Google+ Brings Out The Big Guns

Google+ brings out the big gunsA lot is speculated every day about the future of Google+, one of the main topics is how the social network will affect search.

So far we are all just talking about the great potential and what we want it to become while Google doesn’t say much.

But Google decided to bring out the big guns today with the announcement of “Search, plus Your World”. This is basically the integration of Google+ into search results and it represents one more big step into the world of personalized search, or social search.

Let’s look at what this means in terms of features…

Who can see this?

In order for you to see the new changes you need to be logged into Google+.

3 Main features

There are basically 3 Google+ elements being integrated into search results:

Personal Results

Which includes content that has been shared with you or publicly by your Google+ connections into the search results. In other words, posts and photos shared in your Google+ community are now part of your own personal search results.

Google Personal Search Results

Profiles in Search

When you are looking for a person on Facebook you use the search box and Facebook returns the results for those people. Same thing happens on Google+ but now you will also get this in your search results on Google.

This is also part of autocomplete predictions as you see on regular searches.

Google+ Profiles on search results

Once you got your results back, you will be able to “circle” people right from the results page without having to visit the profile on Google+. You stay on your search.

Profiles in Search

People and Pages

As part of your search results, you will find people and Pages related to the topic you’re searching. For example, if you are searching for “Real Estate”, you will see people and Pages that are relevant on that topic. These results are going to appear on the right hand side of your results page and you will also have the option to circle them right from there.

People and Pages

How about Privacy? What if I don’t want it?

I knew you were gonna say that. Well, for most people the first thing to come to mind is how their content is going to be shared or what are they going to see in the results. These following bullet points are important for you:

  • This works the same way Google+ works, you have options to share content. You can share something “Publicly” or to specific Circles, people outside of those circles will still not see that content.
  • Everything is secured through SSL Encryption
  • You have the option, with a toggle button, to turn it on and off if you don’t want to get “personal results”
Toggle button for personal results

Nowadays everything is optional on the web so relax, continue having your coffee…

Before I forget, here is the nice presentation video:

Marketing Takeaway

So that’s in regards to new features and the logistics, let’s look at the marketing side of things.

Content

If you think about it, every day that goes by the Internet leans more and more towards the people that creates relevant shit. In recent weeks we have read from several sources and random predictions that 2012 will be huge for Content Marketing.

Do you see how all this can have a powerful impact on your content marketing efforts? What if someone is searching for Fishing Equipment and your profile or page shows up on the results page?

Community

The possibility to circle people from the search results page on related topics is a great way to find relevant people you might want to connect with in your niche. Granted, you can do that inside Google+ but we’re talking about the use of Google Search here. You still use it, right?

This is huge for community building and relationship marketing and we will be talking about this in 2012.

Final Thought

I think this is a big step for Google+ because it’s leveraging its strong points. This is not one of those updates we all see as “trying to catch up” with the competition. Facebook is clearly very weak on search, I don’t like blowing things out of proportion as I’m sure you’ll see some individuals do today with this announcement but, I think Facebook should at least be thinking about it and looking at future plans for search.

This is very positive for Google+

What do you think?

Do you see this as a big step both in search and social networking? Do you like Google is moving more and more into social search? How will this impact your online marketing approach? Share your thoughts with me in the comments. Or if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

If you want to connect with me, here is my Google+ Profile and the SocialMouths Page.

SocialMouths on Google+

Happy searching!

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About Francisco Rosales
I'm the author of SocialMouths. I also help entrepreneurs and small businesses turn their vanilla "web presence" into a profit powerhouse using techniques on social media, content and email marketing to generate traffic and convert to leads and sales. Caffeine addict and a hopeless fan of Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Bazinga! Learn more

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  • http://twitter.com/invpartnership Louise Woodbury

    I completely agree with you, Francisco, in that these new features are going to be huge for exposure and marketing. 

    My husband and I are always keeping an eye on Google rankings, so if our Google + posts, comments and +1s begin showing up in search—a home run for our marketing efforts (and for those we promote)! 

    I would like to see this feature more integrated into other Google apps like Reader. Any word on when they might roll out features for their other products that integrate Plus?

  • http://twitter.com/MorganBarnhart Morgan Barnhart

    I have begun to realize that unfortunately (I only say unfortunately because I’m not ready to incorporate Google+ just yet) Google+ is going to be a heavyweight of social media whether we like it or not. And it’s not to say that I don’t like Google+, it’s just, I haven’t developed a proper strategy for it yet (my fault completely) but I also know that a lot of other people haven’t figured out exactly how to use Google+ in order to better their presence online. 

    However, with these results, it’s real clear that Google+ is definitely going to be a driving force in the way people search and socialize. 

    Thanks for the info!

