Google plus makes a change
Because Google’s social network has never offered vanity URLs so that the link to your profile was your name instead of a string of numbers, users have had to cheat the system by using services like gplus.to or others. Offering a long string of numbers to someone as your profile URL is tedious, looks awful in an email or list of links, and is not memorable by you (to offer to others) or to anyone else who isn’t a math genius with an insanely proficient memory… you would never tell someone, “find me on Twitter, my handle is 3829043573290,” rather you say, “find me on Twitter, I’m @JoeRobotGuy.”
Today, Google+ is introducing custom URLs to allow profiles to be easier to find, and for users to be able to share more effectively. The format for the custom URLs will be google.com/+toyota or google.com/+britneyspears, and so on. According to Google engineer, Saurabh Sharma, the vanity URLs are first being made available to major brands and verified profiles as well as pages.
Questions remain
It remains unseen as to whether users will get to choose their vanity URL or if it will be assigned based on their user profile, for example, let’s say Francesca Royale is a carpenter, it is unclear as to whether Google+ will assign her URL as google.com/+francescaroyale or if she will get to choose google.com/+francescawoodworker, and if this will be the case with Business Pages.
Soon, custom URLs will become available to more brands and individuals, and eventually to all users. Google+ and other companies make a habit of offering vanity URLs to verified brands first so there is no battle for household names like Pepsi or Delta. It’s annoying for common users, but not a new tradition in the tech industry.
The difficulty level in getting your profile or small business page verified through Google is very high, as many users say they have been waiting for months, complaining that Google+ users with high follower counts are given preference as a means of verification that they are a real brand or person.
