You'll notice a Google +1 button at the very top of this page, and at the top of each of my blog posts here at ClickNewz now.
It's very easy to add the +1 button to any web page or blog. Simply copy and paste the code here: +1 your website
Just a few days ago, I confessed on Facebook that I haven't even so much as looked at the new Google Plus.
That update got 20 likes and almost 50 comments, so I'm obviously not alone. 😉 I thought we would take a look at both of these new Google products (or projects?) real quick, and then I'd love to hear your thoughts on them...
First, if you haven't already, I highly recommend you give this article a quick read:
Top 6 Things Marketers Need to Know About Google Plus
It will give you a quick overview of how to use Google Plus as a social network, and talks a bit about using Google Plus as a business. Including stats like:
Google Plus has become one of the top 10 referrers of traffic to TechCrunch, a top technology blog, in a matter of days.
Impressive!
The big talk is that Google Plus is a means of "taking on Facebook". See this article & video from ABC News, for example: Google Takes On Facebook With Google Plus. Of course, it's been the buzz on Facebook this last week as well as people began checking out Google+.
"Despite Google's previous failures with products Buzz and Wave, this newest push is being hailed as the first serious competition to Facebook that draws more than 500 million users.
Charlene Li, founder of Altimeter Group, a social-media advisory firm, says Google+'s goal is not to replace Facebook." source
Thinking about it over the weekend, it put me in mind of MySpace - and how hot they were in their time. It made me ponder what might change at Facebook in the future, or what might come along to woo people off in another direction. The web is constantly evolving, and change is one of our only constants. It will certainly be as interesting to watch things progress over this next decade, as it was over the last.
Gmail is also getting a makeover with the roll out of Google Plus, and you can read more about that here: Gmail Gets a Google+ Makeover. I haven't checked it out yet myself, but would love to hear your thoughts if you have already.
Google +1 and SEO
Google has made it very clear that the +1 option will improve your search engine rankings in the Google search results, and that it may also improve your click through rate from the search results pages.
For more on that, read the FAQ section at the bottom of this page.
So even though I haven't checked out the Google Plus network yet, I did add a +1 button to my blog posts here at ClickNewz. 😉 And I'll be adding it to other websites and web pages as well. It only makes sense to do that (and do it now!) given the potential ROI of that few minutes spent to copy & paste a bit of code.
As for Google Plus, I simply haven't had time to dig into it. I do have an invitation, and I'll at least get signed up sometime this week. But I've been so focused on other projects, and priority tasks, that I haven't wanted to spend the time setting it up and getting familiar with the interface.
What about you? Are you using Google Plus?
If so, I'd love to hear your early verdict & personal experience with it!
Update:
I have now joined Google+, set up a Profile and claimed Authorship for this blog. This is important now that Google is starting to show profile images next to Google search results. 😉 More posts & tutorials you may enjoy on this topic:
Best,
About Lynn Terry
After I finally got an invite to G+ over the weekend, I took some time to dig in and check it out. While still in beta, I can see some potential. Been testing a few things, creating and adding to circles and even did a test 'huddle' on Saturday evening. Seems to be a bit of a mash-up between Twitter and LinkedIn really. If they start with the games, etc..., then could be a bit like Facebook too.
We'll see how it takes off - so far, seems to be taking off quickly.
Only just!
Managed to wrangle an invite recently (if anyone needs one I have some more to give out).
Like you I need to start playing with it for a while and familiarize myself with it.
That's the great thing about working in the online arena, there's never a dull day!
I'd love to start playing around with it but have not managed to find an invite yet - if you have a spare one, I'd love to get hold of one ?
Cheers
Andrew
Sure thing Andrew - DM your email address on Twitter and I will send one over!
Hi Rick,
I would love to have an invite please if you still have a spare.Thanks.Claudia
google+ invite would be appreciated
"Google Plus has become one of the top 10 referrers of traffic to TechCrunch, a top technology blog, in a matter of days"
That is amazing. Even more amazing, David says that since the launch of G+ last Tuesday the number of referrers from G+ is second only to Digg:
techcrunch.com/2011/07/05/google-plus-sharing/
I notice that since his fast testing of the product from June 30th to July 7th, Ed Dale hasn't added to his G+ stream. It remains to see whether or not it gets added to the Challenge 2011 training, which will be starting on August 1st this year.
