Google Plus Vanity URLs Now Available

It took them a while but Google finally rolled out custom vanity URLs for users’ Google Plus profiles earlier this week. Among various other Google Plus Updates  that Google announced on their blog, one of the most anticipated changes is the ability to customize your Google profile URL and no longer have to use the really long string of number they assigned previously when you set up a Google Plus account.

If you meet the requirements, you likely received an email about upgrading, which was a very easy two-step process that includes choosing a vanity URL and then agreeing to the terms and services. Google in most cases chose a name for you (likely +FirstnameLastname) but you can request a different name if you choose to. If your profile meets the following criteria, you’ll now be able to claim a custom URL:

• Has a profile photo
• Has at least 10 followers
• Has an account that’s at least 30 days old

This makes it much easier to recognize, remember, and use the URLs for your Google Plus account. Google’s intent is that they hope users share and promote their content on Google Plus more often. Now that they have expanded to new photo collections and added new handouts on air, it is likely that more users will want to share more content and this is an easy way to do that. Google even offers support  if you need any ideas or assistance promoting your account or the content on it.

If you have a Google + Page for your business, you can claim your customer URL for businesses too. Any brand or business that has a linked website or is a verified local business can claim a custom URL for their Google+ page. One of the main points of interest on the terms of service that must be agreed to in order to claim the vanity URL is that they mention they might charge for the service at some point. There is much speculation in the industry about why they would mention that since most of their services are free of charge.