{"id":116011,"date":"2018-10-15T14:47:04","date_gmt":"2018-10-15T14:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/2018\/10\/15\/the-end-of-google-after-a-data-breach-and-how-it-affects-us\/"},"modified":"2020-03-02T17:05:04","modified_gmt":"2020-03-02T17:05:04","slug":"the-end-of-google-after-a-data-breach-and-how-it-affects-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2018\/10\/15\/the-end-of-google-after-a-data-breach-and-how-it-affects-us\/","title":{"rendered":"The end of Google+ after a data breach and how it affects us"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/07\/12\/how-to-get-featured-snippets-no-link-building\/\">Google<\/a> has decided to shut down Google+ after discovering a data breach. How should we <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2018\/04\/09\/an-seos-survival-guide-to-single-page-applications-spas\/\">react<\/a> to the news?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not many of us were surprised to hear that <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2018\/05\/21\/no-need-for-google-12-alternative-search-engines-in-2018\/\">Google<\/a>+ will stop existing in a few months. The only surprise came in the way the news was revealed with <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/google-data-breach-berners-lee-solid-power-shifting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Google announcing a data breach<\/a> that led them to this decision.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2018\/12\/06\/what-people-search-tools-trends\/\">Google<\/a> has published a blog post last week mentioning that they discovered a bug in the API for Google+ that allowed third-party developers to access data of 500,000 <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2018\/12\/21\/guide-google-analytics-confusing-terms\/\">users<\/a> with unauthorized permission.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s interesting is that they didn\u2019t disclose the breach back in March when they discovered it and they only brought it to the public after The Wall Street Journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/google-exposed-user-data-feared-repercussions-of-disclosing-to-public-1539017194?mod=hp_lead_pos1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">covered it<\/a> in a post.<\/p>\n<p>The story became so big that <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2018\/12\/04\/techseo-boost-machine-learning-for-seos\/\">Google<\/a> knew that they had to respond to it.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ve provided more details in their recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.google\/technology\/safety-security\/project-strobe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">blog post<\/a> about the bug:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Underlining this, as part of our Project Strobe audit, we discovered a bug in one of the Google+ People APIs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Users can grant access to their Profile data, and the public Profile information of their friends, to Google+ apps, via the API.<\/li>\n<li>The bug meant that apps also had access to Profile fields that were shared with the user, but not marked as public.<\/li>\n<li>This data is limited to static, optional <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/08\/28\/guide-to-keyword-research-content-strategy\/\">Google<\/a>+ Profile fields including name, email address, occupation, gender and age. (See the full list\u00a0on our developer site.) It\u00a0does not\u00a0include\u00a0any other data\u00a0you may have posted or connected to Google+ or any other service, like Google+ posts, messages, <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/02\/18\/google-ads-2019-what-to-look-out-for\/\">Google<\/a> account data, phone numbers or G Suite content.<\/li>\n<li>We discovered and immediately patched this bug in March 2018. We believe it occurred after launch as a result of the API\u2019s interaction with a subsequent Google+ code change.<\/li>\n<li>We made Google+ with privacy in mind and therefore keep this API\u2019s log data for only two weeks. That means we cannot confirm which users were impacted by this bug. However, we ran a detailed analysis over the two weeks prior to patching the bug, and from that analysis, the Profiles of up to 500,000 Google+ accounts were potentially affected. Our analysis showed that up to 438 applications may have used this API.<\/li>\n<li>We found\u00a0no evidence\u00a0that any developer was aware of this bug, or abusing the API, and we found\u00a0no evidence\u00a0that any Profile data was misused.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>They seem to use the word \u2018bug\u2019 making it clear that there is no evidence that there was a misuse of the data.<\/p>\n<p>There was also an action to reassure users with the launch of more granular <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/04\/25\/whats-it-like-using-duckduckgo-in-2019\/\">Google<\/a> Account permissions through the individual dialog boxes.<\/p>\n<p>Still, it seemed like the best time to shut down Google+, one of their least popular products the last few years.<\/p>\n<h3>The end of Google+<\/h3>\n<p>When was the last time you used Google+?<\/p>\n<p>Not many of us can remember the last time we\u2019ve had a meaningful interaction on Google+ or used it as part of our social media (or search) ROI.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/05\/31\/image-optimization-for-seo\/\">Google\u2019s<\/a> attempt to launch its own social network was ambitious but the problem was that it never clicked with its audience.<\/p>\n<p>The stats speak on their own and they come from <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/06\/17\/local-seo-guide\/\">Google\u2019s<\/a> latest blog post:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe consumer version of Google+ currently has low usage and engagement: 90 percent of Google+ user sessions are less than five seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thus, users are only accessing Google+ by mistake or they simply find no reason to stay engaged.