Do you have Multiple Google Accounts?
The other day I was reminded that having multiple Google mail accounts really can affect your online branding efforts. Do you have more than one Google account, or old accounts that you don’t need any more? You may not be aware that it can cause confusion and at worst, create bad branding.
Users may be confused when they see multiple Google accounts for the same person. Which account should they be using? Make it easy on people so they don’t have to guess. They could be potential clients! Evaluate which accounts you really need.
Here are locations where multiple accounts may appear within Google:
1. Your Google accounts will appear in Google Plus when users are posting. There is an option of selecting an account which shows up in a drop down list in your status update when typing in a name. People show up in the list that you are not even connected to!
2. Your Google accounts may show up in a Google Plus list when users are finding and adding contacts, even if you don’t have a Google Plus account!
3. Your Google accounts may show in search results.
4. Your Google accounts may show within Google Mail.
My advice is to delete old accounts, and merge existing ones if that makes sense for you.
Google takes measures to delete inactive accounts, which brings me to another point. Make sure that you create a Google Mail mail account in your name or business name so that no one else can own it. If you have a common name this is especially difficult, but you should try and be consistent with your naming across all platforms so that you won’t be confused with someone else.
How do you know if you have signed up for Google Plus with your Google account?
If you haven’t, it will say Join Google+ in the upper right drop down box from your name when you are logged in to Google. If you have signed up for Google Plus, then “+ (your name)” will show in the upper left of your screen in the black bar.
There is a high abandonment rate of Google Plus users, so it is not surprising if you have signed up for an account and then forgotten about it! It’s nothing to feel guilty about, but I do encourage you to get your accounts in order, and learn the platform so you will be in position when it becomes dominant in the social media marketplace.
How to Delete a Google Account
If you are going to delete a Google account(s), choose Account in the same drop down box under your name, for each account and look for this on the screen (see below). Warning: it will delete all associated Google features and you won’t be able to access associated accounts!
| Delete profile and Google+ features | Delete profile and remove associated Google+ features |
| Delete entire Google account | Close entire account and delete all services and info associated with it |
| View, enable, or disable web history | Go to web history |
When you click on the Close link, it will take you to another screen asking for verification. Be sure you in fact do want to delete your account and that you do not want to save your Google calendar, documents, your AdWords account, or Google Alerts, etc. (You will be given an option to link your AdWords account to another account.)
Spring is a good time to do some online clean-up. You’ll be glad you did! It pays to keep your Google house in order and to maintain your Google accounts.
Be sure to read our Google Plus FAQ page and Why you Should be on Google Plus blog! Never miss a blog–subscribe here.
Another Small Business Internet Marketing Blog by Tina Reed Johnson
