Despite all the weird and wonderful things announced at this year’s Google I/O conference, one of the ideas that’s getting the most buzz this summer is the Google +1 button. What some are calling an answer to Facebook’s ever popular “like” button, the plus one button serves a similar purpose, however holding the Google name gives it the edge, not to mention that it’s far more than a recommend button, and has the power to enhance searches and boost search engine ratings.
How does it work?
When you are logged in to your Google account, enter a search and when the results show up, each one will have a +1 button to the right. If you like that result and the site is useful, just hit +1. It will color fill the button blue and remain that way so that you can always see that you have +1’d it. This plus one will be visible to friends, family and anyone else on your contacts list or in your network. If anyone in your network searches for the same thing your +1’s on that topic will be enhanced in the search, making it easy for you and your friends to see what you both like. As well as sharing them with others, Google saves a list of all your +1s into your profile so you can easily access them at any time. You can also see how many people outside of your network have +1’d something, similar to the “like” button.
Here’s a short intro to the +1 button from Google
As well as search results you can also +1 for Adwords. Any advertisements you see on Google that you like you can plus one them for others to see. And within the last month Google released the +1 button for websites. Now your favorite websites and blogs will have a +1 button right next to all the other share buttons. (Don’t forget to +1 this post at the bottom!)
What this means for businesses and bloggers?
+1 is now a necessity! Just as before with the different share buttons like Twitter and Facebook, this is another chance for you to get your content known and approved. More importantly, the plus one button is going to be an integral part of your websites SEO, the more people that +1 your blog or your website, the better your search ranking will be on Google.
