Google+ and its effects on SERPs
-
Hi all,
With the recent launch of Google+ I've looked into the possible effects of +1'ing sites and whether or not it has a direct effect on other people with whom I'm connected within Google+.
So far I cannot see any direct correlation, however I running a bigger/wider experiement with more people to get a definitive answer.
What does scare me as an SEO, is that Google+ users will (most likely) use Google search whilst they are logged in, which, as we know personalises results based on a myriad of suspected metrics such as previous visits, personal +1, etc...
How is this going to effect the SEO world if/when a Google+ attracts more users.
Experienced this first hand when a client called me to congratulate a jump from position 9 on Google to first position over the weekend, which when I checked, the website hadn't shifted, the client was logged into her Google account due to the fact she had been playing with plus.
Thoughts?
Cheers
Aran
-
I'm talking about having the +1 button on pages of your website - e.g. product pages (info here). If there have been a number of people +1 a particular product then that may help the position of that page organically - I think even if you aren't signed in.
You wouldn't +1 at the SERP stage if you haven't been on the site but your friends might have done which could input into it.
All guesses though
-
Agreed CCA.
I don't get +1's on SERPs, when your google something and you get the SERPs you generally haven't visited the sites before, so why would you +1 at that point?
-
Aran,
I think that it will have some sort of an affect on the SERP (by considering your different circles) when being logged in to Google.
But also, http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1152948 shows that the +1 button at least has some impact on rankings and therefore we should all adopt it - I'm not sure it will ever be as popular as a like button, but, who knows!
-
I've conducted an experiment with several friends in my 'Friends' Circle within Google+
To start I +1'd a clients site whilst signed in to Google. Then I Signed out and went on to tweet the URL for another clients website and finally facebook shared yet another clients website (within another industry)
I asked my friends to +1, tweet and FB share a URL which I gave them.
Now when signed into Google the +1'd website (normally at 9th in Google) is now ranked 3rd with a note under the SERP telling me my firend +1'd the site. The website which received the Tweets is now 9th on Google, it is normally 12th when not signed in. Also a note appeared under the serp saying my friend had Tweeted the URL.
The page that received the facebook shares didn't change in position!
All the people concerned all follow each other on twitter, belong to the same circle on Google+ and are friends on Facebook.
Not a very well set up or executed experiement, I made it up as I went along and put into practise within 5 minutes of conceiving the idea. But interesting results all the same.
If Google+ takes off and people adopt the trend of staying logged into Google when searching, Social Metrics are going to have a huge impact on traditional SEO.
Now all we need is someone to setup a 'proper' experiement.
-
oh, you missed off Android and the efforts to takeover the mobile OS market!
Kowtow to Google.
-
Agreed, the number of personalised searches will increase if Google+ catches on. Is this the beginning of the end for SEO?
-
Google has crossed all the lines from being a pure search engine, to being the source of data. There are many people who, if you ask them, would tell you that Google has no data related to them personally. Most are quite mistaken. If a human uses a pc, Google is going to have tons of data available unless the person makes a very specific effort to avoid Google's services.
Gmail, Spreadsheets, Analytics, Desktop, Adwords, YouTube, Google +, WiFi, Chrome browser, translator, picasa photos, Google maps and I am sure there are a dozen other Google apps. Many of these services are independently very highly rated. YouTube alone is the #3 website in the world.
It really brings to reality the phrase "It's Google's world. We are just living in it." They are poised to further widen the chasm between themselves and the next closest competitor. Clearly they will leverage these resources to a greater extent in time.
-
I think that personalized search is making it much more difficult to get sales from customers who have an established history with your competitor. The introduction of Google+ will most likely increase the number of searches that are personalized.
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
-
Will Huge bounce rate from social media visits affect SEO or website Ranking according to Google algorithm factors?
We have one website and have posted our blog post url in the social media sites and got almost 5k visits in 3 days’ time, with 11sec avg time on site, zero conversions and with 97% bounce rate. This in turn reduced the total conversion rate for the same month to less than 0.5%. According to google algorithm, these are factors affecting website ranking. Can anyone guide me whether which visits from social media affect our website in any case based on these Analytics factors? Please help me out on the same! Note: Blog post topic was related to latest technology update and the landing page also based in the respective topic as well.
Social Media | | zco_seo0 -
Google Plus Company Page Verification
Hi How do you test successful G+ company page/publisher integration/verification if using the less technical methods such as linking between the Home page and the G+ company page instead of adding code to the head section? Since i take it the google structured data testing tool cant work in these cases since no code on the head section ! Is it best to add the code anyway ? I note my clients still not achieving a knowledge graph card/section in the search results for a branded search but i have heard that doesnt come until you have at least hundreds of followers and/or G+ interactions. All Best
Social Media | | Dan-Lawrence
Dan0 -
Google + and SEO
Hello, A couple of competitors that I keep an eye on over the last couple of months have been really going for the Google + links and according to Opensite explorer they have over 200 social page metrics for Google +. I was just wondering if there has been an update that I have missed that gives follow links for Google + or does Google + affect Domain authority? And if so can I just use my own Google + account to create these social page metrics or does it depend on someone else sharing my posts? Many thanks
Social Media | | mblsolutions0 -
Facebook Like button and Google plus
I can't believe that I still did not figure out what would be the best way to have facebook like button and google plus on the home page. I have tried several options but I was always receiving errors in W3 validator. Can somebody help please? Thank you Iris
Social Media | | Rebeca10 -
Should I use a Google Plus page or Google Plus for my business?
I am looking to write regular good quality blog posts about the niche subject my business is in. Should these blog posts come from a Google Plus page or my personal Google Plus profile? These blog posts will feature on our company website. How does that effect Google Authorship etc... Thanks
Social Media | | roberthseo1 -
Authorship and Google +
I've got 14 affiliate websites with plenty of original content on each. When I set up Google + last year I of course had the page in my name and then went on to set up separate pages for each site. Actually one page is related to 8 different sites related to golf but broken down by club type. I also have a Wordpress plugin which presents my author bio on my about page for each site. I've filled out all the pertinent information on each Google + page with unique data. OK, when I write a review or blog topic and post it to Google + am I getting the rel = author juice from the sub pages as if I post it to my main profile page? Posting to my Don Bistrow page vs. my golf page?
Social Media | | NicheGuy0 -
Explanation of Facebook referral paths in Google Analytics
In the past month I have seen a huge increase in the visits + conversions from Facebook (which is obviously great). However, from Google Analytics it appears that most of my visits are not coming from my brand page. Is there an explanation of what these referral paths mean? Top Facebook referral paths: / /l.php /home.php /ajax/emu/end.php /brand - much less visits than above URLs
Social Media | | theLotter1 -
Can you set up a Google 'author' for rich snippets using a G+ business page or does it have to be a personal profile?
I've set up an author profile for myself, but if I'm writing articles for clients, I don't necessarily want to do it in my own name. Is it possible to set up a Google author profile using a G+ business page? Obviously the idea is to try and gain the rich snippets that only recognised authors receive, but to do so in the name of my client.
Social Media | | Piranha_Solutions1