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Attendees
in the common area at the Google I/O Developers Conference
in San Francisco,
May 11, 2011. (Credit: Reuters/Beck Diefenbach)
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(Reuters) -
Google Inc's new social networking service has opened its doors to businesses
to create special web pages, a move that could entice visitors to spend more
time on the website and help Google match the offerings of rival Facebook.
The
so-called Google+ Pages allow corporate brands and businesses to set up a
special page within Google's social networking service.
Google said
that 20 businesses, including Toyota, Pepsi and retailer Macy's, have set up special
pages on the Google+ social network, and that any organization will soon be
able to join as well.
Until now,
only individual users have been able to sign up for Google+. Businesses are
increasingly using online social services, such as Facebook, to reach new
customers and to cement relationships with loyal customers through special
offers and promotions.
Google, the
world's No. 1 search engine, has signed up more than 40 million users on
Google+ since it introduced the service in late June. But Facebook dominates
the social networking market with more than 750 million users.
The new
Google+ business pages will be accessible from Google's Web search engine, as
well as from within the Google+ social networking service. Google said on
Monday that users who type the plus symbol in front of a business' name, such
as "+Pepsi," when conducting a search on its search engine, will be
directly connected to the business' special Google+ page.
Google said
this so-called "direct connect" feature is currently available for a
limited number of pages, but that "many more are coming."
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