As the world falls deeper and deeper into the arms of the Social Network phenomenon, Google was not going to let it go unnoticed. With the launch of Google +1 in June and the subsequent launch of Google+ a month later, what has this meant for the world of SEO and can it actually aid ranking results?
The buzz of Google +1’s on the twittersphere has always been positive with the majority of expert search gurus giving it the ‘thumbs up’… or the ‘+1’ as the case may be. The notion that people will all be +1’ing their most favoured URL or relevant and useful URL’s they may have come across is still under debate. It is supposed that this may become “old hat” after the initial buzz and the likelihood of users continuing to actively +1 URLs will dwindle. Whether this is what actually happens, the jury is still out; it ultimately is all in the aid of search results (Source: Read Write Web blog.)
Timothy Jordan, a Development Advocate at Google was quoted in a recent Search Engine Watch blog post to be reinforcing the use of the +1 button by mentioning the callback mechanism. This is where a user may click the +1 button on a specific product they may find on a site which essentially bookmarks it so it is easily found when they return later.
Timothy goes on to mention how webmasters can be utilising this click instantly via the +1 data callback mechanism whereby similar product recommendations can be made on page immediately after the click. In light of webmasters actively jumping on board in terms of utilising the mechanism in this way, it is highly likely that it will aid search massively.
The need and want for internet users to find the most relevant website for their search is obviously paramount. Surely it should be a logical step that users will embrace the +1 process in favour of optimising their future searches, furthermore, optimising Google to be their most trusted source of providing quality search results every time.
Here at Adido, we have a sneaking suspicion that sooner or later, +1 may actually begin to assist rankings and do what it was designed for. Again, it may be too early to truly make an educated assumption, but with the spotlight always on Google and their 80-90 per cent market share, we would all like to think that they know what they’re doing… right?.. RIGHT?
Becki Woods
Becki Woods is a Digital Media Junior Account Manager at Adido and has been with the agency since 2010. Her passions include managing strategies for her growing number of clients, copywriting across many digital platforms and researching new industry trends. She's also partial to the odd bit of singing...
