Google's New +1 Button

This was posted on 06/11/2011 and was filed in Social Media, Guides and Information | (2 Comments)

What Is It?

The +1 button is Google's attempt at not only diving into the social media realm when it comes to search engine results, but also it's attempt at making it's results more accurate and more tailored to it's users.

Why Use It?

The +1 button will take a page and add your +1 to it. This is public information that will be used to not only suggest the page to others, but to help useful websites gain rankings in Google's search algorithm. By clicking the +1 on various websites you will not only help out your fellow friends when they are looking for related information, but you will also help fine tune Google's search algorithm.

Use BOTH Google's +1 And Facebook's 'Like'

While we see the same concept between the two buttons, we also see a difference in the way they work and the impact they provide. Facebook's Like button will take your URL and toss it on your Facebook Wall - sharing it with your friends and allowing it to show up in search results if your wall is public. When you have a few thousand people 'Liking' your site, your URL is not only shared among those friends, but it is also tossing your URL onto various pages on Facebook that Google searches. This helps your site spread out to others and helps your site gain a small SEO jump.

Google's +1 has a similar effect but it ties directly into Google. Rather than showing your approval of the site to your friends, the button will raise your site in search engines. Have you found an article that is related to a search term you were looking for? +1 it - Google will take note and hopefully make that page appear more for that search term.

While the Facebook Like button is great for helping your site spread out to others, Google's +1 button adds a different way for your site to help spread. One disadvantage I will note is that not everybod has a Google account - Facebook's userbase is incredibly widespread, while Google's tends to be more geared towards our tech-savvy audience.

How Do I Use It?

To use the button, you simply copy and paste the code that google provides onto your site. That's it! You can not currently customize it to the extent that you can the Facebook Like button, but it looks like Google is keeping things simple for now. Choose your size and your language and copy + paste the code onto your site. The button will automatically attach itself to the URL of the page your visitors are on.

You can find out more information and get more customized embed codes for it at google's official page.

Did You Find This Post Useful?

Follow along with what I just talked to you about and +1 my article!

Have I Helped You? Share Some Love!

Comments

Comment On This