 This morning Google announced a social bombshell, a new service called +1 that competes directly with the Facebook like button as a signal for determining what content is most relevant to an individual. How important social is to the world of search is still debatable, but we’ve long argued that it’s a critical component, since liking, tweeting, and now +1ing (what a horrible name by the way) may have much lower friction than placing a hyperlink on the web. Your +1 social network, which is different than your Google Social Search network, which is different again from your Facebook network, your Twitter network and so on. Possibly more significant is the fact that Google’s own advertisements will now include the +1 button, making AdWords just as social as many of Facebook’s own advertising products. !” We’ll have some follow-up articles soon here on Search Engine Land that look at what advertisers think about these +1 buttons showing up next to their ads. With Google’s major influence, there’s no doubt that they will be able to get any online publication on the phone in a heartbeat. The only unanswered question is whether or not publishers will begin placing the Google +1 button within their own sites. It’s pretty clear that Google wants to become a whole lot more social and in order to get there, they’re going to take a page directly out of Facebook’s playbook. With no add-on for publishers available yet, it’s clear that Google has a long way to go before they put a serious dent in the massive lead that Facebook already has when it comes to measuring consumers’ interest in content around the web. Google accounts for more than 50 percent of incoming traffic on most sites, while Facebook is currently running a distant second in referring traffic (more then 10 percent of our own traffic comes from Facebook). The only question now is how fast the search company can move. If Google wants to get into “social” this is definitely a great step.
– Look out "Like" button, here comes Google's "+1." The company unveiled a new gizmo today—the "plus one" button—that mimics the general idea of Facebook's popular feature. The idea is that you'll be able to click on the button to designate things you like, and people in your Google "social circle" (think Gmail and "My Contacts" lists) can see it. For now, it's being rolled out in experimental form only on search results, allowing people to "+1" any results or ads they like. Not everyone can see the button at the moment, but if you'd like to join the experiment, go here. In a few months, the button should be showing up on web sites, reports Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land. (He also has an in-depth walk-through of the new feature.) "It’s pretty clear that Google wants to become a whole lot more social and in order to get there, they’re going to take a page directly out of Facebook’s playbook," writes Nick O'Neill at All Facebook.The company announcement is here.