Google is not being outdone by Facebook and has launched business pages on Google Plus. Time will tell if the social platform can compete with Facebook, but Google maintains it is not really about competing with Facebook as much as allowing existing Google services users to connect by giving them their own platform.
In reality, competing with Facebook must certainly be on their minds in addition to their magnanimous reasons for doing so.
Social media has certainly evolved to contribute to the ranking signals Google uses to rate websites, so it should also be included in the ongoing promotion of important websites and pages.
