Google+ pages or business pages was released yesterday with much fanfare. There are large number of pages already created on Google+ and it’s growing hour by hour.

Another cool feature that got released alongwith Google+ pages was Google+ direct connect.

So, What is Google+ Direct Connect?

Let us walk through with a simple comparison for an easy understanding…

When you goto Google by typing http://google.com, you’ll find a Textbox (to type a keyword) and two buttons Google search and I’m feeling lucky.  When you enter a keyword and hit the I’m feeling lucky button, google takes to the first search result (best match) automatically. (Same behavior, as you type suggestions appear with a I’m feeling lucky link).

Google+ direct connect is pretty much the same as I’m feeling lucky but for Google+ pages. All you have to do is prefix your search with a + for example +Angry while searching on google (Suggestions with a logo, name and descriptions are part of direct connect)

Try these by typing in the google search box

+A

you’ll find the following google+ pages returned

Amazon.com

AT&T

Angry Birds

ABC News

clicking on or selecting one of this will directly take you to that Google+ page (for e.g. clicking on Angry Birds will take you to Angry Birds Google+ page)

Google+ direct connect

Looking simply, it’s a quick shortcut to a Google+ page. But for the right product, brandname, company this is absolutely going to be a free SEO (Search Engine Optimization) driving huge amounts of traffic to their Google+ page  (without much SEO effort). We’re assuming Google is going to put some restrictions and a verification process before a page is going to be part of Google+ direct connect (else there is a big chance of spam on google+ pages).

Some points to note

• Google+ direct connect only works in google search page or google suggestion results
• As of this writing only supports few google+ pages (looks like rolling out in stages)
• Not yet supported on chrome browser search yet
• Including a + prefix earlier was to represent an exact match on google and is now removed in favor of searching with quotes (“)

A quick Google+ direct connect introduction video