Hi Alexandra

I am conducting a study on this myself but I have not finished it just yet, but I will let you know when I do (and I will be publishing the results on my blog as well), but in the mean time here is a great one by Danny Sullivan: 

http://searchengineland.com/how-being-friends-on-google-leads-to-better-rankings-87376

And a summary: http://www.brafton.com/news/expert-google-can-lead-to-better-serp-positioning

I also have this one on how Google’s +1 Button influences search results:

http://www.brafton.com/news/google-1-may-be-used-as-search-ranking-signal

Personally, I believe that G+ has a big impact on SEO purely from the fact that Google’s search will become more and more personal, especially if you are logged into your Google account (as Danny’s post shows). 

I hope that helps! 

Russell Allert

@jeff-korhan Thank you for the recommendation on the book! I will check that out along with the article on preparing for social search. I actually was part of the beta of Google+ and had a personal account when it launched initially. I wasn’t on it nearly as frequently due to the lack of other users so unfortunately I didn’t learn how to really maximize use for the business once the business pages were allowed and functional.

@alexandrabriggs Yes, I was in on the beta too, but also not using it much.  I was referring to when it was being tested by Google staff only – for more than a full year before we got access this summer.  Anyway, I’m still learning things, but am fully committed to it for 2012!

@brianmcf

Thank you Brian! I will be checking it out!

@marlenegavens Thank you for the links! I appreciate it! Another great resource is some of the Hubspot Whitepapers on Google+ for Business for general information!

 @russellallert I look forward to reading your blog on the topic and appreciate your insight! 

I would be interested in hearing how other small business owners are using Google+ I’ve been using it since the Beta for personal use, posting blog links and sharing content. 

Now that pages are available, I’m not sure whether to use that for my business or to continue to use my personal profile. I created a page, but haven’t actively used it yet. Since I’m a small business (me + 6 interns), I’m wondering whether it’s worth it to use the page or just save it in case I want to use it later. 

@alexandrabriggs Thanks for the tip. That’s the direction I’ve been leaning, but wasn’t sure if other small businesses were approaching it in the same way.

@alexandrabriggs Thanks for sharing my post Alexandra!  :)