Introducing Google + 1

Google has recently launched its new + 1 feature. The Google +1 button has a lot of similarities with the Facebook like button. This one-click button allows users to recommend sites and share their recommendations with their friends. Google +1 impacts SEO since Google +1 is considered a ‘vote’ by Google that a certain page is important. Website owners can add the +1 button to their home page or website posts by going to Google’s Webmaster Site.

As displayed in the picture below, the +1 button appears next to search results when you are logged into a Google account.

When you make a search while logged into Google, any results that you’ve +1′d or which have been +1′d by those in your network will be enhanced.

In the picture above, besides Josh Teeter and Tiffany Jones, 16 other people in the searcher’s network have +1d this search result. If a search result gains a lot of +1s but not from people in the searcher’s network, the searcher will still be told the total without anyone being named. This allows people to get a feel for how popular the search result generally is with +1 users.

You can also +1 ads from Google that show up in search results. Just click on the +1 buttons that will be next to them as shown below.

Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s Webspam team, stated the following about the plus one feature: “The primary benefit is that search gets better. It gets better in the user interface immediately, and we’ll look at it as a potential signal to improve search quality as well. I find social search extremely useful, especially with the recent updates. This change continues the evolution of social search, and it’s a natural progression to improve the search experience.”

It will be interesting to see over the next few months whether or not the +1 button takes off like those at Google expect it to.