The Facebook “Like” button has a new friend. Or rather, a new “competitor”.
After a series of unsuccessful attempts to incorporate social into search – such as Orkut, Buzz, Wave – Google is launching what observers believe can serve as a rival product to Facebook’s “Like” button. It’s called the Google “+1” Button.
Greater personalization of the Web, plus more silly verbs
In an announcement made last week on the official Google blog, the search engine giant is rolling out the new +1 button as a way for users to share their recommendations to others, as well as to give a “public stamp of approval” on search results and linked sites that they like. This then enables other Google users to find more relevant – and more social – search results.
“Sometimes it’s easier to find exactly what you’re looking for when someone you know already found it,” reads the explanation on the Google +1 Button page. “Get recommendations for the things that interest you, right when you want them, in your search results…. (So) the next time you’re trying to remember that bed and breakfast your buddy was raving about, or find a great charity to support, a +1 could help you out.”
Okay, so Google is pushing for greater personalization of sites across the Web – as well as the usage of another silly verb (“Hey, I just +1’d the new Derrick Rose for MVP website.”) But what else does this new button mean to individual Google users, SEO professionals, Internet marketers, social media marketing people, and online advertisers?
What Google +1 Button Does When You Search
When you’re signed in to your Google account, you will now be seeing a +1 Button next to every search result, ad, or linked site. If you like any of those results, ads, or sites, you can show and share it to your friends and Google contacts by clicking the +1 Button. It’s a new way of measuring relevance, popularity, and interesting-ness: the more +1’s a website, link, or ad has, then the more likely it is that users will click through.
What Google +1 Button Does to PPC and Online Advertising
Google is making the +1 button available for AdWords (the company’s online advertising platform). When you “+1” an ad (Silly Verb Alert), Google is thus able to learn more about you and gather information (including your “+1-d” search results) that will enable them to better target their ads. Oh, and a note to online advertisers and Google AdWords managers: a “+1” does not count as a paid click.
What Google +1 Button Does to Your Public Profile
All the links, websites, and ads that you +1 show up in your public Google profile, and are stored in a new tab right next to that of other Google products you use. Additionally, your profile and name are instantly associated with that linked “in search, on ads, and across the web”.
What Google +1 Button Does to the Rest of the Web
Have you noticed how the Facebook “Like” button is found on some of your favorite sites and blogs? Expect that to happen soon with Google +1. The company says that it plans to make the +1 button available to Web publishers soon. Which should deal yet another blow to online content farms, the content of which is not likely to be +1’d and shared.