Google Plus exploded onto the social networking scene with more than 10 million hits last month. Today (marking the one month anniversary of the platform), news that traffic to the site is tapering off has some speculating that Google may not be able to take down Facebook after all.

Experian Hitwise (a market research group) recently reported that Google Plus traffic has decreased this week by three percent. There are a number of reasons for this statistical decrease. Google has made a public statement regarding the new numbers, and there are a few basic website rules that apply too. Is Google Plus going down already or are these numbers simply unrealistic?

Google Talks Back

Google executives woke this morning to some disturbing news. The respected market research group Experian Hitwise broadcasted a Google Plus numbers slump. Before those who run Google could have a cup of coffee, these numbers were plastered on every tech site across the country. Needless to say, this caused certain alarm within Google.

The site that was doing so well out of the gate was now facing a tapering off. After crunching some numbers and analyzing data, Google made a public announcement. The company told press that the reported numbers were not entirely accurate. Seemingly, the data reported did not include traffic from other Google sites (such as Gmail), and these numbers did not include cell phone and navigation bar usage.

Google does have a point. After all, many people access social networks via smartphone while others head to sites such as Google through other websites. Google has made it so easy to access the Google Plus site that it’s hard not to click on the G+ link at the top of a screen or head to G+ from a Gmail account.

Other Reasons

But, there are other reasons why Google Plus may be experiencing a decrease in hits. This platform is new and new platforms tend to struggle after the initial buzz has worn off. Why should Google be any exception to this rule? Seemingly, gaining users by generating the desire to belong to a new social network is the easy part. The hard part happens to be keeping those users.

So, what’s happening over at Google Plus that may be turning users away? Well, for one, the site is lackluster. Another reason is that there isn’t much happening with Google Plus at the moment. A few users have tried to embrace this new network, but G+ activity is somewhat slow. Of course, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Google has made some serious blunders throughout the past week or so.

Google suspended a number of personal accounts and told businesses to wait awhile before signing up for the new social service. While these waits and mishaps are understandable, it’s not wise for Google to wait too long to fix these problems. As soon as traffic turns away from Google Plus, it will be very hard for the search giant to gain a strong interest in its new network once again.