Google +1

The Google +1 Button

By now you have seen or heard about the release of the Google +1 button, which operates much like Facebook’s like button as a feature to let those in your network know about recommendations you have found on the web.  Like Facebook’s like button, +1 helps friends in your network discover things like websites, an interesting search result, or even an ad that you have suggested.  When used on your own webpage, the +1 button allows users to recommend your content with the intention that the friends of that user will see their friend’s recommendation and visit your site.  You must be signed into Google to access the feature and for your friends to see what you have recommended.

+1 SEO Value

According to Google, the +1 button is “one of many signals Google may use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking” as content that is recommended by your network is often thought to be more relevant than content from strangers.  Like the Facebook like button, website owners can likely see an increase in traffic as users recommending their content may be driven by others who have visited your site and shared (through the +1 button) the content to like-minded friends with similar interests.

Who can see the +1 annotations?

Everybody can see the annotations, and signed-in users can also see the personalized annotations from the following four sources:

  • People in their Gmail (or Google Talk) chat list.
  • People in their My Contacts group in Google Contacts.
  • People they’re following in Google Reader and Google Buzz.

+1 is not yet available on mobile devices as Google is likely first testing the popularity of the feature as they have not always been successful in the social media avenue (think Google Buzz).  Time will tell if +1 lives up to Google’s hopes and is implemented on cell phones.

How to get +1 button on your site

Google provides fairly simple instructions on how to implement the button to your website here:

http://www.google.com/intl/en/webmasters/+1/button/index.html

It is a section of code that you implement into your back end or that your webmaster can do for you.

Google recommends placing the button near titles of pages, close to links, and both at the beginning and end of an article or story.  An additional item of interest for SEO is that Google has said that they may crawl or recrawl your page in response to a +1 impression or click.  Facebook like and Twitter’s retweet have significantly impacted search, we will pay close attention to see if Google’s +1 does the same.

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