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With the reach of the ‘Tweet’, ‘Share’ or even ‘Like’ now extending far beyond the boundaries of the social media realm, it was only a matter of time before other web giants would be looking to get in on the act. Leading the charge is internet behemoth Google, with their ‘+1’ initiative.
What is Google +1?
In short, a button for web masters, site owners and web publishers to include in any content they post to the web. Much like Twitter’s ‘Tweet’ or Facebook’s ‘Share’ option (and to a lesser extent ‘Like’), the button enables users with a Google account to share content across the web.
Perhaps +1’s biggest selling-point (it’s free, by the way), is that it claims to affect search visibility which, taking into account Google’s propensity to constantly tinker with algorithms, can only be a bonus.
Google is believed to be launching Business Profiles for Google+1 in Q3 2011, with Analytics. You should be able to create a profile for your business from this time.
How does it work?
When signed into their Google account, users (not companies just yet) will see annotated search results based on friends or contacts who have tagged or +1’d the page.
On a secondary level, each annotation may display the aggregate number of +1s allocated to the page concerned.
In other words, it represents a cross between Facebook’s Share/Like and Twitter’s ‘@’ functionality, but at search level and therefore on a much wider scale.
How will it affect rankings?
As the web grows and search algorithms constantly fluctuate, relevant content begins to play a far more important role in search results.
As such content recommended by friends or associates who share similar tastes and interests signifies to Google to the relevance of your page to an individual search or query.
As Google themselves explain:
“This is just one of many signals Google may use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking, and we’re constantly tweaking and improving our algorithm to improve overall search quality. For +1's, as with any new ranking signal, we'll be starting carefully and learning how those signals affect search quality.” (source: Google.com).
Google claim that individual annotations displayed next to your site on the search results page can help to increase your site’s visibility organically, encouraging users to click on your link.
Are ads affected too?
Users have the opportunity to +1 ads directly from the search page, with annotations appearing directly beneath the URL.
If the same ad appears on a friend or contact’s search page, they will see a message explaining that either said friend or x number of contacts have ‘+1’d’ the advert.
Takeaway
Whether or not Google’s latest initiative takes hold or not remains to be seen. The initial uptake – even though it’s in ‘invite only’ phase – is amazing! Maybe, after the relatively unsuccessful Buzz and Wave social media portals, Google has finally got a platform to give Facebook a run for its money.
Either way, at this stage users have very little to lose as after all, on the ever changing battlefield of search rankings, every little helps.