The Google “like button” +1
31/3/2011
In another initiative from Google to cover all the bases when it comes to providing relevant content for its users is the newly introduced “+1” feature. I am sure everyone is very familiar with the “like” function on Facebook. The Google + 1 feature operates in a similar fashion and allows users to rate the link they are viewing with a single mouse click.
Just like with Facebook the information can be shared to friends who are part of your Google network. This includes you Gmail contacts, your Google Buzz contacts and more. Third party social networks like Twitter and Facebook itself are not currently included in this, although is working to fast track their addition in a future update.
Google + 1 will function as a sort of instant review, with users able to ascertain the popularity of a link before they even click on it.
To enable the Google + 1 feature you will need to create a Google profile. From there you can choose whether or not you want to display Google +1 with your search results.
I will be very interested to see how Google manages this feature in the future, particularly in relation to the seemingly obvious potential for unethical manipulation or exploitation.
Click2it will be monitoring how Google + 1 affects search engine results, and making changes as appropriate to their SEO offerings.
For more information head to the official Google Blog or this informative article on Search Engine Land
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