Google is excited to announce the launch of pages for businesses, brands and organizations, a move that will help people connect with all the things we care about.

In life we connect with all kinds of people, places and things. There’s friends and family, of course, but there’s also the sports teams we root for, the coffee shops we’re loyal to, the causes we support, and the TV shows we can’t stop watching (to name a few).

So far Google+ has focused on connecting people with other people. But we want to make sure you can build relationships with all the things you care about -- from local businesses to global brands -- so today we’re rolling out Google+ Pages worldwide.

Watch Google+ pages video: Businesses don't make people happy.

People + pages, better together

Google+ has always been a place for real-life sharing, and Google+ Pages is no exception. After all: behind every page (or storefront, or four-door sedan) is a passionate group of people, and we think you should able to connect with them too.

For you and me, this means we can now hang out live with the local bike shop, or discuss our wardrobe with a favorite clothing line, or follow a band on tour. Google+ pages give life to everything we find in the real-world. And by adding them to circles, we can create lasting bonds with the pages (and people) that matter most.

For businesses and brands, Google+ pages help you connect with the customers and fans that love you. Not only can they recommend you with a +1, or add you to a circle to listen long-term. They can actually spend time with your team, face-to-face-to-face. All you need to do is start sharing, and you'll soon find the super fans and loyal customers that want to say hello.

A number of pages are already available (see below), but any organization can now create their own corner on Google+. We hope you’ll join the community at plus.google.com/pages/create.

Chelsea Football Club

Barcelona Football Club

Virgin

Dell

Pepsi

Toyota

Direct Connect from Google search

People search on Google billions of times a day, and very often, they're looking for businesses and brands. Today's launch of Google+ Pages can help users transform their queries into meaningful connections, so we're rolling out two ways to add pages to circles from Google search. The first is by including Google+ pages in search results, and the second is an experimental feature called Direct Connect.

Maybe you're watching a movie trailer, for instance, or you just heard that your favorite band is coming to town. In both cases you want to connect with them right now, and Direct Connect makes it easy -- even automatic. Just go to Google and search for '+,’ followed by the page you're interested in (like +Google). We'll take you to their Google+ page, and if you’d like, add them to your circles.

Direct Connect works for a limited number of pages today (like +Pepsi and +Toyota), but many more are coming. In the meantime, organizations can learn more about Direct Connect in our help center.

Watch Google+: Direct connect video

With Google+, we strive to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software. Today’s initial launch of Google+ Pages brings us a little bit closer, but we’ve still got lots of improvements planned, and miles to go before we sleep. So stay tuned.