With all of the new importance placed on getting a Google+ page set up for your business, very little advice can be found out there for surveyors trying to optimize their business online.  That's why Land Surveyors United is so geared towards giving you such advice, so that we can all succeed.  A week or so ago I wrote about 11 Sloppy Social Media mistakes we should stop and so in continuation, i figured it was time to give you the short and skinny about Google + so that you can get your company up to speed.

Bonus at the end of this post for reading all the way through!

1.) Where can I go to create my Google+ business page?

Simply visit http://plus.google.com/pages/create to get setup, and remember that you will always need a Gmail account to set up a page. 

2.) Is there really a difference between a Google+ Page and a Google+ Profile?

Yes, absolutely!  A Google+ Profile is for people, while a Google+ Page is for an entity (such as your surveying business!). Here is a link to my personal Google+ page and then here is the G+ page for Land Surveyors United.  See the difference?

3.) Can I add multiple page administrators to my Google+ Business Page?

At this present time, no. Until this functionality is added, a workaround is creating a team Gmail email address like [email protected]and using this workaround to create your Google+ page. Using this method, multiple people on your marketing team have access and management of your page is not limited to one person and one voice.

4.) What is all this Direct Connect stuff about?

Direct Connect allows searchers to immediately find a Google+ Page in Google search and add it to their Google+ Circles by searching +brandname. Right now, not all Google+ Pages that apply for Direct Connect functionality are given it, but everyone can and should make their page eligible so they are ready when functionality rolls out to everyone.

Bringing Google+ to the rest of Google 

Our ultimate vision for Google+ is to transform the overall Google experience -- weaving identity and sharing into all of our products. Beginning today, we’re rolling out a new experimental feature to a small group of eligible publishers,Google+ Direct Connect -- an easy way for your audience to find your Google+ Page on Google search.  If you’ve linked your Page to your site and you qualify, when someone searches for your website’s name with the ‘+’ sign before it Direct Connect will send them directly to your Page. For example, try searching for ‘+YouTube’ on Google. Users will also be prompted to automatically add Pages they find through Direct Connect to their circles. 

5.) Can I somehow become eligible for Direct Connect?  How do I Do That?

The easiest way is to add your website link to your Google+ Page and add a snippet of code to your site, explained in more detail on Google's support site.

6.) Can my Google+ Page add people to Circles or +1 content?

It depends. If someone mentions you or adds you to their Circles first, then your Google+ Page can Circle them. Otherwise, you cannot add people to your Google+ Page Circles. As for +1'ing content, no, you cannot +1 content as a Google+ Page.

7.) Can I add a single contact to more than once Circle?

You sure can!

Circles

Circles allow you to group followers of your Page into smaller audiences. You can then share specific messages with specific groups. For example, you could create a Circle containing your most loyal readers and offer them exclusive content. 
The Google+ badge: Grow your audience on Google+

8.) What is an Extended Circle all about?

Extended Circles refer to your Circles' Circles, so content a Google+ user shares with their extended circles will also appear in the incoming stream of people from whom they are one degree removed. Only Profiles can share via Extended Circles though -- not Pages.

9.) Can all business pages participate in a Google+ Hangout, and is there an attendee limit?

Yes, all business pages can make use of the Google+ Hangout feature, but unfortunately the limit is 9 people for almost everyone. Google+ is experimenting with a feature called Hangouts on Air that will remedy this problem and allow people who aren't participating to simply watch the Hangout, but it is not available yet.

More on Hangouts:

10.) Do Google+ Pages and posts appear in search results?

Yes, of course.  Both the pages and posts appear in search results, which is why integrating Google+ into your social media strategy is so very important.  It can also help your SEO in tremendous ways. Google continues to roll out more ways in which Google+ is integrated into search results, with four new developments in just the past few weeks.

To help your users find your page and start sharing, there are two buttons you can add to your site by visiting our Google+ badge configuration tool

BONUS:  COMING SOON FOR 2012!  Business Pages! for Surveyors!

Its True! Read all about the new Business Pages! feature coming to LSU here.