Is Direct Connect another clever bribe so far as Google is concerned? Google’s clever plans to leverage and win lots of support for Google+ has so far netted a lot of notice and many curious business owners, so thus far, Google’s work to get more people interested and using Google+ has worked. But to be honest, why would a business such as yours, want people to go that extra mile or search? Why on earth would users want to effectively go to a site which Google owns (via the +) instead of your site? For that matter, why would you want them to?!
The answer may not be what you’re expecting. When you do a Direct Connect search, you will get only one result which is the official page site of Google, but only your page is on it. Without Direct Connect, you end up on the classic “10 blue links” that show up now on a search page, which is something you don’t really want-after all, you will likely be suggesting your competition! A Direct Connect search narrows things down considerably and puts you at the top of the list.
A great example of the right effect when using Direct Connect centers on the US presidential hopeful candidate Rick Santorum. Santorum’s people wanted the public pushed in the right direction. Using the +Santorum solved this issue by getting people to his site through the most direct method: Direct Connect.
These changes to Google have helped “big brands” to be able to see a less negative picture of themselves when they searched in the past. This was mainly due to the fact that the content was “pushed down.” However, this approach isn’t foolproof: negative news always seems to come to the surface and it’s far quicker for people that are involved in that news.
Great example of negative news was the Toyota recall notice. Last year, a recall pushed even more people to their site through the use of negative news. With +Toyota though, the news was helpful, not negative; therefore it makes perfect sense for people to get the right information instead of the news that has become so sensationalized and anything goes when there is a story involved. The fact remains, that Google + controls what your customer sees, so you are in control of what is said on your site, not something that is blown up out of proportion, such as the negative recall notices, which weren’t negative at all; they were just geared to helpful to Toyota owners.
Bing stepped into the act too! They offered a similar program or solution that wasn’t dependant on taking part in the social network. However, Bing’s match – which they considered the best – showed a single site which resulted in a drop of confidence in the questions or query. Consequently, Bing decided to forego this feature because consumers disliked it.
Is Google+ really good for us and will it bring in the return that you want? Well, it is best to decide whether it would be effective in your business or personal use. As you can see, it seems to be benefitting quite a few consumers. The more communication that comes across each sites, the better for business and that’s just great all around. So in short: While Direct Connect is likely another way for Google+ to bring in the businesses, it’s a highly effective way to do it and there’s nothing wrong with both Google+ and their users to benefit.