How Google+ Will Effect SEO?

The Internet is buzzing with headlines and reactions about Google's new social network, Google+. Recently launched this summer, Google+ is set to become Facebook's greatest rival yet. Considering that the new social media platform is another product that Google has under its belt, Google+ may just be more than a Facebook contender. If it really uses the power already wielded by Google, G+ may have a tremendous impact on search engine rankings.

Signs That Indicate Influence on Search Rankings

Even before G+ was rolled out, Facebook and Twitter were already integrated into the search engine results pages (SERPs). In fact, before Google and Twitter's real-time tweet stream deal expired just a few weeks ago, the number of times a link is retweeted would directly affect how that link is indexed in the search results.

Now that Google+ is here, users can engage in online social activities within Google itself, although the chances of G+ beating out Facebook and Twitter look pretty slim as of now since the new Google product is still very new.

With that said, it's hard not to expect that Google+ will influence a page's organic rankings, especially when Google pulled the plug on its real-time Twitter stream feature.

The +1 Button

Speculations about Google+'s search engine relevance have sprouted, but you may not speculate anymore once you've understood Google's equally promising new tool, the +1 button.

Google actually dropped an official announcement on YouTube regarding the use of the +1 button. According to the video, every time the +1 button in the SERPs is clicked, users are telling Google that that particular search result is more relevant to the keyword they're searching for. The video also says that Google considers "+1'd" results in indexing pages.

So, the personalized annotations can help certain sites rank higher since users will be given search matches that are more pertinent to their keywords.

However, that's when you use the +1 button on the search results. What about Google+'s +1 button?
Google+'s +1 button is a clone of Facebook's "Like" button. You can click on +1 to confirm that you like a post in the way you can click on the "Like" button if you like something on Facebook.

Google+ may have copied many of Facebook's best features, but what makes this new social network interesting is that you can view search engine results, not just G+ posts, your friends have +1'd by clicking on their Google profile's +1's tab.

There's only one setback. Unlike Facebook, Google+ doesn't post your +1's on the homepage feed. To see your friends' +1's, you have to go to their individual Google profiles, hope they've enabled the +1's tab, and repeat this entire process for the rest of your friends.

Social Interaction and Content Quality

If you've been keeping a sharp eye on Google's latest updates and algorithm changes, you've probably noticed that the search company has been emphasizing high-quality content that users will find useful and relevant. When you throw the +1 button into the mix, creating valuable content becomes even more essential. While we still don't see our friends +1's in the Google+ homepage feed, this is very likely to happen eventually.

Google's motives have always been tricky. Even so, every Internet marketer and webmaster should consider taking advantage of Google+ as evidence of social interaction being integrated into the search rankings is becoming clearer, even if it's too early to say that Google+ will have a huge role in your search engine positioning.