Many experts have their doubts on whether Google+ will become a force to be reckoned with in the social space. However, no one can deny that the level of buzz around it has been impressive. The growth rate of the platform is even more impressive. There are actually quite a few areas we can look at to see just how fast Google+ is growing, and usage is what everyone seems to be focused on.
Historic Growth in Usage Department
According to a graph being passed around online (created in the Google camp), Google+ is growing faster than both Facebook and Twitter – much faster. The graph shows that Facebook and Twitter reached the milestone of 10 million users at 780 and 852 days respectively. How long did it take Google+ to reach the 10 million mark? Oh, just a measly 16 days. Reaching 10 million users in such a short amount of time was impressive, no doubt, but it appears as if the growth of this platform is far from done. Andrew Lipsman of comScore recently reported that the site had 25 million users as of July 24, which puts it on a faster growth pace than Facebook, Twitter and even MySpace, which had reached 25 million faster than any other social network.
Amazing Traffic Gains
Another factor that determines the popularity and growth of a website is traffic, which also happens to be another area Google+ is excelling in. Data compiled by Experian Hitwise showed that the platform reached 1.8 million total visits in its third week alone, which at the time made it the 42nd most trafficked site among social networks, and 638th most visited site in the United States. While further data from Hitwise showed that its traffic had suffered a slight dip, Google disputed those claims and called the findings incomplete. Whatever the case, it didn’t stop the platform from reaching the 25 million mark.
Following Facebook’s Path to Success?
Social media pundits have had a full day comparing Google+ to social behemoth Facebook. And although they are essentially two different platforms, the comparisons are warranted, as they traveled similar paths in their evolution. For instance, both started out by keeping membership limited to an exclusive group of users: University students (Facebook) and beta testers (Google+). Once Facebook opened up to the public, its growth took off, and at this point it is fair to expect the same for Google+. The difference lies in the fact that the search company was far more established, equipped with a huge preexisting user base that has enabled it to outpace Facebook.
Google+ has all the makings of the next big thing in social networking. However, it has some pretty significant challenges ahead of it. The biggest? Resonating with the average user. Marketers and tech geeks, the typical early adopters, are excited, but what about the average Joe Q. who is content with using Facebook or Twitter? It remains to be seen if Google+ can appeal to him as well.
