Google Plus emerged in the market at a time, when Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and LinkedIn were already quite popular. However, Google’s social networking site brought 10 million users only within 2 weeks after being launched.

By the end of its first year, Google+ welcomed 90 million users.

Replacing Google Buzz in 2011, Google Plus tried to stir the social networking industry. Having tasted success in the beginning years, the ending was not so significant.

Lack of user engagement, inadequate changes, and software design errors – there are several reasons to mark its failure.

Even though Google plus users refused to use Facebook, the latter gradually matured into a suitable option.

In 2018, Google declared that Google+ would close down in August 2019 but it happened earlier. Let’s know in detail why Google’s social network eventually bid goodbye on April 2, 2019.

Vic Gundotra Leaving Google Plus

As the founder of Google Plus walked away in 2014, certain changes appeared. The product left its collaboration with Photos and Hangouts. Therefore, it became only an independent service. It also started to detach the service from Google Play and YouTube. Needless to say, the sense of disruption crept in slowly.

The next year ushered in a new makeover paying heed to Community; however, it was another failed attempt. When the results came in, the company admitted that the low engagement wreaked havoc on the long-term plan. 90% of the users could not manage to spend more than 5 seconds on the social platform.

Mulling over weak engagement rate, an average post brought less than 1 reply or 1 re-share. Even after publishing public posts, there was only 15% chance of a user posting anything publicly again.

Many users had started focusing on their Twitter or Facebook presence already.

Challenging Facebook Never Really Worked

The social media experts acknowledged that Google plus could not leave a strong mark on people’s minds, from the beginning. Yes, the continuous rivalry with Facebook has been quite persistent. Above all, Google plus did not make a solid plan for combating the Facebook craze.

The circle-system of Google’s social media was complex and not very user-friendly. Creating circles for family and friends, and then sharing only for those specific circles – the whole process did not appeal to the regular people.

Contradicting to Facebook’s group idea, the circles were not certain groups, either. Again, the lack of distinction from Facebook also brought no significant traction.

Remember the photo live-stream feature? It was an example of an epic fail. If you were at a party, would you enjoy the moment or keep an eye on the live stream? This feature focused on uploading photos in real-time.

As a social media networking site, it had the potential to turn into the dark side. Even though considered being more efficient than Facebook, Google Plus could not successfully implement the live-stream feature.

Data Leakage: 52.5 Million Accounts Exposed

In the last November, the authority found a flaw. 52.5 million users’ data were leaked for at least 3 years. Google refused to comment on whether the security breach was an outcome of a third-party user. Or, there is no proof of whether the data was misused in any way.

The app-makers informed the users that the app was not working as proposed but the investigation was under control.

Through the bug, profile information (like occupation, email address, or age) made private was revealed. To your relief, the bug did not get access to financial data, social security numbers, or passwords. However, the exposure of numerous email addresses was threatening as well.

Related: What made Facebook lose $120 Billion in Market Value?

Failure of Google Plus was plausible from Day 1

The cumbersome user interface might be a reason behind G+ failure. At the time of creation, Google kept the focus on its users, not the widespread human beings.

The problem faced with Google Glass reflected on social media, too. With the course of time, the internal disagreements surfaced into the product’s operation.

It cannot be denied how this Google product provided decent referral traffic and strong visibility. For SEO purposes, the networking site excelled. The brands and businesses found an easy way to capitalize on their efforts.

Then there came a time when the company deleted the business and brand pages; however, it was rectified. Only the business owners found it very confusing to run Google+ profiles.

Conclusion

If you log on to Google Graveyard now, the name of Google Plus will be present on the first page. However, on a bittersweet note, the platform was a favorite among many for the less drama (compared to FB). It might fizzle out for different reasons but this Google product was useful for many company apps.

The incapability of catching up with modern social platforms killed the idea before flourishing into something new. But, the question remains – will Google ever attempt at another social media in the future? Or, will it learn from the mistakes and finally challenge the current social platforms?

Now, if you have something to add regarding the future of Google’s social media, leave a comment below.