Bad news for Google – the latest comScore stats reveal that the average Google Plus user spent just 3.3 minutes on the network in January.

Not only is this a tiny fraction compared to the seven and a half hours that people spent Facebooking, but the Google Plus figures are actually in decline; 5.1 minutes in November became 4.8 minutes in December and the latest figures suggest the kind of decline that, if it is not halted, could be terminal.

However let’s not be too quick to bury Google’s latest attempt to break into social media just yet. According to Google boss Larry Page, the number of Google Plus accounts is up to 90 million from 40 million in October. This is astonishing growth, but the data suggests that users are setting up accounts and then leaving them to go fallow.

The problem dogging the Google Plus network is that outside of certain niches there are not enough participants to warrant spending time on the network. After all, who want to hang around on G+ when there are parties raging on Twitter and Facebook?

That said, Google Plus does have some outstanding attributes. The Hangout feature allowing up to ten people to video conference is outstanding. In addition, where there is a vibrant community on Google Plus, for example in the tech sector, there are some serious conversations going on where it is relatively easy to get direct access to some of the most influential people in the industry.

It remains to be seen whether Google can encourage communities outside tech to the network. In the meantime, for any business with a website, a Google Plus account remains a significant SEO factor and for that reason alone it will continue to attract new accounts from commercial concerns, even if they do not visit with any degree of frequency.

Google’s Search Plus Your World (SPYW) update has become the focus of feverish debate among internet professionals. The update, which was introduced on January 10th, adds results from a user’s Google Plus network to its search returns. This is a development bound to be of concern to experts in SEO.

For many, this is a natural evolution in the science of search. After all, internet use over the last few years has increasingly moved to social networks and therefore it is natural that search should follow into that web space.

However, opponents of the change (and there are many) argue that the results are far too heavily weighted in favour of Google’s own Google Plus network and represent a backdoor route for the company  to force people into adopting its network.

Currently, Facebook and Twitter results are not listed because, Google says, their competitors have forbidden the deep indexing of their sites. Google has publicly stated that it is willing to work with its rival companies to include their results, which may be necessary as a number of politicians in both the USA and Europe have questioned whether Google’s new update falls foul of regulations governing monopolies.

According to Google CEO Larry Page, the Google Plus network is growing at an impressive rate. Last week’s financial statement from the company claimed that the service had 90 million users and that 60% visited daily. However, many observers claimed the figures were misleading and Google has been coy about reporting how much actual interaction occurred on the network.

Whatever the truth, Google Plus still has a long to go before matching market leader Facebook, which claims 50% of its 800 million users log in daily.