A blog post by Google employee Saurabh Sharma reveals the search giant is in the process of rolling out vanity URLs for Google+ profiles and pages. The custom links, similar to those offered by Facebook more than three years ago, will make it easier for individuals and brands to share profiles and pages with friends and fans.
Under Google's current URL system, each profile or page is assigned a unique string of numbers for identification purposes. While this may be fine for internal use, it makes it really difficult to share your URL with others in the real world.
The rollout actually started last week to a limited number of verified profiles and pages but it wasn't until just recently that URLs became more widely available. Celebrities and brand names were initially targeted by Google for inclusion before a wider audience was invited.
There isn't a form to fill out at this time to request a custom URL and the process appears to be at least partially automated based on our experience. Just yesterday when we logged in to our Google+ account, we were asked if we wanted +techspot which had been reserved for us. Somehow Google knew that we were the correct holders of that particular brand - perhaps that verification was done manually on their end.
A Google spokesperson said that there isn't an exact date as to when new URLs will be available to non-verified Google+ users. Either way, it's a step in the right direction and a feature that many believe is long overdue.