Google Plus is now available for businesses. Since its launch Google Plus was available only for regular Google accounts and just recently opened to Google Apps owners, too.

With the new version for businesses, people are able to create a page much like the Facebook Fan Pages for their companies.

Some of the reasons you want to create a Google Plus page for your business are:

Google results show Google+ profiles and pages. So, if you get active in Google Plus, Google may start showing your profiles in the results.
Get more inbound links.
It helps in the overall ranking of your website.

Although Google has not mention anything about customizing the URL. You might want to be ready in case Google decides to give users custom URL. In the mean time you can also short the URL using this cool service http://gplus.to/
(our URL is GPlus.to/Lusosystems) Google Plus received pretty good reviews after its launch and gained a lot of support from the internet community. Although I believe that it is too early and way different from Facebook, it doesn’t take much to create a page and get started.

Google Plus and Google +1

The Google +1 button was created to compete with the Facebook Like button and Twitter button. This button allows people to share and rate pages online. Some reports suggest that using the Google +1 button might help in the ranking of some websites.

Off course not everything is good. Thanks to that, some spammers are buying +1 clicks and trying to gimmick the systems already.To avoid the spammers, Google rates the +1 based also on the user activity and relevance and that’s where being active in Google Plus helps you.

You start sharing information, build up your community and as a result your website will start getting benefits. This also helps to answer the question, why do you need a website.

To get started, first you need to create your own Google + profile. After creating your own profile, go to the right side of your Google+ Dashboard and click on Create a Google+ page. Follow some simple instructions and in few minutes you are up and running.

You can check lusosystems Google Plus page here. Have fun joining the Google+ community and should you have any questions, just let me know.

The original version of this article was previously posted on our old website.

With the internet reaching record levels of consumption every month, I still get astonished about how many people reach this website through this article. Are people still questioning why they need a website?

With all the insane competition and the Internet constantly growing, having a website is a must have. The increase of people looking for information online makes it a requirement to have a website not only for business, but also for people looking for jobs. Also, with so many affordable options that are in the current market, there are no valid excuses to not jumping in.

In November I read in the New York times that around 30 percent of people buy things online and that was a huge increase compared to two years ago. I think the question should be, can you afford to not have a website?

Increasing your chances of succeeding

Not all business are successful, in fact 80% fail after five years. When somebody starts a business, they need to make sure that this number gets lower. In our current times, with all the competitiveness in all the industries, having a website will not guarantee you that you get an advantage over your competitor, but it can help you to reduce their advantage over your business.Or at least put you in the same position they are. This same principle can be applied to people looking for jobs.

How the Internet can help you

The Internet can help you in many ways, but you need a website for that to happen. This is how it can help you: Promote your services, build your brand, find jobs, do some market research, improve hiring, find investors, and many more.To sum it up: it’s basically putting your business on the map.

Recently I saw some stats that said that 74% of people will research online before buying offline. I know I do it . What about you?

There are many good reasons to create a website, and some businesses probably need this edge more than others but one thing is for sure: your company’s future will depend on a solid web page! And a website that is properly maintained is always a plus for a business.

Promote your services

These days, there is no way that you cannot benefit from the internet. Even if you can’t sale your services online, you can always benefit by talking more about your services or even talking more about your industry. People are always looking for information, so if you provide that information you will eventually benefit from it.

The benefits of a global audience in a local market

The internet allows you to reach a global market and reaching a global audience can have a huge advantage for your local market. Even if they are not your target customer, if they visit your website and share your articles on the social networks, your website will get the benefits and rank better to your local audience.

Do market research

Planning in launching a new product? You can use your website for surveys and get some answer from the visitors of your website. Also, to promote a new product there is no better way than your website. If you want to expand your local business to a new town you can do it without opening a new office in the town. Adding some extra pages is affordable and can help you to get into a new market without breaking your bank.

Get better talent

Need to hire new employees? I don’t think there are people that don’t check the website of a possible employer. If they don’t do it, they are probably not the right person anyway.

Can a new website benefit your business?

You need to be sure that a website will benefit your company. One good reason to not get a website is that you may be purchasing a poorly designed and poorly optimized website that will actually prevent you from getting more business. You should get a website only if you want to improve your business and increase profits. Also important is that you don’t spend the money if you don’t think having your own website will benefit your company.

The sooner you build a great website, the faster you will start receiving benefits. Your initial investment can be easily recovered if you do it right from the beginning. A website isn’t a magic bullet. A website needs to be promoted and needs some time to mature and get ranked. You also need social media and search engine marketing to really get the most out of your investment.

Because in the end it’s just another way to promote your business and it can help you grow.

Remember this quote:

“A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time.” – Henry Ford

The previous website was almost  five years old and didn’t reflect what our business is all about. It was created way before the business was launched, at the time was just a dream of some college students. Since the launch we didn’t update the content or add anything new.

The Internet has changed, we have changed. We now are going to be more active, we are going to increase the number of newsletters, add more free content in the blog, and the social networks with the final goal of helping more people. As a small company we think that the only way of reaching more business and helping more people is doing it this way.