Google + is hoping to be the next big social thing. Whether it will succeed or not is up for debate (and unsurprisingly has been debated all over the world). I found Tom Anderson’s prediction that both social networks will survive and keep different niche purposes interesting (although maybe I am biased because the MySpace founder was my first “online friend”). Does Google + have SEO potential? In a word, yes! Google has been giving increasing amounts of importance to social elements for years already. Below are just a few of the ways how Google + may effect search:
- Google + posts and comments have already begun showing up in SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Now that Google is losing Twitter as part of their real-time results, Google+ posts are poised to replace “Shared by”, and Google is in the process of developing an algorithm to rank importance of Google+ posts by content, comments, shares and friends.
- Sparks are set up as a way to talk with Google + circles with similar interests. As Google + grows, getting content into Sparks will be increasingly important.
- The Google Plus One button is intrinsically linked to Google +, and studies on the button usage have already indicated an effect on SERPs ranking and CTR (click through rate).
It is too early to tell whether Google + will truly revolutionize the Search Engine Optimization industry, but at Emboodo we have already begun incorporating Google + SEO strategies into our clients campaigns and continue to work on innovative solutions to make the most out of this new social platform.
