More signs Google+ is struggling - referrals dropping steadily

More signs Google+ is struggling - referrals dropping steadily
When Google+ was announced earlier this year, it was hailed as a possible Facebook killer. Despite their previous failure with Buzz, Google was looked at as the one company who might have the resources and know how to truly compete with the social networking giant.

But the reality hasn't lived up to the hype so far. In fact, all the signs have pointed toward Google+ actually being something of a disappointment.



When the invitation-only beta was announced, people seemed to be lining up to get in. It took less than a month to reach 20 million users.

But it didn't take long for the initial excitement to subside. Data from Experian Hitwise seems to indicate their decision to open Google+ to the public occured immediately after traffic started dying down.

There was an initial spike after that, but once again the public seemed to cool on the service. Analysts at Chitika pointed out that Google+ traffic returned to more or less the same level as during the closed beta just a couple weeks later.

Further data from NetMarketShare seems to be confirming that trend. Their measurements of social networking referrals, which measures the number of times someone arrives on a website by following a link from a social networking page, show Google+ referrals peaked before the closed beta ended, and have been dropping ever since.











Obviously Google+ is still relatively new. There's plenty of time for Google to make it a success if they remain committed to it.

In fact it appears they are pulling out all the stops to do just that. Even bringing Google Music out of beta, before the developers had a finish remove the Beta tag from the interface, seems to be aimed at that goal. One of the key features of Google Music is the ability to share purchased music via Google+.

The bigger question is whether even Google can provide something people consider valuable enough to switch services. It's been done before. Let's not forget Facebook did it to MySpace.

Of course, despite MySpace's success, they hadn't grown the social networking space to the size Facebook has. MySpace was a big fish in a medium sized pond. Facebook is more like a great white shark in the ocean.



It will take something the public finds really impressive to do the job. And apparently Google+ doesn't qualify yet.

Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 5 Dec 2011 17:45
Tags
Google Google Music Traffic Google plus referrals
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  • 3 comments
  • xnonsuchx

    It's so pathetic when I see things online w/ the share options and there will be like hundreds or thousands of Facebook/Twitter referrals and maybe only up to 10 or so Google+ ones. Google's also gotten annoying by having their webpage refer you to using Google+. "PLEASE PLEASE USE OUR PATHETIC PRODUCT!"

    6.12.2011 08:40 #1

  • hearme0

    Fancy that! I was just on Google+ for the Hell of it and it's lame, useless and pointless. No one uses that I know and frankly, anyone that actually thought this to be a "Facebook killer" should be bitch slapped!

    As for FB............still in awe how many simple-minded simpletons are on this planet that actually love and live for FB. The site is a total clusterf*ck with no flow and is staggered. Hard on the eyes and just plain ugly. I have consistently said that by 2016(ish) FB will seriously start to diminish.

    I mean..........who really F'ing cares what someone is thinking or doing "right now"?

    6.12.2011 17:25 #2

  • mscritsm

    I don't know why Google is so focused on developing a competitor to Facebook. Facebook has over 10% of the world's population, and is a mature service. But it's only generating about $4.3 billion in revenue this year ( http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-2...er-says-1-.html ). That's a ridiculously small return, and far below what Google gets selling ads on search.

    13.12.2011 00:34 #3

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