After a rocky start Google+ now boasts over 500 million global users and is the second largest social network on the planet.

We can understand though if you still haven’t signed up. Google+ can appear intimidating, and is there room in your life for another social network if your business is already on Facebook and Twitter?

The honest answer is yes. Google+ is crammed with interesting content and is looking ever more essential from an online marketing perspective.

Here are quick 10 tips to totally transform your view and experiences with Google+:

Personal and professional circles

Google+’s circles let you categorise and share content with certain groups of people. Grouping friends in a ‘Friends’ circle and professional contacts in a ‘Business’ circle lets you share what you want with whoever you want instantly, without the other circles seeing any content that you don’t share with them specifically.

Thousands of communities

Google+ is littered with bustling communities of people who all share similar interests, whether it’s movies, books, video games, and much more. They’re a great way to make new business contacts, share content, and interact with like-minded people.

Brilliant business pages

Like Facebook Google+ has pages that you can use to represent your business. Content can be shared through business pages and you can add people to the page’s Circles. Your business page can also connect with Google Places for Business.

An amazing app

The Google+ app is clear and well-organised meaning you can enjoy your social experience on the move on smartphones and tablets. The app is easy to use and lets you share amazing content wherever you are. Great for taking photos on-site and quickly sharing with whoever you want from your circles or publically.

Vanity URLs

Google has recently announced that Google+ profiles and pages can make use of vanity URLs to make things a little more personal. Perfect if you’re fed up with directing people to profile/5823562647628642732442546465253664626 all the time…

Awesome authorship potential

See people’s pictures next to search results? You can’t do that without Google+. Google Authorship lets you tag up your content, giving you authority as its creator and thus a visible presence in Google search results – great for helping you gain a reputation for being a thought leader in your industry.

Block out the noise!

Fed up with your phone vibrating thanks to constant alerts if all you’ve done is like a conversation? One of your favourite Google+ features is the ability to mute additional responses. Just leave your two cents in the comments, mute, and you’re done!

Great Gmail support

If you’re a fan of Gmail and create a Google+ account you can easily post to your profile while browsing your email. Just click on the share button in the top-right corner of your browser and multitask your way to social stardom!

Boost your social reach

Google+ makes it easy to incorporate follow and share buttons on your blog or website. That means an increased chance of people finding you and adding you to their circles, or clicking the +1 button on the site itself and sharing your content.

Excellent extension support

There are a number of incredible extensions out there to enhance your Google+ experience, especially if you use Google’s Chrome browser. One of the greatest is Favourite Posts for Google+ which lets you save the best posts for you to read again in the future.

There is massive scope for your online business on Google+. Ensure you don’t miss out by getting involved and engaging with the millions of users already enjoying this quickly growing network.