Google+ speeds up launch of business account test program

Google plans to accelerate the launch of its corporate account program on Google+ after thousands of businesses signed up to try the fast-growing social network.

“To the thousands upon thousands of businesses that applied to be a part: Thank you!,” Google product manager Christian Oestlien wrote on Google+. “We won’t be able to accommodate everyone, but your interest has got us very focused on accelerating our development plans.”

Google+ has rapidly attracted individual users, racking up more than 10 million in its first two weeks. But Google has limited signups to actual human beings so far. Businesses that want the chance at getting an early Google+ business account need to submit an application to Google before July 15 at 6 p.m. PT, according to Oestlien’s post. The link provided for application submissions appears to be down at the moment but we suspect it will be back soon.

“Dennis Troper, myself and the rest our team will focus next week on selecting a diverse set of business partners for the test period,” Oestlien wrote. “We will be communicating with these partners next week, and will let the world know who they are soon thereafter.

Google initially planned to test business accounts in the next few months, but appears to be speeding up the program due to the surging demand for the service. An unofficial study released two days ago from Ancestry.com’s Paul Allen suggested Google+ had already hit nearly 10 million users. And demand has been so high that Google+ briefly “ran out of disk space” last week.

Will you be trying to get your business on Google+?