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How Google+ Influences Google Search Results

Capitalizing on the emergence of the social Web, Google+ offers individuals a new way to interact with their friends. Though it’s not certain whether or not Google+ will unseat Facebook as the social media champion of the Web, it doesn’t really have to. That’s because Google’s main business goal is to remain innovative on the Search front. “The perfect search engine,” says Google’s Larry Page, “would understand exactly what you mean and give back exactly what you want.” To Google, the new Google+ offering will be an important way that they determine exactly what it is that you want to see.

Google In The Past

Google’s Search technology has always been a black box algorithm. In parlance, this term means that inputs yield certain outputs, but the exact method or calculations that go on inside Google’s servers in order to generate these results is unknown to everyone except the high-ranking engineers that build and maintain it. It’s widely known that Google’s Search rankings are influenced by everything they know about a user, from advertising that appeals to the user, to pages the user has clicked on, but rankings are also influenced by the public perception of the brand. The latest overhaul to the black box algorithm, codenamed Panda, has strangely and sometimes asymmetrically distorted a page’s organic search engine hits. Search engine optimization experts have settled on the reason for this: Panda relies more on finding what everyone likes, favoring pages with high traffic, than it relies on traditional SEO techniques like long-tail keyword stuffing. To this end, the proprietary information that Google+ generates about what people are reading and sharing is a veritable goldmine to the Google Search engineers.

The Future Of SERPs

As such, starting immediately to build a presence in Google+, including sharing, commenting, and getting users to +1 your most valuable pages will pay dividends both now and in the future. Immediate and short-term results come in the form of immediate social hit growth, and building a big presence fast and early will guarantee your place as the big fish in the little (but quickly growing) pond. Long term results will follow as your presence grows with the emergence of Google+, ensuring that you become a big fish in a big pond. In fact, the dividends of establishing a Google+ presence early are immeasurable. You will start to see an increase in organic search engine traffic immediately as Google begins to use your Google+ presence to increase the value of your pages in its search engine results.

Since social sharing is becoming a stronger way to reach ready-to-convert users than organic search engine growth, building a presence in Google+ is doubly effective. You’ll have access to the word-of-mouth sharing that increases conversions, and you’ll be increasing your Google Search rankings, increasing organic hits. These two marketing results will synergize beautifully to catapult ROI on marketing budgets to previously unheard of levels, and that’s precisely how Google intends to stay on top.

Google+ is more than just a social network. It’s an integral part of the new Google Search. Failing to capitalize on the opportunity presented will have long-term impacts as your competitors begin to seize Google+ market share and, therefore, higher search engine results.

Written By

Posted by Greg Henderson, an Internet Marketer and SEO Associate for a cell phone lookup site FreePhoneTracer.com, and an find an email address site EmailFinder.com.

32 Comments

32 Comments

  1. Nawaz

    September 6, 2011 at 1:19 pm

    When I explore Google +, I take it a separate from Search engine but I was only thinking what will be its effects on SEO but it very good that it will also have effect on searches.

    • Greg Henderson

      September 6, 2011 at 4:56 pm

      The effects Google+ will have on SERPs is still a large unknown, but it will almost definitely contribute to the multitude of personalized data Google has on each of its users. As Google extends its reach into all facets of our Web-based life, it will be interesting to see if their corporate motto “Don’t be evil” stays true to fact. As our possible discomfort grow, Jorge’s comment below exemplifies the fact that no matter how much our concerns mature into doubt, we are still handicapped into use by…well…they make awesome products!

  2. jorge

    September 6, 2011 at 1:52 pm

    Google is a crook! nonetheless I will still participate with it! haha!

    • Greg Henderson

      September 6, 2011 at 4:59 pm

      Thanks for the comment. “Don’t be evil!”

    • Sandra

      September 7, 2011 at 9:39 am

      That’s so true!
      They long ago stopped living their slogan “Don’t be evil” they changed into “Get more money!”.

      It is almost inevitable that google will use their new social media platform to influence the serps. I personally don’t like this development and it will probably drag the quality of Google+ down. People doing SEO manually or automatically building profiles and stuff. spamming. etc.

