Google Plus One for Websites
Since its introduction last March, Google +1 has stirred up lots of conversations around the globe. Its impact in the world of search engines and organic and paid results is still somewhat unknown. Maybe you just heard about Plus One, but are not sure what you should do with it.
Let’s start the some common questions about Google +1
What is Google +1?
+1 is Google’s version of Facebook’s like button, applied to Search Engine Result Pages. It was conceived as an easy way for users to get and give suggestions or recommendations in the search results pages.
The +1 buttons appears next to your headline on search ads and organic results. Personalized annotation (derived from +1) appear beneath your Display URL.
In Google’s words a +1 tells your friends:
“This is something you should checkout”.
Who can see My +1’s?
By default your +1’s are “public to the world”, but that doesn’t mean everybody will see your +1’s. Only your Social Connections will see them –if Google consider they will benefit from it-, as explained by Google, your Social Connections include people in your Gmail Chat List, people in your Google Contacts, people You follow in Google Reader and Google Buzz, and occasionally you might see +1’s from people you don’t know.
In order for an user to see the +1 button, they must be signed-in on Google.com.
You can choose whether or not to display your +1’s in your Google Profile.
How can Google +1 Help My Website?
Just like the like button, +1 gives your content a peer recommendation and endorsement from your social media circle and the world in general.
How is +1 different from the like?
The main difference is +1 votes will show up on Google’s SERPS, plus you can +1 webpages (and Adwords Ads) directly from the SERPS, this can potentially influence clicks directly from search pages.
Will +1 affect my Organic Search Engine Rankings?
Yes. Google consider +1 a “Ranking Signal”. In Google’s own Words:
+1′s (whatever their source — organic search, ads, or +1 buttons on publisher sites) is a signal that affects organic search ranking (link)
How Can My Website Benefit from +1
We predict that adding the ability to +1 your pages can and will benefit your website’s traffic directly from Google’s SERPS and hopefully the conversion rate of your pages as well.
How does +1 affect my Adwords ads?
The premise is “anything that can make your ads standout –especially for free- will help your click thru rate”. If we add the power of endorsement from people in your network, +1 can potentially increase both your CTR –and your spending- and potentially the conversion rate for those visitors, as the trust factor can increase as well.
Currently, in order to have a fully integrated Google Plus One experience, I had to join the Experiment, otherwise none of my test search queries in Google triggered the +1 in the Adwords Ad section here are my results for the query: Google SEO
Zooming In to Matt Cutts website:
After I +1′d, it looks like this
Do I pay if someone +1 my Adwords ad?
No, you will only pay when someone actively click on your ads.
Can I add +1 to My Website?
As of today, June 1st, Google enabled the Google Plus One for websites.
Read this for an easy way to add +1 to your website, or if you are an experienced developer who wants to customize plus one.
For the standard +1 button, copy and paste this code
<!– Place this tag in your head or just before your close body tag –>
<script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js”></script>
<!– Place this tag where you want the +1 button to render –>
<g:plusone></g:plusone>
After finding out about Google’s New Ranking Signal:
Are you planing to implement plusone in your website? If so, When are you planning on implementing it? What do you think about Google Plus One?
We think Google +1 can potentially affect ranking, traffic and conversion in the mid to long term, and we would love to hear your thoughts.
1 comment
IT Consulting
Jun 25, 2011
Like anything else it can be abused and I think that is the biggest controversy to date. Google will surely do their best to weed out the suspected abuse, but I still worry about how much weight is given to these recommendations versus strong analytics.