How do you believe Google's +1 service is going to affect SEO? What can we do?
-
So Google just announced the +1 button, which is there answer to Facebook 'likes' button:
http://searchengineland.com/meet-1-googles-answer-to-the-facebook-like-button-70569
http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/30/google-plus-one/
They should begin showing up now on Google US. If you aren't seeing them, you can turn them on here:
http://www.google.com/experimental/
I want to know? What affect do you predict these are going to have? Is there anything we can do from an SEO point to begin leveraging +1 right from the outset?
-
I'm not sure I see the motivation for people to +1 something. For Facebook, social connection is a big motivator: people want their friends to see what they 'like'. How many people actually view other Google profiles like we do Facebook? Why would anyone use the +1 in Google? I think understanding the motivation might be a key to understanding how to leverage it better.
-
Excellent question. The answer to this (at least for me) is that big statement you hear so often about the most important tactic and principle of SEO. Developing great , interesting and unique content. Our entire SEO process is evolving to start with a creative approach, using content and then moving to what I would call traditional SEO tactics.
The gaming concern is one we all share, but can not control. We are hoping that by helping our clients develop better and more interesting information, 1+ will take care of it self.
-
It has been rolled out to English Google.com but is due to be rolled out in time. Also only shows if logged into Google account so for many people they won't see it anyway.
-
Has Google +1 been rolled out on just google.com? It doesn't seem to appear on .co.uk
-
There are 2 aspects to consider when you discuss gaming it. The first is the effect it has on the SERPs for everybody, the second is for how it affects it for social users and what the effect on CTR is.
For the 1st, the answer is - the same way they do with links. Check for cliques, for lots of unused accounts +1'ining the same sites, etc. etc. We'll see how effective that is.
For the 2nd, one important fact is going to be you can't game people's networks. You can create a bunch of bogus accounts, and create +1 groups for circular +1'ing. However, none of that matters if you aren't in people's networks. Currently it seems that +1's only show up if at least one friend/contact has +1'd the site. Then you see the total count (see attached image), otherwise at it stands you aren't going to affect people's CTR (which itself will be a signal).
-
From the Google Adwords blog adwords.blogspot.com (emphasis mine):
"You don’t have to make adjustments to your advertising strategy based on +1 buttons, and the way we calculate Quality Score isn’t changing (though +1s will be one of many signals we use to calculate organic search ranking)."
So it definitely IS going to be used as a signal.
And they're going to keep people from gaming this ... how?
-
I agree about Google's previous efforts, however I think +1 is finally going to be their breakthrough. They are going to push it hard, and unlike the other efforts, there is no real effort from the user to learn about it. I mean - most people never bothered to try to understand Google Buzz, whereas the concept of a 'like' button is really simple and widely known.
Currently, you cannot embed them into your website (it is coming, but not for 'months'), so that aspect isn't yet in play.
If you consider this - Google know that social is becoming increasingly important and is going to keeping growing. Furthermore, they seemed to have reached a limit with using links to determine what results to show, and are in need of new signals.
Everyone knows social signals are becoming more important, and Google really doesn't want to be relying only on signals under the control of others. I think +1 is here to stay, in one form or another.
However, currently you can only +1 a site from the SERPs, so it makes it hard for companies going to leverage this. Yet, I'm sure people will find a way.
-
Aside from adding the +1 button to your sites I doubt it will be that big. Most of Google's attempts at adding social features don't ever take off like they do for Facebook or other sites. I imagine the effect will be similar to that of how Facebook likes affect search engine results. It will help but not too important of a factor.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
How Should I Optimise Feature Images for Google+ Interactive Post Snippets?
Hi there, I'm in the middle of optimising my site to create decent sharing snippets to improve the overall experience and quality for visitors. One thing I've come up against though is trying to balance site design with the requirements of schema.org and Google+ I've recently just altered the layout of my site to now visually display a brief post description to go into the Rich Snippet Google+ creates, but the images Look a little bit shorter than what they could be. I'm curious to how I could perhaps serve a dedicated image for the Google+ snippet (a square cropped version of the large feature image that's given to each post) while avoiding forcing all users to load a second image I don't even really want to show. I'm also in the middle of deciding what content to prefill the post text with, I'm thinking about tagging my own Google+ id and maybe using some post relevant hash tags too. Does that sound like a good idea? Thanks for 95e0ec7c46e6e66c0a966089d7805813
Social Media | | KraigWalker0 -
Creative ideas to invite G +1 button clicks
Hello, What's some creative white hat ways to get people to click our G +1 button? A competitor is offering a coupon in return but isn't that black hat? What are some 100% white hat ways?
Social Media | | BobGW0 -
Which URL should I share with Facebook and google plus ?
Hi, My question is which URL should I use with the share plugins of Facebook and Google Plus.
Social Media | | Kadel
Should I use the URL of the website or of the facebook's page / google's + page? By the way , may I ask what's the source of the FB Shares that Moz present in the advanced keyword analysis report? and are those shares are of the website or of the facebook's page? Thanks,
Kadel.0 -
Doctors in a Hospital - Setup Google Local or Google+ Profiles?
Hello - I've been running this over for awhile - so I'm curious to see what the community says about it. I'm working with a client who would like to brand the doctors in their hospitals. Many of them do have recognition already - and their associated locations have profiles. Google Local semi-recently said it's OK to brand Dr's names - even if they exist within a single location. So, my question is - is it better to go the Google Local route and create the Local/+ page for them, or to go through the Google+/Google Brand Pages route and create them that way? If each doctor were to decide, individually, to post on their page - would that be possible with the Places route (I don't think so, based on what I've seen)? Also, if a doctor already has a personal Google+ page - would it make sense to just create the additional brand page as well through this interface? Well either of these methods achieve optimal visibility as well as the option to post should they decide to go that route? What it boils down to - is this is a task we can perform from the outside, or is it best handled by giving the doctors best practice for setting up their personal Google+ pages and associated Brand Pages themselves? Thanks for any insight you can provide!
Social Media | | WebTalent0 -
How Social Shares on One Page Affects Sitewide Authority
If you have a great resource on your site that earns a lot of social shares, does that improve the authority of your entire site or just that single page in the eyes of Google?
Social Media | | Charlessipe0 -
Does shared content affect rankings?
I've noticed that when logged into Google, content shared by people within my social graph is being identified by a "(name of person) shared this". And, content shared by people not within my social graph (but people who have a Google+ account) is being identified with their picture. My questions are: Is this "(name of person) shared this" content showing on first page of results because they're in my social graph. Or would this content have been on 1st page regardless of whether it had been shared? Why is google identifying who is sharing content when they're not in my social graph? Thank you!
Social Media | | LaraMcCulloch0