I'm keeping posting in G+, mostly about learning the ropes and other stuff about G+ itself, because I think that only someone who digs about in it is going to learn what its potential might be in terms of marketing (in addition to communicating with colleagues and friends). Of course Ed has people to do that for him 😉
One great aspect of it, which I think may be getting overlooked by some IMers at the moment, is that if you post to Public, you are posting to everyone who has put you into one of their Circles. This is like posting to a Facebook Page - without any of the hassle of setting up a Facebook page! Of course, it doesn't have the bells & whistles that you can create for a FB page either, but it's still a great facility.
Perfect timing - Thank you! I'm just about to add it so I'll read your links then start the process. Thank you.
Well I shoulda posted my Google+ handle in my comment above; it's http://gplus.to/Isha
Thanks, added you. : )
Thanks, Lynn. I'll start testing that 1+ button on my sites. It looks like that's going to be standard practice from now on (even though I don't even see it without manually enabling NoScript to show javascript for the page). I think I'm going to wait until G+ is past the beta period to try it out, though, letting the rest of you iron out the quirks for me (Recall the issues with Google Buzz last year).
I did catch an interesting demo of it on Leo Laporte's This Week in Google podcast and I found it very impressive. The ability to set up easy video web conferences alone should have lots of interesting IM uses.
A friend has invited me to Google+, so your information here is very timely and helpful. I can see where it could have great application for my business.
As with Facebook, I am mindful of privacy and sharing of information. Has anyone else read through the +1 privacy policy? See any issues/concerns?
Thanks for the information and keeping us on top of the latest trends, Lynn!
I have the +1 on my site. I haven't gotten much activity from it yet, but Google Webmaster Tools shows that I have gotten a little.
Google is huge and I'm all about using their tools. I added the +1 button to my site the day after it went live. I also went on the waiting list for the Google + Network.
I know people say Facebook is huge and growing, but it's inconceivable to me that Facebook will replace Google search. More and more people use Gmail and YouTube which keeps people logged into their Google accounts. I think the +1 project will be a huge hit.
Then there's Google Places which is a HUGE hit for local businesses and consumers. This too will only grow in importance. Google may be a bit late to the social networking game, but their huge number of users will make jumping into social networking a piece of cake.
Also, webmasters will play along immediately because let's face it, Google search probably comprises most websites' biggest source of traffic.
I forgot to mention that I'm also receiving traffic from Google Plus, so it works.
So far I love Google+! People talk about it competing with facebook, but for me it is replacing twitter simply because of the open following, circles, post capabilities, etc. Facebook still has a solid purpose for me...twitter on the other hand is losing its purpose.
This all circles (no pun intended) back to having a unique value proposition. If twitter's UVP is the open-following then they're going to get lost in Google+'s shadow in the not-too-distant future.
Oh, and if anyone wants to circle me (or whatever you call it) my Google+ profile is: http://gplus.to/eubanks
Thanks, added you to my circle or circled you or whatever. : )
Hmm, I'm guessing I might have to try out the google +1 button sometime too.
Even though I'm sure techcrunch's numbers are skewed a little bit since they are a technology website.
It's interesting to discover that google plus has already become a top 10 referrer.
And I must say that gmail's redesign looks pretty awesome. Now that's a mail service that I can look forward to logging in and checking my mail!
I added the +1 button to my sites, I signed into G+ and set up my profile and "circles" and that's about all I've done. It's not too exciting there yet and I don't have the patience to learn how to use another thing right now, and I totally don't "get it" yet.
"and I don’t have the patience to learn how to use another thing right now, and I totally don’t “get it” yet."
I hear ya! I still haven't really figured out FB yet. How bad is that? LOL
nice post nice article...good sharing,i like google+
Is it just me, or are these social networks starting to drive you crazy? There is MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, now Google+. How the heck is anyone supposed to get anything done?
I'm holding out on Google+ until it is a PROVEN winner and becomes as common as Twitter and Facebook. Until then, I'm just trying to do my best to keep up with Twitter and Facebook.
Travis
Amen Travis!
Well, after two days working on it, I've learned it's a bit confusing, a bit interesting, & a bit empty as many haven't started using it. I like the circles but I still prefer Facebook and Twitter. And if you don't want to or can't figure out how to add the Google +1 button (I have thesis and still couldn't get it right), I did find a plugin I like which I posted at Facebook - SandwichINK - it's at http://ow.ly/5CvfL
I began to use the +1 feature offered through several services in which you trade +1 votes with other websites. Until I lost the SERP rankings of the main page that I was promoting. Seems Google does not like webmasters gaming their +1 system. Lesson learned.
