Google Rolls Out the +1 Button - parallels the Facebook "Like"

[RonPK]

[googleblog.blogspot.com...]

We’ll be slowly rolling out +1’s, starting in English on Google.com. [..] Initially, +1’s will appear alongside search results and ads, but in the weeks ahead they’ll appear in many more places (including other Google products and sites across the web).

To me it seems unpractical to first visit a site and then go back to the SERP to +1 it. So I guess there will soon be buttons for publishers too.

[Swanny007]

The average person will be like "+1" doesn't mean anything. The Like button doesn't require thinking. "Like" = obvious. "+1" = not intuitive.

I guess Google's motto is now "If you can't buy them out, copy them" LOL

[tedster]

My understanding is also that there will be a future extension of the +1 button to allow websites to embed it, but for now it is rolling out in the SERPs: in both organic and Adwords areas.

There's been a lot of discussion about the kind of data Facebook is collecting. Since the +1 buttons communicate within your Google "network", looks like Google is after the same goldmine. The one thing that bothers me is this - how often would I click on a result, find it good and then CLICK BACK to the SERPs to cast my vote. Seems like something a site owner might do, but a regular user?

[ken_b]

So I guess there will soon be buttons for publishers too.

Yeah, from the Inside AdSense blog...

But the +1 button isn’t just for search results. We’re working on a +1 button that you can put on your pages too, making it easy for people to recommend your content on Google search without leaving your site.

[vandread]

More interesting than that:

"We’ll also start to look at +1’s as one of the many signals we use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking, including social signals from other services. For +1's, as with any new ranking signal, we'll be starting carefully and learning how those signals affect search quality over time"

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Out with quality, in with popularity. May the site with the biggest social circle win.

Since many sites rely on Google traffic it stands to reason that the sites getting the most traffic now will also get the most +1's, rendering them fairly useless as a measuring stick of quality.

[edited by: Sgt_Kickaxe at 7:23 pm (utc) on Mar 30, 2011]

[jecasc]

Oh my god this is so awesome I am going to plusone you all over the place. Or oneplus you. Or plus you. Or one you?

[RonPK]

There will be a +1 button next to AdWords ads too. I can only imagine what advertisers will think about that...

thans @ moderator for improving the topic title

[netmeg]

Unh hunh. This won't be gamed. No way.

BTW, how quickly can I get an offshore server set up? No reason.

[mslina2002]

Time to have some iPad2 giveaway contests.

Whoever plusone me the most, wins an iPad2.

Do It.

Now.

[Swanny007]

Whatever happened to having a quality site being all you needed? Sheesh, with the amount of plugins and buttons I need to make my site "popular", it's going to slow down the loading of my site. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I'd rather have a fast, good quality site than one full of buttons and widgets on sharing my site. Boo.

[crobb305]

Whatever happened to having a quality site being all you needed? Sheesh, with the amount of plugins and buttons I need to make my site "popular", it's going to slow down the loading of my site.

so now we have +1 and "Block". Yeah, I am not going to sign in to Google to use a plugin. I haven't even tested the "Block" feature because it seems like a hassle. I clicked it once to see what it did, and it took me to a login page. Imagine all the people out there who don't even have a Google account. I doubt they will take the time to create one just to "block" a site. People are scanners and clickers. They just want what they searched for.

[jecasc]

Oh my god I accidently just totally plusoned my favorite #*$!x site. Now the whole world can see that I like #*$! and #*$!. And #*$! doing #*$! with a #*$!. How can I unplusone.

[netmeg]

I wonder if I put up a site with nothing but social media buttons, how many likes and +1's I could get. Probably a lot. People will like anything. There's an eHow article on how to pour water into a cup that got 86 'likes' and 35 tweets.

[Staffa]

We’ll also start to look at +1’s as one of the many signals we use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking

moral blackmail, to force gullible web site owners to place their buttons on their pages to increase G's data collection or else ....

For when the first "will my pages rank better if I add a +1 button ?"

[aristotle]

So if I don't put these buttons on my sites, (and I won't), will their Google rankings be hurt?

[MamaDawg]

From the Adwords blog:

the way we calculate Quality Score isn’t changing (though +1s will be one of many signals we use to calculate organic search ranking).

[adwords.blogspot.com...]

Let the games begin (sigh) ...

[vandread]

Oh, if you want to check out +1 right now you can join it on labs [google.com...]

[TheMadScientist]

My understanding is also that there will be a future extension of the +1 button to allow websites to embed it, but for now it is rolling out in the SERPs: in both organic and Adwords areas.

Hopefully, unlike embedding Buzz, they'll lighten their TOS stance about having to use the image they provide the same way Twitter and FaceBook do ... There are sites I would have installed the code to allow people to share on Buzz, except it's against their TOS to use a button that matches the site rather than theirs.

I actually almost didn't use FB on one of them either, until I really dug into their TOS and button image use and there was an 'unofficially, official' comment saying as long as you didn't present FB in a 'bad way' you could use your own button and code.

Anyway, I think this thing will probably see more use if they get over the 'we can use, change, edit, modify, your site's title, description, images, etc. anyway we feel like, but if you want to use something of ours, it has to be exactly the way we want it...' double standard BS they currently adhere to.

[netmeg]

I'm more concerned about it on the AdWords side than I am on the organic side.

[Winooski]

He who can create GMail accounts automatically will be able to game "+1". My only question is, for SEO, the degree to which this will be a relevancy/ranking factor. I'm hoping the answer will be, "Only a teeny tiny little bit".

[StoutFiles]

Oh great, it's getting to the point where if you don't install a bunch of crappy widgets all over your site, you get ignored in the serps. Wonderful.

I'd rather have my sites fade into oblivion then play these stupid games.

[johnblack]

Have they not tried stuff like this before with a star next to the SERP result title and also up and down arrows so you promote/demote sites on the SERPS page?

Guess they just want to be like (or at least look like) FB.

Wonder if they'll be able to spot Paid Plus Ones ;-)

[StoutFiles]

I wonder when Webmaster World will add their +1 to this site? Yeah, I can see the stupid Tweet and Like buttons down there.

[chrisv1963]

Where can I buy +1s?
If you can't build a decent algo, let the users do the job. This is the real message ...

[TheMadScientist]

Yeah, StoutFiles, I was actually mildly relieved when I found out I couldn't change Google's lame-a** Buzz button image, because I didn't really want to install it, but if I could have made it match the rest I would have, so maybe I should be thanking them for their double standards?

[olias]

So essentially another attempt to try to turn GMail accounts into a social network by simply copying the like button concept. The scary bit is of course that they are aiming to bribe webmasters to promote their network by sticking the buttons on their own sites eventually. Hmmm, thanks but no thanks.

Also I noticed this bit

It’s called +1—the digital shorthand for “this is pretty cool.”

Is it just me that uses +1 to mean "me too"? If someone already said they, er, 'liked' a site then I might add my +1 but it is meaningless on its own. I'd love to have seen the brainstorming sessions on this one!

[celgins]

We’ll also start to look at +1’s as one of the many signals we use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking, including social signals from other services. For +1's, as with any new ranking signal, we'll be starting carefully and learning how those signals affect search quality over time.

Yeah--a new way for folks to try a rank boost.

[weeks]

BTW, how quickly can I get an offshore server set up? No reason.

Beautiful.

[crobb305]

BTW, how quickly can I get an offshore server set up? No reason.

haha. Love it. +1. Or I mean, LIKE. Well, you know what I mean.