Google+ Pages and Direct Connect launch for businesses

Four and a half months after the launch of Google+, Google is finally introducing Pages for businesses, a much-requested feature that’s been available for a long time on Facebook. The new Pages are built for businesses and brands, and they look largely similar to your personal Google+ page, aside from a badge that signifies the Page status. With its usual charm, Google notes, “Businesses don’t make people happy. People do.” Page owners will be able to share photos, videos, and text updates, and, like personal accounts, Pages can be added to user’s Circles. Pages appear to be broken down by categories like brands, local businesses, companies, or an arts, entertainment or sports catch all.

Additionally, Google is rolling out Direct Connect, which integrates these new brand and business Pages directly into your search results. Searching for +Verge, for example, would let you find The Verge on Google+. Launch partners include Angry Birds, WWE, Macy’s, and more, and anyone else will be able to get started building their own started here. Google’s also making a big push for providing data to businesses and brands so they can see who is talking about them through ripples and new social analytics. In the “coming weeks,” Page owners will be able to see how users interact with Pages, view demographic data, and comment and other interaction statistics.