1) No I haven't used it yet but it's on my list to add because obviously this is a game changer.
2) I'm participating against my will because this will give Google an almost total monopoly on the net. As if we aren't dependent upon them enough!
One of the beautiful things about an internet business is the freedom it allows. But our sense of freedom is somewhat false when we are dependent upon one source. Google can wipe out a business in a minute, as many can attest to.
Case in point: My Austin site got bumped up to a PR2 in the Jan. 2011 shake up (with a big boast to traffic) but downgraded in the last one.. I was plugging along as always producing content I believed added value to my visitors, and in Jan Google liked me and in June (or whenever this last 'slap' was) they didn't.
I have a girlfriend who was dependent upon Google PPC for her primary source of income and got banned for some reason she has no idea why. In a day, her monthly income went from $10k+ to zero. Now she's advertising with Yahoo and Facebook PPC, and Craigs List.
So my point to this is, yes add the darn Google Plus button BUT diversify your traffic with Twitter, Facebook, Squidoo, Hubpages, Guest posts, Article Marketing.. and anything else you can think up.
dee
Thanks for this terrific article, Lynn. For those who use Typepad, it's super easy to add the button (along with the Tweet and Facebook Like buttons). Go to Design>Content>Post Footer, click the pencil icon, check off the buttons you want to appear at the bottom of each Post, and click Save at the bottom of the screen. You can also select Page Footer to have the buttons appear on the bottom of your Pages.
I got invited over the weekend and have been playing around a bit. The profile area is a bit buggy. It won't change my profile pic for one thing.
Also, how do you find your g+ url to invite others? I only see how to connect to people in my contacts.
Ah, me... one more thing to keep up with ; - )
Very exciting Lynn, I got an invite but couldn't get my profile set up. I just logged in now (no problem) and set up my profile and added you to my friends circle. I posted to my wall. It said that you were not on Google Plus but it would send you an email of my post. Not sure if I have the power to invite but I will if I can. : ) - Gary
Oops, did it again the link to website in my previous post is broken but this one should work. : ) - Gary
I love Google +, I am finding useful discussions and love the circles of influence.
Sharing photos on the iPhone is a hassle,but on android it is a breeze.
I think it will be a big part of social media in the future.
Twitter for news
Linked in for serious business discussions.
Facebook for business promotions
Foursquare for checkins (until acquired)
Google plus for lively discussions, in the future big on videos, shopping, check ins, local NFC coupons, event collaboration with photos and discussions.
Great idea to add the plus 1 on my sites this week.
Enjoying Google Plus very much, especially the circles feature. Also, Google Plus has a "Hangouts" area that will only grow and become more valuable http://gphangouts.com
Chris Brogan's blog has been invaluable for learning the ins and outs of Google Plus. http://www.chrisbrogan.com
Looking forward to learning more about GP as time goes on.
I have been trying out the little +1 on the Google search for some time, not something I use all the time, but some might. After Wave bombed I'm still a little leary about some of Google's new stuff they have us all Beta Test 🙂
Is it really so? Lynn Terry is not on Google + yet? That just can't be true! All of the other "This Week In Marketing" crew are there. Ed, Paul and Michelle. The "Challenge" crew are there. Ed, Dan, Rob and Nez. Even the girls from "The Secret Woman's Business Network" are there. Lisa, Allison and Barb. If you have signed up Lynn, Let's join circles or circle each other or whatever the correct term is. lol The Friend wars, begun they have. :p Smiles 🙂 - Gary
can anyone share how to actually add the Google +1 button to wordpress.org posts? I tried adding the javascript code () to my footer and then the code for the medium button in my single.php file. It's not working- is this the general idea of how to do it?
It's something new to me, took a look at it a few days ago. Right now it's too much for my spare time, but it's definitely promising and worth studying closer.
I have now joined Google+, set up a Profile and claimed Authorship for this blog. See update & resources I've added at the end of the post. 😉
You answered my question regarding the button and search rankings in Google. In fact, thanks for the link to Google's page for the code and FAQs.
I don't use the +1 yet, but sure will now.
Thanks for such a great article lynn and I will try to use google+1 and it looks like pretty interesting.