This is part 2 of how to set up a Google Plus account for your business. If you haven’t seen part 1 then click here to read it first.
On part 1 we had just created our personal Google account which we need in order to make a Google Plus account for our business. If you have logged out and cannot find the create a page screen simply log in and down the left hand side will be many various options. At the very bottom is the option ‘More’. Hover over this and a tab called ‘Pages’ will appear. Simply click ‘Pages’. Google will tell you that you have not yet created a page. Simply click on the red ‘Create A Page’ button at the top right of your screen as in the picture above.
Now we should all be back on this page. As you can see we have various options here to choose from. We must remember the purpose of why we are using Google Plus for our business. We are generally using Google Plus to create a brand for our businesses. So even if you have a brick and mortar business, you might want to click the ‘Product or Brand option’. In most cases this is the option you should choose. So go ahead and click on that.
Google’s interface is quite nice. Once you click the ‘Product or Brand’ option, you actually stay on the same page but several extra options appear for you. Basically your page name, and website if you have one. When choosing your page name think of SEO and use keywords here. You then select your category, in my case I chose ‘Media’ as I am creating a new page for my new LinkedIn group called Social Media Centre and Pinterest. You can set who you wish to see your page, which should be everyone. You need to read and agree to Google Plus Page Terms which you can find here. Then simply click on the blue ‘Create’ button!
You should now see this screen. Basically your page has been created but it is completely blank. You can leave this section and come back to it later but I suggest you fill it in now. Put in a good tagline to describe your business and remember keywords! You then need a nice profile picture. The dimentions for a Google Plus profile picture is 250×250 pixels. When you are ready you can click the blue ‘Continue’ button.
Google Plus will now help you to share your page by asking you to tell your circles about the page. If you wish to do this just click inside the box where it says ‘Tell your circles about this page…’
If you opted to share your page you will now see this screen. The post will come from you as in your personal account and not from the page you have just created. You can add names, circles or an email address here also. Don’t forget to add a comment, something like “come check out my hot new page all about making coffee without coffee beans’. You get the idea. Use your keywords 
Then you will want to click the green ‘Share’ button. If you skipped this stage as I have done you simply click on the blue ‘Finish’ button.
This is where you should now all be. Google wants you to start a conversation. I suggest you do not do this until your page is exactly how you want it to be. No point attracting attention to a part ready page. So hold fire on this for now.
If you have a website you should include the Google Plus badge. Just click the link ‘Get the badge’ for simple instructions on how to do this.
You also have your unique page address listed here. Share this link with your target market. My unique address is currently: https://plus.google.com/101057437270373297526 Do not share your page until it is ready though. More on your target market in another post.
You are reminded again to build your circles. Don’t be put off if you are unsure what circles are. A circle is basically a name for a group of people. You can create a circle and call it friends, then put all your friends in here and so on.
When you are happy to do so click on the ‘Profile’ tab on the left side of the screen. You will now see your basic profile page. If you created your logo and uploaded it, you will see this here also. One thing you couldn’t do until now was upload a cover photo.
I will discuss more on your Google Plus cover photo in part 3 of this series. Once again you can find my new Google Plus business page here. Click through and add me to your circles. Stay tuned for part 3.
