Posts Tagged ‘Google +1’

Google’s CEO Larry Page recently announced Google+ stats: 10 Million Google+ users, over 1 billion items shared and received per day, also that G +1 button is being served 2.3 billion times per day. This is a remarkable milestone for Google+ project, though the usage and context of usage is more important and not the numbers which time will decide how users are going to adapt to the new wave.

Before starting any discussion about how plusone can have an impact on Search Engine Optimization, I would like to stress on a fact, it will not kill SEO services but rather will add one more level.

Now that Google’s +1 is also a social vote alongside Facebook’s like and Twitter’s tweet, it certainly has the impact on Search Engine Optimization. Google has in fact already included +1 tracker to its webmaster tools through +1 metrics.

For a URL, the +1’s are gathered from all the sources on the web. That includes Google’s organic search results, paid result, from +1 buttons installed on your website or blog and through Google+.

Note that, on paid results plus ones do not incur any cost on the advertiser, they are automatic. This would in fact open the doors to businesses to combine their SEO and PPC or Search engine marketing in general!

How does Google find your URL through G +1?

It is through 3 ways Google will find your URL.

1. First Step, Specific URL in the plusone button code

This by default does not have a link inside the tags. In that case Google will look for second step.

2. Second Step, Google looks for canonical link

[<link rel=”canonical” href=”http://www.xyz.com”/>]

Usually link given here is the website link and not the particular webpage or article link in the blog. And in some cases canonical code is altogether absent in WebPages. Even in this case Google looks for web page URL which is being showed in the address bar!

3. Third Step, Google looks for URL in the address bar of browser

Is G +1 anti-spam?

Google is anti- spam from the very beginning. If we take a look on all the popular social networks, they all are diluted from spammers and irrelevant content making the genuine publishers hard to rank higher on the organic results.

But in case of plusone button, giving a +1 is possible only when a user is logged into his/her Google account. When for the first time + 1 is clicked, it is taken as a vote whereas the next one negates it and hence naturally you can get only one +1 no matter how many clicks you give in a row. Additionally Google keeps a track on how many clicks are being sent from the same IP address, if it suspects of an automated process it displays a CAPTCHA. So there is no possibility of using unethical process to manipulate this tool.

Google Chrome has its plus one anything extension already, which lets us +1 any web page even if a particular website has not installed +1 button! Well similarly, Microsoft’s Bing has recently given out new Bing toolbar with Facebook’s universal like button through which you can like and share any content on the web. But the fact is Google has complete control over its +1 button whereas in case of Facebook’s “like“ button it has to rely on third party information! This alone will make the search results which have got ranking boost from +1 social signal more relevant and credible. Even if the actual results will be apparent in a longer run, the fact is it’s already time for web marketing enthusiasts to take the whole Google + project seriously!

Google launched its much awaited +1 button on June 1^st. Ok. That is pretty old news. Observations are that online community has welcomed the change and adapted to it without any delay. Well, nobody wants to afford the nasty monster – The Google page ranking fall issue! Anyway, that’s something we need to keep a watch on and the results will be clear soon. For the rest of us, online marketing enthusiasts and web developer community with this latest release we have one more button for social sharing. Lot of buttons on a page do slow page downloading speed but benefits of social sharing overweigh the design issues anyway. So nevertheless we’ll have all of them which don’t really make an effort to do 3^rd Party API call during runtime!

Google’s attempts to become social have been evident with its Google Buzz feature but that did not click very well even when it chose ubiquitous Gmail as a platform! Even when Google is more than just a search engine and offers versatile online services its efforts to penetrate social networking were a failure. This proves no matter who calls social media ‘a hype’, social media wave did transform people’s online behavior. Or shall we say, it was social networking? Latest attempt from Google’s “this is pretty cool” or +1 button is much appealing. The beauty of this button lies in its simplicity just as Facebook’s “like” button and hence familiar to the social crowd.

What’s more to it? Now it has become easier for us to recommend the content to our contacts just as we do on the Facebook or twitter!

Who can see what we recommended by hitting this button?

• Our Contact list in Gmail / Google Talk
• People who follow us on Google Reader and Google Buzz
• The ‘My Contacts’ group in Google Contacts

Now that sounds credible, useful and has a more personal touch than other social media. In fact we use Google differently than we use Social media for. There is a sense of urgency when we search for something rather than just randomly finding something of our interest on social networking sites. Then definitely this touch of trust and reference from a minuscule social network of our own will make the search engine more useful. As pointed out in the beginning this is going to affect the Search engine rankings. But again, if the search experience becomes more relevant, then why not? Afterall only useful content is meant to rule the web!

Do login to your Google account and press the +1 button if you like our posts!