Google Takes on Facebook – The Power of +1

Since adding the live search features from Twitter, Flickr and other social networking sites, Google has recently launched a new feature called ‘+1′ in an apparent bid to compete against the ‘Like’ button from Facebook.

According to Google’s official blog, The ‘+1′ or short for ‘this is pretty cool’, will enable users to share recommendations with the world right in Google’s search results. To recommend something all the visitors has to do is click +1 on a webpage or ad they find useful. These +1’s will then start appearing in Google’s search results.

What does this mean for prospects and customers looking for your products and service?

The beauty of +1’s is their relevance — users get the right recommendations (because they come from people who matter to them), at the right time (when they are actually looking for information about the product or service or even looking to buy) and in the right format (search and ad results). For more information about +1, watch this video posted by Google:

Google Takes On Facebook – Watch the Video here

So how will Google know which +1’s to show users? Google plan to use many signals to identify the most useful recommendations such as your network (connected through Google, Twitter etc).

Initially this is being rolled out in USA and will be availabel only when you are logged in to Google profile and will work for organic search results as well as Google Ads. Google plans to roll it out to many other features in the near future.

There are many important implications of this on Organic Google search:

1. ‘+1′ will be used in future to calculate organic search result
2. You will be able to integrate the ‘+1′ on your webpages, similar to the ‘Like’ button of Facebook, enabling visitors to recommedn your web pages.
3. ‘+1′ will also appear on the Google Ads

This is a very important development and keep watching this space to know when the ‘+1′ will be available so you can integrate it with your business website.

Posted via email from Nigel Morris WebStrategyMarketing's Blog