How Will Google+ Shutting Down Affect SEO?

Google is shutting down Google+. The shutdown will happen in a phased manner, and the deadline for the final closure is August 2019.

Note that it will continue to work as an intra-company network even after August 2019.

What does the shutting down of Google+ mean for your business’s SEO?

You probably know the answer to this yourself. Google+ was owned by the search engine giant and any social signals sent out by Google+ were expected to deliver strong SEO benefits.

But that didn’t quite happen. Google is pulling down the curtains on Google+ because of poor user adoption. Also, a security breach that compromised data of nearly 500,000 users probably hastened an inevitable decision. Google+ could never quite become Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook. It was always an “also ran,” despite Google’s best efforts to leverage its pre-eminent position as a search engine behemoth.

Were you active on Google+, promoting your business or that of your clients? Even if you were, the exit of Google+ from the social media scene will have minimum impact on your SEO. Social media signals from other sites will easily make up for any perceived dip in SEO performance. Remember, social media signals have some SEO value but not in the same category has backlinks or a well-designed website with good internal structure.

How will the shutting of Google+ Affect My Social Media Strategy?

Again, you probably know the answer. How frequently were you using Google+? Users were few and user engagement was low. Webmasters were getting multiple times better returns for their efforts on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. Nobody was really using Google+ in isolation. It was invariably a part of an overall social media strategy that included posting content and networking on other social media sites.

Take the following steps to make a clean and efficient break from Google+ and secure data –

1. Remove the Google+ social media icon from wherever you’ve displayed it on your website. It’ll soon be a dead link and you don’t want dead links emanating from your website.
2. Stay tuned in for updates on how and when you can delete and migrate data. If that’s of significance to your business or your clients, then do it.
3. Say Goodbye to a rare Google failure.

Google+ shutting down will have no effect on Google My Business

Have no fear, your Google My Business page will be unaffected by the shutdown. Many people confused Google+ with GMB but they are separate entities. For excellent search results keep posting on your GMB page. That should more than make up for any loss you sustain from losing Google+.