Advertising and Analytics

Businesses of any size around the world have relied on the pay-per-click, online advertising model of Google . And since 2003, AdSense has enabled people to embed contextual ads on their blogs and websites. , came in 2007, and it only reaches people logged on to Facebook. In any case, such targeted advertising can look uncanny to users who see their Google search results or Facebook "Likes" reflected in ads. Yet AdWords remains a proven, profit-driving engine with rich metrics for advertisers. In addition, to show companies how their websites are performing, Google Analytics has a head start on deeper traffic and ad performance tools than what Facebook offers its Pages users, even though they are helpful and detailed.

Mapping and Location-based Tie-ins

Google can (and probably will) take the first strong step of integrating the new Google+ pages with Google Places, which appear in its Maps search results. This would allow a user to interact directly with a given company after it appeared on Google Maps. Currently, users can see static rankings of a given business from Google Places, but integrating Google+ profiles would allow users to ask questions or offer feedback in real time. Say, for example, that a user is considering several local search results for sushi in his neighborhood. He could theoretically not only compare the local results, but also ask questions about the menu or seating on each restaurant's Google+ business page before deciding where to eat.

Facebook has been trying to piece together similar functionalities but is facing some hurdles. First, it's having a hard time getting businesses to link their Pages and Places accounts, which is necessary if Facebook wants to expand the location-based experience beyond check-ins and reviews. Second, Facebook Places don't show up in a common location search using Google or another search engine. So while Facebook might get business to link their Pages and Places accounts, they're still not going to be served up on search as regularly as Google+ business profiles.