Social Signals Are Here to Stay: Google+1 and its Influence on SEO

Search Engine Marketing Home / Blog article: Social Signals Are Here to Stay: Google+1 and its Influence on SEO

Social Signals Are Here to Stay: Google+1 and its Influence on SEO

Oct

By Alison Starrett | Account Specialist

Since the release of Google+ I’ve been inundated with differing opinions on Google+ and whether or not Google’s attempt at social will become a success. Many bloggers like to point out the failure of Google Buzz and how this second attempt has the potential to never get past the early adoption phase. However, as digital marketers we cannot ignore the affects that Google+ and the Google +1 button could potentially have on our client’s SEO campaigns. After all, SEOmoz’s 2011 Search Engine Ranking Factors study points out “social signals are going to play an important role in search algorithms.”

I know that my clients have been asking a lot of questions in regards to Google+ and how to best utilize the +1 button on their site. Here are some helpful answers to some of those frequently ask Google+ and Google +1 questions:

What is the difference between Google+ and Google +1?
Google+ is the actual social network and the +1 button is the physical button that lives within Google search results and/or on your client’s web pages; which enables users to endorse a company or webpage by clicking on the button. The +1 button is the equivalent of Facebook’s Like button.

Should we create a Google+ Business Profile?
Unfortunately, Google+ currently supports profiles only for people. No worries though, Google+ Business Profiles are the next big iteration of Google+, as many brands are looking to establish a presence on Google+. Be sure to keep an eye out for the announcement. In the meantime, Google recommends that if you want your business to have a presence in Google+ that you nominate a person who will share information using their own profile.

How will the +1 button influence search results?
The jury is still out on how heavily Google is weighting +1s in their algorithm. However, Google officially states that +1s are just “one of many signals Google may use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking, and we’re constantly tweaking and improving our algorithm to improve overall search quality.” At this point Google is still trying to aggregate a significant user base on which they can start to dig in from a statistical point of view. Although, Hitwise reported that Google+ grew 1,269% since open access, which indicates that the Google+ audience is definitely growing rapidly!

Where should I implement the +1 button on our website?
The obvious answer is to add the +1 button your client’s homepage which tells searchers that users are Google plus one icon endorsing the entire website and therefore the brand. Additionally, your clients should decide where else on the site it make sense for the +1 button to live. For example, brands that have webpages specifically built out for their stores or offices should consider adding the +1 button to those pages in order to gauge interest in specific locations.

How can I measure the success of Google +1?
Always make sure that you have taken the time to gather baselines for visibility and traffic before your client implements the +1 button. This will ensure you can properly illustrate successes or growth opportunities. Also, make sure you are utilizing the +1 Metrics in Google Webmaster Tools to evaluate how +1 affects your search traffic. Available metrics include:

Search impact: See the pages on your site that received the most impressions with a +1 annotation, and see how +1 annotations impact click through rate (CTR).
Activity: See the total number of +1 received by pages on your site.
Audience: See aggregated information about people who have +1 your pages, including the total number of unique users, their location, and their age and gender.

Staying ahead of the curve is definitely an important part of running a successful SEO campaign, so make sure that you are having conversations with your clients about Google+ and the +1 button and how it could influence search engine results. Again, social sentiment is here to stay and being proactive is the only way to navigate the rapid changes major search engines make to their algorithms.

We are still waiting to see how drastically Google+ and Google +1 will affect SEO campaigns on the whole. But for now, be patient and keep focused on those basic SEO factors that still play a large role in the overall performance of your SEO campaigns and encourage your clients to have a feasible strategy in place for Google+ and Google +1.

Posted in Featured, Social Media