Google +1 – What It Is And How It Will Affect Search

By The Prime Visibility Team

Google recently announced its latest enhancement, Google +1, an experimental new feature that lets you recommend certain websites with the click of a button; much like you might “Like” something on Facebook. The service will add a small “+1″ icon next to organic and paid search results

If you enjoy a particular site’s content, click the icon.

You’re also given an option to undo your +1ing, and you’re reminded that you’ve shared your liking of the result publicly to your Google social networks including Gmail, Google Talk, Google Buzz and Google Reader.

When someone in your network searches for something similar, your +1 will show up in their results. For example, say you’re planning a winter trip to Tahoe, Calif. When you do a search, you may now see a +1 from your slalom-skiing aunt next to the result for a lodge in the area.

Or if you’re looking for a new pasta recipe, you’ll see +1’s from your culinary genius college roommate. And even if none of your friends are baristas or caffeine addicts, Google may still show you how many people across the web have +1’d your local coffee shop. Google claims this feature, combined with all of the social content they’re now including in search, will mean even better, more relevant results than you get today.

What is Your +1 Social Network…

Keep in mind, only those logged into their Google Social Network will be able to see or take action on a +1 button. These networks consist of:

• People in your Gmail & Google Talk chat list
• People in your “My Contacts” group in Google Contacts
• People you follow in Google Reader or Google Buzz

What’s missing are people you are connected to via non-Google services, such as Twitter, Flickr or Quora. That’s something that will come in the future, Google says.

How Does Google +1 Affect Paid Search?

Although we don’t yet have enough data to ascertain the true impact that Google +1 will have on Paid Search Campaigns, here is what we know:

• It gives Google a direct answer from the user and is a strong and direct signal of intent and can only help their search rankings. It will also help Google to provide surfers with highly customized search and ad results, which will benefit both the user and the advertiser.

• It will enable Google to tie in preference information with demographic data that it gets from the Google profile page. This has the potential to be even more useful to advertisers as Google searches are intent-driven vs. Facebook “Likes,” which are more awareness-centric. In other words, Facebook data, on average tells you who is INTERESTED in your product or service, while Google data tells you who is intent on BUYING it.

• It promises to take offer and ad copy testing to a new level. One should be able to find out how many consumers like an offer or a price via the number of +1s.

• For its part, Google says that it thinks advertisers will love this because in testing, they have seen clickthrough rates on +1’d ads go up. Some other facts from Google:
  • All ads will be getting these buttons
  • There’s no way for advertisers to turn them off
  • Clicks on the +1 button next to ads do NOT count as a paid ad click
  • Advertisers will be able to see stats about which ads are getting the most +1s

How does Google +1 affect Search Engine Optimization?

At this point it won’t affect the algorithmic determination of results. As this is rolled out, Google WILL look at +1 data as one of the “signals” it uses to determine a page’s relevance and rankings, in addition to data it analyzes from other social services such as Facebook and Twitter. As +1 buttons get adopted across many sites, there is a significant potential for this to impact organic rankings of individual pages.

It will further tie together organic and paid search. There is a common infrastructure for the social search/+1 on both organic and paid, so results that users +1 in organic results or on publisher sites in Google will appear in paid search engines.

Results that have personalized annotations are likely to experience higher clickthrough rates in the organic results.

Soon after launch, anyone registered with Google Webmaster Central will be able to see +1 stats for their non-paid or “organic” search listings.

How does Google +1 affect Social Media?

It places emphasis on websites having engaging content. The new Google feature will display individuals from a person’s network who either “+1’d” content or who shared it through their Social Networks. Content that is distributed heavily through social media will have a higher probability of displaying the +1 feature for individual search queries.

Currently the +1 feature only takes into account connections via Google Contacts, Gmail, Google Talk, Google Buzz or Google Reader. Eventually this will roll out to Twitter and other social media websites. A person with accounts that have a high number of Google Buzz connections, Twitter followers, etc. will likely have more influence on a listing when they share or click “+1”.

Websites will need to make their website more “social media friendly” in order to encourage visitors to share content. This includes the incorporation of on-page social media elements such as retweet buttons and Facebook Like integration.

How will Google +1 affect your website?

At the moment, we will only see Google +1 in search results, but “coming soon” (Google says in months, rather than weeks), publishers will be able to put these buttons on their web pages. Google is not disclosing much about how +1 buttons will work on websites. For instance, if you come to a web site while logged in at Google, will you see if others in your network have +1′d a page you’re on, in the way Facebook Like buttons work? For now, Google is, more focused on how +1 integrates with search. Google did say that if someone does a +1 on a web page, that will show up to others who find that page in search results.

Overall Impact of Google +1

• Google +1 is one more step in making search more social by providing a user-focused social context for organic and paid search results.
• Websites that have engaging and interesting content as determined by the number of +1’s will likely be rewarded by performing better in both organic and paid search results.
• Organic and paid reporting will be enhanced by +1 data.
• Demonstrates how “we the people” have the power to impact rankings.
• Google +1 is an experimental user enhancement and still has potential to change.

Prime Visibility will be keeping an eye on this new feature as it develops and will keep you updated along the way regarding solutions to capitalize on this feature.