Google Plus for Catering Businesses: Part 1

In the last decade we’ve seen quite the uptick in online social sites. Every time you turn around you’re probably being told which new social media you need to become a part of – Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and the list goes on. You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Not another social platform to keep up with. Why do I need Google Plus, seriously?” Well, let us tell you what the importance of Google Plus for catering and why you should claim your business page.

Google Plus, is a social media platform, but it is more than that. Google Plus is actually a social platform, a review website, and even an extension of your website. This nifty little tool can help you communicate with customers, sure, but what it can really do is help grow your business. “How,” you may ask. Remember when we talked about SEO and how important that was for your website? Well Google is the one (main one) who decides if your website should show up first on page one or dead last on page 100. Google determines the algorithms that scan websites to pull them for key search terms. On top of that, Google has started implementing other tools that are popular among customers and are highly influenced by your Google Plus page, such as the Carousel, which you may have seen last year or the new 3-Pack that has started showing in 2015 for local results. The 3-Pack not only pulls you up as a search result at the top of the screen, it also provides your rankings and displays images you have posted on your Google Plus page. That’s a lot more stimulating that reading “Brown’s Catering & Desserts” in a list of search results, isn’t it?

Google 3-Pack Example: Catering in Richmond, VA

Another sweet little way Google has integrated Google Plus – Gmail. This means anyone that you send an email to, whether it’s a one-to-one email or a email blast, the recipient will see the option to “Follow” your Google Plus page on the right-hand side of their screen. That is, if you have a Google Plus page. On top of being able to use these tools from Google, your Google Plus page can help your catering business rank better as a search result. Content that you share or post on your Google Plus page is given it’s own URL (website address) and may result differently than items on your website. Therefore, when you may not have resulted before because that content wasn’t on your website, you now have another opportunity to show up as a search result.

Lastly, Google Plus provides you with a place to direct people to leave reviews or to encourage people to see your reviews. Unlike Yelp, you are also in control of your address and your contact info. You can edit the info here, unlike on a Yelp listing, which has been created on your behalf (and takes quite a bit of time to change should the information be incorrect.)

Hmm, Google Plus is starting to sound a little better, isn’t it? So let’s recap, Google Plus can: help you rank better in organic search results, allows you to speak directly to customers, and allows you to keep track of your reviews. Now that we’ve convinced you (hopefully) to setup your Google Plus page, we’ll show you some tips and tricks for claiming your page and how to best utilize it on next week’s blog. Tune in soon!