      Do they want the same thing to happen with Google+ what happened with links in general on the internet.
      People used to link to stuff that they found interesting and good. Now they link for SEO.

      • Greg Henderson

        September 7, 2011 at 8:38 pm

        Very good comment. The consumer wants to use the Web for quality. Now recommendations, such as links, mean less and less do to the booming SEO industry. Social media is seen as one of the great problem solvers. And this is where I may disagree with you a little Sandra, but bear wit me.

        If you and I were each to do a search on “Best SEO Articles”, we would likely get the same exact SERPs. In the future as Google+ grows and algorithmic changes are made by Google, you same search may render completely different results than my same search. This will be based on our preferences and +1’s in the past influencing our own personal algorithm. In a sense, we will all have our own algorithm influencing our SERPs all rendering unique results. Best practices will have to be revised and SEO will once again be a trial by fire art.

  3. Zach J.

    September 7, 2011 at 12:52 am

    Very interesting read Greg. I loved the article, but I have a question: a majority of SEO has been focused on acquiring links from other sites. If in fact search becomes more focused on social authority, popularity and traffic opposed to backlinks, what are the SEO best-practices going to look like 18 months from now?

    • Greg Henderson

      September 7, 2011 at 8:52 pm

      Sorry Zach J. The comment below was intended for you!

      Bruce Clay, one of the “stars” of SEO, was quoted about the future of SEO by seo.com.
      “[Soon] we will see most search engine results predominantly locally targeted. We will also see Google become a dominant source of local news, displacing television for the accuracy and timeliness of events. The further integration of Twitter-like feeds, an extensive video network via an enhanced YouTube offering, and advanced network communication, will make Google the go-to place for news as it happens. This power will overwhelm oppressive governments as news is spontaneous and able to result in political action on a moment’s notice…”
      If political revolution is one of the outcomes, then I can hardly imagine what SEO will look like!

  4. Shindaaa

    September 7, 2011 at 6:09 pm

    I thorougly enjoyed reading this article. I myself had to write about social networking’s future involving sites such as Google and even Youtube. Google+ has the potential to unseat Facebook as the social networking giant, as long as it keeps up with the constant updates and innovative ideas Facebook applies to its site. If you ask me, Facebook kind of stole the idea of advertisement based on search history or “likes” from Google. Anyway, like all new things people will tend to approach it cautiously but in the end Google will dominate..

    • Greg Henderson

      September 7, 2011 at 8:58 pm

      Thanks for the comment Shindaaa.

      I only hesitate to use the word stole. The beauty of the Internet is that everything replicable and everything can be morphed/duplicated. (Side note: an article of the inefficiency of the Federal government to understand Web-based content and produce legislation that protects intellectual property as well as promoting innovation may be needed!) If you establish a dominant market position and then refuse to adapt/pivot/change/innovate, that position will be lost within 6 months. If you want to win the Internet game, you constantly evolve and constantly create. Or else someone will be directly behind just waiting to leap frog.

  5. Karen

    September 7, 2011 at 7:04 pm

    It’s really interesting how technology, more specifically Google, has changed so rapidly. SEO is constantly changing and it’s getting difficult to keep up! Thanks for sharing your information. I can’t wait to see what is to come in the next year or so.

    • Greg Henderson

      September 7, 2011 at 8:49 pm

      Thanks for the comment Karen.

      “Next year or so” even seems too far. How about a month from now!?!

  6. Greg Henderson

    September 7, 2011 at 8:48 pm

    Bruce Clay, one of the “stars” of SEO, was quoted about the future of SEO by seo.com.

    “[Soon] we will see most search engine results predominantly locally targeted. We will also see Google become a dominant source of local news, displacing television for the accuracy and timeliness of events. The further integration of Twitter-like feeds, an extensive video network via an enhanced YouTube offering, and advanced network communication, will make Google the go-to place for news as it happens. This power will overwhelm oppressive governments as news is spontaneous and able to result in political action on a moment’s notice…”

    If political revolution is one of the outcomes, then I can hardly imagine what SEO will look like!

