By now, we’ve all been heavily exposed to the nearly universal “Like” function tied into the core of Facebook’s interaction system. The easily recognizable “thumbs up” logo can be found and placed nearly anywhere on the internet so that Facebookers can share their favorite web destinations with friends. But have you ever thought about sharing your favorite search results?
After the overwhelming failure of Google Buzz, the search engine giant has not yet given up on trying to get their foot in the door of the social media realm. Google recently announced that they will be introducing a new feature within their searches called the “+1” button. What exactly does “+1” mean? This button will now be appearing next to AdWords postings and organic search results so that users may recommend what results they find most relevant. By logging in using your Google account, you will be able to see what other friends have recommended and begin to broadcast your recommendations as well. What does this mean for Google searches? That appears to be the million-dollar question.
While Google has not referenced Facebook at all in it’s statements regarding this new service, the maneuver is an obvious effort to get a piece of the ever-growing social media pie that Zuckerberg’s social giant so tightly controls. After failing at their first attempt at social integration, all eyes are back on Google to see how their second attempt fairs in competition to the almighty “Like” button. In terms of the ever-growing importance of search engine optimization, this change may also be groundbreaking for the SEO practitioners. By making search results more recommendation-driven, standard practices of site relevance constructed based on Google’s algorithm may now have quite a different factor to take into consideration.
With this new way of “social searching” on the advent of its debut, there is no doubt that marketers and consumers alike will be eagerly awaiting the initial reception of the “+1” era. For the time being, Google will have to hope that the idea brings in a few “Likes” of its own.
To learn more about the “+1” button, check out Google’s informational page