pages to appear in the instant search above any other suggestion if the query is preceded by a plus (+) sign.

This also explains why some weeks ago Google announced that the plus would no longer be a search operator.

Some questions on Google+

To be honest, at the moment I don’t have enough time to create and manage my own page because I don’t have a business to promote. Not yet.

That means I barely touched the “create a page” button.

However, I’m curious enough to look around at what the digital marketing sphere has to offer, so yesterday I met a Google specialist to whom I put some questions collated online from a group of followers.

Below the questions:

How many administrators can each page have?

At the moment, just one. Therefore, the person who creates the page is automatically responsible for managing the content. Although this is not a priority, it seems the number will be increased, probably starting from next week (I can’t guarantee that).

Is it possible to personalise the URL?

Not at the moment, and because of Google Direct, this is not a priority at all. Clearly this is not a good thing for page promotion in third-party search engines, but we have to consider this is a Google service, and therefore Google is not interested in facilitating its competitors, pretty much like Facebook, which blocked its content to search engines for a long time.

Is it possible to customise the graphic template or create an application?

On the first question, the answer is no, not via the option settings. As for the second one, again the answer is no.

However, Google+ APIs have been made available. Although I’m not sure anything is available yet to allow this customisation, it may be possible for programmers to explore what can be done. I also don’t exclude the possibility that the best customisations, or any applications that can be built, may be integrated in the future.

A sort of new market space is now open, and the best bet is to suppose the early movers will win … as usual.

Can Google+ Pages be synced with other social networks?

I can see the rationale behind this question, but as you can imagine this is not an objective for Google at all. So, this is a task for some coder.

How many pages can a user create?

It looks like the person who asked this question didn’t spot that once a page is up, the user can press the button again to create a new page. I'm not sure whether there is a limit, but unless you have a lot of free time, it is unlikely you’ll be able to manage many pages at the same time.

Something else you may consider before carrying on with the creation of the page

Google Pages and Google Places are very good friends. While creating your new page, Google+ will use some of the details you input to look into their database and see if a previous business place has been created.

If something exists, a selection may appear for you to choose the most appropriate item.

By selecting the item, Google+ Pages will be automatically filled in with the available details (regardless of whether you are the administrator of the place).

Please be aware that Google+ Pages are not meant to promote and host contests; therefore, if this is your intent, you go ahead at your own risk.

Finally, a recent change in the Google Analytics policies has been made, and soon Google Pages will be provided with Google Analytics to help you collect information and insight on your users.

Your page is up, remember to continue using it

Pretty much like your Facebook page or your Twitter account, if you do not use your page, you will not get results.

No fans, no followers, no engagement at all.

So whilst creating a page is a good suggestion, please consider how many resources you can dedicate upfront, so as to scale up your time rather than squeeze it and get into trouble.

Also, remember to have a look at a quick guide which outlines what a Google+ page can or cannot do in comparison to a Google Profile.