Your thoughts on the Google +1 Button ?

[greenowl123]

Hey fellow Warriors,

I am just curious about other marketers opinions on the Google + 1 button.

How many of you are now using it on your blogs ?

Do you think it will significantly improve SEO for your blogs and get you better position in the SERPs ?

I think it will help SERP position, but probably only slightly. Since Google themselves admitted it will help SEO, when they rarely reveal anything about their algorithm, I kind of doubt it will make a huge difference. I think it is more for their benefit, than for ours.

I always include a Google link on all my blogs anyway, as well as a YouTube link (which Google owns) to appease them and help me get some recognition from Google. So I doubt that installing their new button will give me much additional benefit.

I also was reading where somebody said that it might leave an unwanted footprint and make it easier for Google to slap you, without good reason, which they have been known to do.

Interested in opinions on this.

Thanks !

[Julie M]

I've been wondering the same thing! Would love to hear some opinions on this. I was planning to add it to all my blogs, but I've been hesitating for those same reasons - it's more than likely that this is more beneficial for Google than us, but is the benefit to us big enough to make it worth doing?

[Jeff Hampton]

I just did a search for an extremely high volume term. On the first page of results, the number 9 and 10 spots were pages that had been +1'd by people in "my network," in this case meaning people I had exchanged email with on gmail.

I then checked the rankings of these 2 sites for the same term using Rank Checker. Neither site is in the top 500.

And keep in mind that this aspect of "social search" is completely separate from the effect that +1 will eventually have for the SERP's for everyone, not just those logged in.

And then there's the effect on advertising.

Seems like a pretty big deal to me.

Jeff

[Troy Broussard]

I think only time will tell... at first Google is going to have to be cautious as to how they implement it because it will be pretty easy to game this system +1'ing the heck out of stuff - I'm sure services will start popping up offering that very soon...

[gearmonkey]

I see it as a way for google to promote gmail. You can't vote if you don't have a gmail account.

I do believe the wave of the future is "social search", and Google knows that Facebook have figured it out. I don't expect to see improved results from +1 right now.

I have implemented it on one of my blogs.

[bhuff85]

I haven't paid much attention to it, honestly. If this is the future, I don't really see how useful it will be.

What if most of the people in my "network" all have completely different tastes and preferences than me? If all I see is what they hit the +1 button on, I can say that will ruin the user experience.

Now, if this becomes something that is separate or an option (i.e. "social search"), then it may not be as bad of a deal.

[dburk]

Hi greenowl123,

I think the change will be so subtle that we will barely notice the difference.

[Matthew Loop]

Google doesn't have a great track record with doing "social." Wave and Buzz were both flops.

+1 is different from the Facebook "like" and I don't think it will gain nearly as much traction. It will be interesting to see over the next couple months...