  7. Jon

    September 8, 2011 at 6:10 am

    Great…if Google+ starts playing a major role in Search Engine ranking…then it forces people social networking.

    That is really corrupt.

    • Greg Henderson

      September 8, 2011 at 4:52 pm

      I may be naive but I do not believe Google forces anything upon us. They have tons of great products so naturally we use them. Until someone can figure out how to do it better and maybe less invasive, the choice is yours. If one is not comfortable with Google’s presence, he/she is not forced to use it. Your alternatives are for search engines: Bing, Yahoo, etc. and social networking: Facebook. All have the option to choose the alternatives, but the pale in comparison to Google.

    • Anita

      December 12, 2011 at 2:08 pm

      I share the sentiment, Jon.
      I do know nobody is literally *forced* to use any given tool, but as a webmaster – you better dance to the Google’s tune or else…

  8. terry

    September 8, 2011 at 11:32 am

    I don’t know if it’s good or bad news.. but one thing is for sure.. We should all build our social networking empire right away!! 😉

    • Greg Henderson

      September 8, 2011 at 4:53 pm

      Thanks for the comment Terry.
      Yes! It does seem quite lucrative.

  9. Jey

    September 8, 2011 at 12:55 pm

    s dude me to think like that its so sad news for bloggers

    • Greg Henderson

      September 9, 2011 at 5:29 pm

      Hey Jey! Thanks for the comment. Bloggers will be fine. Just encourage your audience to +1 your article.

      With that being said, please +1 this article!!!

  10. Jey

    September 8, 2011 at 12:59 pm

    i dunno whether is it good or not………
    any how its may be good okay

  11. Lizzy

    September 16, 2011 at 9:59 pm

    Interesting – I had no idea that Google+ had THIS much of an effect on Google as an entity… Looks like I might have to break down and accept one of the invitations I got!

    • Greg Henderson

      September 16, 2011 at 11:44 pm

      Great point Lizzy. I forgot it is still invitation only. If anyone needs an invitation, send me an email to [email protected], if there are any of you left!!!

  12. Steve Points

    September 27, 2011 at 6:40 pm

    I have been hearing of Google+ and had no clue that it was going to effect search results so much. A Friend of mine built a website and used only “Google backlinks”, like Google profile, Google Sites, and YouTube, then he encouraged everyone to +1 him and with very little presence on the internet actually got a third spot ranking on Google for his Keywords (which was a mildly competitive Keyword). I have a feeling I am going to have to Start using Google+ very soon.

    • Greg Henderson

      September 27, 2011 at 7:07 pm

      Hey Steve Points! Thanks for the great comment. That is truly interesting what your friend did. I would love to learn more about this. Could you email me at [email protected] so I can ask you some questions about this? The site, the keywords, how he did it, etc.?

    • Anita

      September 27, 2011 at 8:21 pm

      Thank you for letting us know. Isn’t that interesting? I was hoping for a long time this social thing will go away:) But if Google is now too in the game, well…

      • Greg Henderson

        September 27, 2011 at 8:46 pm

        Thanks for the comment Anita. Yes, I think social is here to stay!

  13. Akash Kumar

    September 29, 2011 at 11:53 pm

    Atleast Google Plus offers dofollow links in the profile not like other social media sites which are now nofollow.

    • Greg Henderson

      October 7, 2011 at 7:42 pm

      Exactly Akash Kumar. those do-follow links can be very valuable.

  14. balimbing56

    November 15, 2011 at 10:28 am

    A Friend of mine built a website and used only “Google backlinks”, like Google profile, Google Sites, and YouTube, then he encouraged everyone to +1 him and with very little presence on the internet actually got a third spot ranking on Google for his Keywords (which was a mildly competitive Keyword).

    • Greg Henderson

      December 13, 2011 at 6:51 pm

      Highly authoritative outbound links and social feedback has been a promising strategy in the post-Panda world. Thanks for the comment!

  15. Felicia Corrine

    May 11, 2012 at 12:45 pm

    if Google recognizes a website that is active in Google related websites, then the SEO’s should build more traffic in these sites.

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