Before you jump into creating a Google+ page for your business, you will need a Google+ personal profile. Aside from the ability to create and administer Google+ pages, there are several other great reasons to have a Google+ personal profile. Kristi Hines explains what those reasons are.

Build your personal brand

You might think the only reason you want to be on a social network is to promote your business, and you may feel the only way to do that is through a business page. Don't forget that personal branding is important too! Reputation management needs to start at a personal level - imagine if someone not only searches for your business, but for you personally as an employee, owner, or contractor. What will they find?

Google+ personal profiles tend to rank well in search results. They also include valuable additional links from your profile that help promote your blog or business.

You'll learn where to add these links in the section about creating your Google+ personal profile.

Claim authorship of content in search results

If you contribute content to your own blog or larger industry websites, you will definitely be interested in the potential to have your name listed next to your articles.

Showing up in search results like this can also help you build your credibility and authority in your industry, especially when people can click on the More by... link and see your writing portfolio.

Acquire followers

According to the latest Google+ Statistics, the top 25 people (personal profiles) on Google+ have a range of 606,000 to 1.2 million followers. In contrast, the top 25 Google+ pages have a range of 91,000 to 314,000 followers. Granted, this trend is probably because of the fact that Google+ pages launched in November 2011.

Nonetheless, personal profiles are currently trumping pages, so if you are looking to build a following, consider allowing the people who want to follow you personally do so. Thanks to Google+'s contact organization, you can choose who will see each of your updates so you can keep personal updates personal and reserve your business updates to business contacts.

Keep contacts organized

Unlike Facebook, Twitter, or other networks, Google+ implemented a great organization system for contacts from day one with their Circles. Circles allow you to add connections to one or more different categories.

This means that when you want to see activity by your connections, you can sort it to only show you people in particular circles. When you want to share a status update, you can limit the visibility of your updates to people within one or more circles. You'll learn more about Circles and how to use them when setting up your Google+ personal profile.

Have the best search engine optimized social network profile

If you like creating online content with great SEO value, then you are going to love Google+ personal profiles. As you can see in the following image, Google+ personal profiles have a lot of SEO value that you can control and customize.

So far, Google+ pages are not showing the same kind of value beyond also offering dofollow links in the introductory content. This makes the Google+ personal profile one of the best SEO optimized social media profiles.

Share the most links

For this part, let's forget about the fact that they are dofollow links on a Google property. The Google+ personal profile allows you to have three sections of links for your profiles, sites that you contribute content to, and recommended links in addition to allowing you to add links to your introductory content. This makes the Google+ personal profile the perfect social media hub to send people to if you want them to see everything that you are made of. Your links can encompass everything from your professional pursuits to your personal interests.

To compare, Twitter only allows you one link on your profile (two if you stuff it in the bio information). LinkedIn only allows you three links plus your Twitter. Facebook allows you two links. Google+ personal profiles seem to be unlimited, although you should make sure they are to your most important profiles, author pages, and other online properties.

Now that you've read about some great reasons to have a Google+ personal profile, let's learn how to set one up for the best optimization, performance, and networking value!

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Other articles in the Google+ series

How to set up a Google Plus personal profile

Why have a Google Plus business page?

How to set up a Google Plus business page

How to measure your Google+ traffic

About Kristi Hines

Kristi Hines is a freelance writer, professional blogger, and social media enthusiast who enjoys photography, tennis, and hiking. Her blog, Kikolani, covers blog marketing and blogging tips for personal, professional, and business bloggers. Join her on Google+