<\/p>\n<p>On the contrary, there seemed to be a fit for enterprises using Google+ and they might even find new features to benefit from it:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cAt the same time, we have many enterprise customers who are finding great value in using Google+ within their companies. Our review showed that Google+ is better suited as an enterprise product where co-workers can engage in internal discussions on a secure corporate social network. Enterprise customers can set common access rules, and use central controls, for their entire organization. We\u2019ve decided to focus on our enterprise efforts and will be launching new features purpose-built for businesses. We will share more information in the coming days.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Hence, the end of the consumer use may not necessarily mean the end of its enterprise users.<\/p>\n<p>When will the platform shut down then for consumers then?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/05\/30\/implement-googles-how-to-schema\/\">Google<\/a> mentioned that there will be a 10-month period that you can still access the social network until it shuts down. This means that we will all say the final goodbye to Google+ at the end of August 2019.<\/p>\n<h3>What do all these mean?<\/h3>\n<p>Dr Ben Marder, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at University Edinburgh Business School was skeptical from the beginning of Google\u2019s endeavor and the problem started from the network\u2019s positioning:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cGoogle + was created with a promise that it would solve the \u2018multiple audience problems\u2019 an issue that has been shown to cause anxiety within network members as the\u00a0content is consumed beyond those it is undesired. An issue that Facebook was highly criticized for. Though I commend the effort of <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/07\/11\/seo-lead-site-migration\/\">Google<\/a>, unfortunately, I believe it was these arguably good intentions that killed it before it was even born.<\/p>\n<p>People will say that they want to keep their various different social circles separate, no doubt this was what was reported in market research when Google was designing their network. However, what people are reluctant to say is a key component of what makes social media so fascinating is seeing the posts maybe you shouldn\u2019t have, the kind of posts that would spark interest and may be gossiped about. Google+ is best described, like a person you would rather not have a second date with, \u2018nice but boring\u2019. At least LinkedIn knows it is boring, but fulfills a specific niche, Google + was essentially a dull jack-of-all trades.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>You may be indifferent about Google+ as a user but you may have used it in the past as part of your marketing or SEO strategy. There used to be a time that Google+ was still relevant for professional reasons and it even brought some sort of ROI for some businesses, especially in niche industries and communities.<\/p>\n<h3>What does this change mean for marketers then?<\/h3>\n<p>Chances are that you haven\u2019t used Google+ for at least a couple of years. However, it\u2019s still interesting to explore how the social media landscape is evolving. Even Google\u2019s power wasn\u2019t enough to convince users to use its social platform.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a lesson for all of us not to rely on one platform for our marketing strategy, whether it\u2019s Facebook, <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/optimize-instagram-account-search-engines\">Instagram<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2020\/01\/02\/quantum-supremacy-and-eight-seo-trends-2020\/\">YouTube<\/a>, as you can\u2019t predict what the future holds.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s always a good idea to look into the future to ensure that your strategy is adapting to the changing consumer habits.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, another data breach, whether it\u2019s called a breach or a bug, is a matter of concern for users who lose their trust on big tech giants. This is important when creating your next marketing campaigns to ensure that your brand and your messages comply with the audience\u2019s needs. Trust will become key on social networks and we cannot ignore it anymore, especially after a year of multiple data breach scandals.<\/p>\n<h3>And what does this change mean for SEO professionals?<\/h3>\n<p>Social media and SEO can still make great allies. Google+ used to help companies boost their SEO with social playing as a useful ranking signal. Although it has never been an official ranking signal, it still contributed to online authority. However, as Google+ started losing its audience, it didn\u2019t affect SEO even if it was Google\u2019s own network.<\/p>\n<p>YouTube can still impact your search rankings and of course, your popularity on other social channels can still affect your position in SERPs.<\/p>\n<p>Still, social media is not the most important factor to your SEO strategy and Google+ certainly won\u2019t be missed in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to check your Google+ data you can visit Google\u2019s Takeout where you can download the data from Google\u2019s services.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/05\/20\/seven-reasons-why-your-rankings-dropped-and-how-to-fix-them\/\">Google<\/a> will also provide more details soon on how you can both <a href=\"https:\/\/takeout.google.com\/?pli=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">download and migrate<\/a> all your Google+ data.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Google has decided to shut down Google+ after discovering a data breach. How should marketers and SEOs react to the news?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":116012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,11,5],"tags":[27123,37,128,22],"content_type":[27095],"class_list":["post-116011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry","category-more-news","category-seo","tag-data-breach","tag-google","tag-marketers","tag-seo","content_type-news"],"acf":{"tad_independentcommercial":false,"tad_content_format":false},"post_info":{"name":"Tereza Litsa","title":"","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/shutterstock_671861530-120x90.jpg","category":"Industry","timeago":"7y"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116011"},{"taxonomy":"content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_type?post=116011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}