• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, October 16, 2011

Surprise! (not). Google will shut down Buzz, along with its API, Google Code Search, Jaiku, and several other services. The news follows CEO Larry Page's statement last week during the company's Q3 2011 earnings call that it would continue to shut down some services to focus on specific products.

In fact, Google has begun the process of shutting down more than 20 products with less potential for growth, from SideWiki to Google Notebook to Fastflip, because the "prioritization is crucial to invest in the extraordinary opportunities," Page said, explaining that the company plans to build products that people use several times daily.

Bradley Horowitz, Google VP of product, said Google Code Search, Jaiku, iGoogle's social features, and the University Research Program for Google Search will close on January 15, 2012.

It should not come as a surprise to anyone who uses Buzz that Google would shutter the service in a few weeks to focus on Google+, which some estimates cost Google $585 million to build. Since Google+ launched, the social site Buzz, which connects to Gmail, has lost momentum.

In September, Google closed Boutiques.com, which comes from the former Like.com. The traffic redirected to Google Product Search on Oct. 14. The service rolled out in November 2010. Google said it would combine fashion with social networking features. The team from Like.com, which Google acquired last year, built the platform.

The closure of Buzz takes marketers one step closer to to providing services for businesses to set up shop in Google+. Advertising will likely follow. That's fine with marketers, according to a recent study. It turns out that marketers believe having a presence in social sites like Facebook remains more important than advertising in networks.

Findings from a joint Microsoft Advertising and Advertiser Perceptions study reveals that 74% of social media marketers across six countries believe it's more important to have a presence in Facebook, while only 57% believe that about advertising.