Google is starting to roll out a new social recommendation engine called +1. Think of it as a “like” button for search. Before you roll your eyes, remember that Google is still the largest referral driver for most media sites on the web.
Ok, here’s how it works. Little +1 buttons will soon appear next to search results. (You have to have a Google profile, then if you still don’t see it, go here to “join the experiment.”) Clicking +1 acts as a social recommendation — as people in your “social circle” search with the same terms, that result will have more weight, displaying who recommended it underneath. Explains Google:
“We use many signals to identify the most useful recommendations, including things like the people you are already connected to through Google (your chat buddies and contacts, for example). Soon we may also incorporate other signals, such as your connections on sites like Twitter, to ensure your recommendations are as relevant as possible.”
For media sites, here’s where it gets even more interesting. Google says it plans to roll out +1 buttons in the near future, just like Facebook “like” buttons. In essence, they’ll be “improve the SEO of this page” buttons, which is a pretty powerful motivator for sites to include them, despite the clutter factor.
This is just a short overview. For a great, in-depth look at +1, click here.
