Its been an exciting few weeks if you are a follower, or auser of Google. Its launched both its Plus One (Google +1) button which allowsregistered users to both share and recommend websites, along with Google Plus (Google+) which is its brand new social networking offering. Of course this is anatural development in the path of Google as it both reacts to competitors andtries to offer users exactly what they want.
So what is Google +1then?
The idea of Google + is to help you and friends rememberwhich sites, places or products you may previously have visited. You know thescenario – you previously found a hotel and can’t remember which website yousaw it on, well the +1 sign gives a strong signal as to which one it is (itsbasically a bookmark). The same goes for other people you may know though –again it may be that friends told you about a hotel they previously stayed in,well if they’ve +1’d it then you’ll see that in the Google search results.
Of course that is the theory, in practice it does mean thatyou need to be logged into your Google account to both see and post thesemarkers – we’ll have to see what kind of update that gets. The nice thing isthat you can keep your +1’s personal or public depending upon your approach toprivacy and sharing on the internet.
And Google+ Is that any different?
In a word yes. It’s actually an amalgamation of several differentGoogle services including the aforementioned Google +1. Its aim is to be thenext big thing in social networking. It features several new buzzwordsincluding Circles – these being the way you structure your relationships. Thisbuilds on the concept that actually you maintain different relationships withpeople in different areas of your life e.g. family, work, friends etc and it isintended to allow you to structure the way you communicate with themaccordingly.
It also features Hangouts, which give the power to build anonline area where groups (of any sort) can be organised and communicate online.Oh, and the official word from Google itself is that if you are a business or abrand you should wait a little while longer before applying for a Google+ forbusiness account. So don’t go building your company hangout just yet.
Huddles emulate phone texting (txting) but allowconversations between multiple persons, rather than just two like a phone textconversation. Sparks suggests interesting things based upon a search youperform. Instant Upload is the onlinephoto sharing platform. There are also some signs of a skype like phoneservice, perhaps based upon the previous Google Chat.
At the moment Google+ is still officially in test modealthough uptake has been exceptional this far. No doubt new services will beintroduced in the coming weeks prior to a full public launch. Google have alsoapplied to launch this in the Apple App store – something they previously haveeither not managed to get permission for, or have applied for – a sign ofintention with this product no doubt.
What about SEO though?
Well for some time the search engine algorithums have beentaking into account activity levels across a range of platforms includingsocial media sites. So in the case of Google+ this is unlikely to be nodifferent and any SEO strategy needs to reflect this. Of course it is likely that Google will place more emphasis on activityon this site than any of the other search engines will. So at this stage itwould be very sensible to be planning some activity for your business onGoogle+ (note the guidance of constructing a business page above) and encouraging friends and family to start +1ing your website.
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