It’s taken a while, but Google promised us business pages, and now they’re here.

Businesses and brands can now connect with clients and customers in a similar way to how they can on Facebook. Customers and visitors can recommend a page by giving it a +1, and can add the page to a circle to “follow” its updates.

Google has been criticised for not opening pages to everyone all at once, but they promise that the roll-out will happen within the next few days, allowing anyone to create a page.

So, how do you create a page?

Firstly, you need to have a personal Google+ account, so you’ll need to create one if you don’t already have one.

Next, log in  to your account, then go to http://plus.google.com/pages/create

Now you need to choose what kind of page you want, depending on whether you’re a brand, a company, or a local retail outlet. There are also options for arts, entertainment or sports – presumably for celebrities, shows and movies, venues and sports teams – and if you don’t fit into any of those categories, then there’s always “other” to choose.

Fill in the basic information, choose from any sub-categories and agree to the Ts & Cs.

Now you want to add a profile picture – your logo would be ideal – and a tagline, which is essentially a short description of your business.

Then you can share your new page with your existing Google+ contacts, and start adding to your page with updates as you would your own personal page.

So, what are you waiting for? With Google still the most used search engine, and with Google+ pages now included in search results, your brand or company needs to have a Google+ page. And while you’re there, visit the Kerrmunications page and add it to one of your circles!