Google Plus (Google+) continues to grow at an incredible pace and has just passed Twitter to become the second largest social network with 343 million users. Google+ is an amazing platform for businesses based on its SEO power alone. It also conveniently combines other Google products and services all in one place. Many businesses may still underestimate the power of Google+ because they aren’t sure how to use it to their advantage. Get the most out of Google+ for your marketing strategy with these five tips:

Customize your URL

Unfortunately, Google does not provide vanity URLs (unique web addresses). Try using a service like gplus.to to modify and shorten your URL to reflect your brand name. Not only does this make it easier for people to find your Google+ page, but it also increases your brand credibility.

Complete your profile

As always, it is important to complete your profile with all your business information including description, contact information and links to your website and other social networks. Use keywords relevant to your industry and those that your customers are already using to find you. Don’t forget to add a mini-bio for your hover card (the information displayed when a cursor hovers over your business name).

Create a Google Authorship

Claim and link your content with Google Authorship to improve SEO and increase brand awareness. Authorship adds your by-line and photo to your content when it appears in search results. This makes your content more inviting and adds credibility. Include a link on each of your blog posts to your Google+ profile, and also include a link on your profile back to your blog posts.

Connect with Circles

Organize the people you connect to and share content with using Circles, which allows you to segment people into specific groups and filter the content seen by those in each group. Circles are perfect for targeted updates and engagement.

Share with Hangouts

Hangouts are similar to a video conference and webinar in one. Host a special presentation and allow your clients to interact with you face-to-face in real time with this unique feature. Save the Hangout chat onto your YouTube channel to help your content go even further.

As with other social platforms, focus on sharing interesting content and engaging with your fans. You’ll see that what you get out of Google+ is directly related to the effort you put in. Does your business have a Google+ page? What has been your experience?