Google continues focus on Google+ for business with labels for quickly identifying co-workers

Back in August 2012 the company began “putting Google+ to work” for businesses and today it’s continued that focus by making it easier for business users to identify their colleagues on the service.

The search giant explains that it has added domain labels to Google+ which means that — when used by those who work for a Google Apps customer — users will their domain listed next to a colleague when mentioning them in Google+ posts or glancing at their profiles. Given that Google+ is increasingly integrated across a range of Google products, from Gmail to Calendar, Docs and more, the move again demonstrates that the company sees it as a key service to communicate across its vast array of products.

Restricted information can’t be shared outside of company groups but there are likely to be other, less-sensitive things that are still best shared between colleagues. And, for that reason, this move is entirely logical, as Google says.

“This feature is only visible for people in your company so you can make sure you’re connecting with the right person.”

The examples for the fictional lnk42.com company below show the new identifiers.

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Google+ isn’t yet as comprehensive a business communications tool as Microsoft-owned Yammer, LinkedIn or indeed Facebook (some enterprises use private messaging groups to communicate), but its ongoing incremental changes make it more useful for Google Apps customers.

The company made a significant move at the tail end of 2012 when it stopped offering the Google Apps services free to new users. Those that sign up to Google Apps will be charged $50 per user, per year, which was formerly its premium pricing plan. The change does not affect users that were using Google Apps for free prior to the announcement.

Google is said to have made more than $1 billion from Google Apps in the last year. More than 5 million business are believed to use the service.

Related: Google launches 18 new Google+ features focusing on mobile, photos, events and Hangouts

Image via orijinal / Flickr