Google+ offers custom profile URLs for ordinary users

The majority of Google+ users can now link to their profile on the social network using a custom URL .

The majority of Google+ users can now link to their profile on the social network using a custom URL . Since August 2012, Google has allowed an exclusive set of celebrities and businesses to create custom URLs for their profiles, but now the service is available to anyone who has been subscribed to Google+ for over 30 days, is followed by at least 10 people, and has uploaded a profile photo.

Google+ subscribers who meet these three criteria will receive an e-mail invitation to customize their profile's URL or will see a notification at the top of their profile after logging into the site. Users choose a URL from a list of possibilities based on the account holder's first and last names.

The URL modification must be validated using a code sent by SMS to the mobile number specified by the user. Once approved, the URL cannot be modified.

Once the URL has been created, users can easily link to different sections of their profile by placing the section name at the end of the custom URL. For example, 'google.com/+name/photos' will point a browser directly to the user's photos page.

Google+ is not the first social network to offer custom URLs. Facebook, for example, has offered the service since 2009. Launched in June 2011, Google+ has around 300 million 'active monthly in-stream users,' meaning users who visit the site's content stream on a regular basis.