  • http://scottwkelley.com/blog Scott W Kelley

    Heck ya. I think all this stuff is a great upward swing. Transperancy to the maximum. I have been watching and doing all the right things when it comes to who i am and what i am about. All of this helps me as I have been able to connect with people, share my content and ideas a whole lot easier. I predict that Google+ will continue to move forward where Facebook has left off. FB wants your money and it seems all their platform changes have been geared at that. Google seems to care less as they set their money making platform up years ago. And now they are tightning up the search results even better. I can find what i am looking for so easy these days. I am getting to meet more and more people to. The only thing I see right now is that Google+ or may not play the app game connecting and linking profiles. We will see. But that does not matter because google is , and has been world wide with more users than FB ever could dream of. They have so many tools and cool schools to…all free. So with that note Google+ has my permission to do what ever they want because it appears they are doing the right things to bring this silly little world together.

  • http://www.socialmouths.com/ Francisco Rosales

    Hi Louise, not that I know of but Google has made it very clear that the objective is to integrate all services and we recently saw the redesign on smaller scale properties like Reader or FeedBurner, which are usually forgotten.

    I actually started using Reader again.

  • Anonymous

    This is just one more reason I’ve been telling people to get onto Google+ and create their pages. It’s going to be huge for search results and for better connecting with people. The fact that Google is all about the search makes finding content just as important as the social aspect. This gets lost on Facebook. So far, I’m just finding it a bit frustrating that many of the people I connect with on a daily basis aren’t utilizing it yet. I’m hoping that will change.

  • http://www.socialmouths.com/ Francisco Rosales

    Thank you for stopping by Morgan.

    My advice if you are still not sure how you want to use G+ is to at least open your account and have some moderate activity until you do come up with a plan. I gotta be honest with you, while I love the technology behind it and I clearly see the potential, I have not yet find the flow and rhythm I have on my Facebook Page so it obviously is in my plan but it is not priority #1, at least at the moment.

  • http://www.socialmouths.com/ Francisco Rosales

    That will change for sure later this year and you will rewarded for being an early adopter. I’m on both G+ and Fb but I’m more active on Facebook because that’s where I find most of my community, for now.

    Thanks for the comment =)

  • http://twitter.com/ifdyperez Ifdy Perez

    Very useful, Francisco, thanks for covering this. Just posted it on our Razoo Google+ page. :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/travishuff Travis Huff

    Great article… I’m starting to realize that Google…..is truly a dominate force to Twitter, LinkedIn, and maybe even Facebook.. We will see!

  • http://appeando.com Beny Schonfeld

    What comes to my mind after reading this are the huge implications for SEO.

    I’m referring specifically to how the Search Results will be “served” to people that are logged into G+. Prior to this change, we knew that shares on Twitter or FB, and other Social sites was being taken into account by Google when determining which results are relevant to the search a person is running.

    But now, if a person is logged into G+, it seems not only do you need a well optimized blog post, lots of relevant link juice, and the other “traditional” SEO factors in order to make it into the first page, you might also need your blog post to generate certain “sharing” activity within that user’s G+ circles in order to appear in the G+ related search results in the first page.

    In other words, or on the flip side, it seems a blog post might make it to the first page of the search results because of how much it was shared within a G+ network, and not necessarily only because of it’s SEO

    So, this is a big deal it seems…

  • Johnbraid

    Thanks Francisco for the insight, I myself love G+, it just getting the other people on board. I think the potential for marketing will be huge

  • http://www.prepaidplans.com.au PrepaidPlans

    This is certainly the direction everyone was expecting them to go. I think the key is content and even if you aren’t ready to go wild on Google+ then get it into your head that content is what you focus should be on. Start talking and do more of it on the net, in your blog on your site.

  • Mark Evans

    Nice job in explaining how the new Google+ works. The one thing I wonder about is whether having Google+ front and centre within search results is going to make Google less of a “pure” search engine, and prompt some people to switch to Bing. On the upside, this appears to be a major boost for Google+ given it will be increasingly difficult to ignore. cheers, Mark

  • http://twitter.com/ProfitDuck Profit Duck

    Just goes to show how much more leverage Google have on the social networking world. By implementing these steps it is another way to get people to join Google+ instead of Facebook, and if Facebook want to keep up they have to release something which is ground-breaking. Although their account numbers still knock Google+ into the ground.

    The changes are coming,
    Regards,
    Simon Duck

  • http://www.slymarketing.com Jens P. Berget

    Thanks a lot for sharing this Francisco. 

    What I’ve been thinking about when reading your post is how much impact G+ will have on SEO, and if will be almost impossible to get a good ranking if we don’t have good quality relationships on G+ (that will +1 our content). It used to be all about content, but will 2012 be more about relationships (combined with quality content)?

  • http://www.socialmouths.com/ Francisco Rosales

    You were right on the money Mark, as you can see the controversy started almost immediately.

    Of course for G+ is a great move as you mention, this will definitely increase their user base at faster rates.

    Thanks for your comment!

