Google’s +1 button is a feature that seeks to help people discover and share relevant content from people they already know and trust. You can give +1 to different types of content such as websites, advertisements, and even Google search results. However, unlike Facebook’s “Like” button, it doesn’t directly share content to a user’s social stream.
Although this might be the case, Google’s +1 button is still very useful. Once you give a +1 to an article for example, you can see it on your +1 tab on your Google+ profile, thus, making it easier for you to keep track of useful and valuable content that you have found on the Internet.
Indeed, Google’s +1 button can be a huge help for the average web surfer. But how about those who own websites or online businesses? What can the +1 button do for them? Well, believe it or not, the +1 has an indirect effect on a website search’s rank, which is why Google’s +1 button can also be quite handy for websites and online businesses. How, you ask? Read on and find out.
When a Google+ user clicks the +1 button after reading an article for instance, he is giving his “stamp of approval” on the content. Then, when one of his friends or connections from Google+ searches for the same or related topic and finds the same article, that friend will see that the first user has clicked the +1 button on that article. This increases the article’s chances of being clicked and viewed by the second user since according to Google, the content recommended by friends and acquaintances is usually more relevant than those recommended by strangers.
Google’s +1 button can be a huge help in SEO or search engine optimisation. Based on an experiment conducted by SEOmoz CEO Rand Fishkin, a link or content that receives a +1 from a Google user is said to have a bigger chance of getting a higher click through rate (CTR). And the higher a content’s CTR is, the greater it’s potential to be shared on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. What’s more, according to the results of Fishkin’s experiment, the more the link or content was passed around on social media sites, the higher its search rank will be, thus, resulting in better SEO.
Although its effects are indirect, having content that receive +1 from Google users can be a huge boost for website owners and online businesses. As such, you should make it a point to post valuable content that will encourage your target audience to click Google’s +1 button. This way, you can improve the search rank and CTR of your links and web pages, which can help your website attract more traffic and get more conversions.
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