  • http://www.socialmouths.com/ Francisco Rosales

    I agree with you Jens, it looks like your network will be more important than ever and being relevant on G+ will definitely be essential.

    Thanks for stopping by man, good to see you here.

  • http://www.socialmouths.com/ Francisco Rosales

    Simon, it was expected, it’s the only way Google was going to make real noise.

  • http://www.socialmouths.com/ Francisco Rosales

    What’s up Beny, good to see you here again.

    I really didn’t want to touch on what this means for SEO because it’s not my thing but I totally agree with you. More personalized search results also means less organic, not to mention the controversy that has already started with other networks.

    I’m sure we’ll see a drastic increase on the user base and I’m guessing also a massive growth on brand pages.

  • http://www.socialmouths.com/ Francisco Rosales

    Thanks for sharing Ifdy, I appreciate that.

  • http://appeando.com Beny Schonfeld

    Always happy to be here!

    I was diddling around with Google searches today to see first hand what the search results looked like when I was logged in to G+ vs the “real”, organic results when not logged in.

    There was quite a big difference indeed not only in what content was showing up where, but also the type of media that was showing up.  In my case, (as it all depends on what’s search relevant within one’s G+ network) there were lots and lots of YouTube videos being served.

    The good thing is that Google included two buttons at the top-right of the screen that allow one to choose whether you want to view the “personalized” results or not. So at least the user has a choice to view both: what’s search relevant within your G+ network, and the traditional organic results.

    But it’s pretty safe to say that because of G+’s fast growing user base (and as you say, even faster growing now), and the fact that G+ keeps you logged in for the most part, that what we knew as SEO two days ago just got turned on its head… 

    Your social network, or lack thereof was before this change a crucial aspect for getting your content found.  Now, your G+ network (or lack thereof) seems to have become indispensable for SEO.

    This is a BIG change. 

    People who are starting out new blogs (like myself), and fighting hard to grow our networks seem to be at a huge disadvantage here. Before, one could compensate a bit by implementing at least some basic SEO…

    What do you think? Do you think it levels the playing field, or make it harder for newcomers to get found?

  • http://www.sogenius.com/ Tony Bennett

    Well hey, I’ve always wanted to show up higher in search results than the famous Tony Bennett… And now I do for those that have me circled!

  • http://www.bigchiefcreative.com/ Alex R.

    I have a Google+ account but haven’t had a chance to dig into it yet and really see how it works. I found this article very useful and you explained it very clearly. There’s a lot of hype on how Google+ will become increasingly popular, its just new now and people need informative articles like this one to really “get it”.

  • CompleteNiche BlogsDotKom

    May I just say what a comfort to find some Complete Niche Blogs

     that really knows what they’re talking about on the internet. You actually understand how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More and more people really need to read this and understand this side of the story. I was surprised you are not more popular given that you most certainly possess the gift.

  • http://www.avantgardedentalarts.com/ Tressa Mccarter

    Let’s look at what this means in terms of features…
     

  • http://nevadamarriageannulment.com/ Dortheawe

    the team from Social Technology Review.

  • http://totalskinsolution.com/ Corrinaoix

    So far we are all just talking about the great potential and what we want it to become while Google doesn’t say much.

  • http://www.guelphflowers.net/ Vergie Beckett

    So far we are all just talking about the great potential and what we want it to become while Google doesn’t say much.

  • http://www.buyrealviews.com/buy-vimeo-views vimeo marketing

    A lot is speculated every day about the future of Google+, one of the main topics is how the social network will affect search.

  • http://punkrockz.net/punk-rock-bands/halifax-1248/ Halifax

    So far we are all just talking about the great potential and what we want it to become while Google doesn’t say much.
     

  • http://www.lotterywinnersdigest.com/ Bethel

    So far we are all just talking about the great potential and what we want it to become while Google doesn’t say much.
     

  • http://www.ritterandramsey.com/ Jenise

    So far we are all just talking about the great potential and what we want it to become while Google doesn’t say much.
     

  • http://www.philly-dentist.com/ Lawana

    So far we are all just talking about the great potential and what we want it to become while Google doesn’t say much.
     

  • http://drsaundersobgyn.com/ Lurline

    These results are going to appear on the right hand side of your results
    page and you will also have the option to circle them right from there.

  • http://ayurvedacenterny.com/ Caprice

    So far we are all just talking about the great potential and what we want it to become while Google doesn’t say much.
     

  • raju rajun

    good post
    telvindebnam

  • Zofia Smithson

    So far we are all just talking about the great potential and what we want it to become while Google doesn’t say much.

    http://www.yourlawoffice.com/

  • Zofia Smithson

    So far we are all just talking about the great potential and what we want it to become while Google doesn’t say much.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002164884675 Michał Dybczak

    It would be nice to have date when the article was posted. Social media in the Net are changing fast so it’s hard to track down whether what you write is up to date or long rotted.. Comments made year ago show that this entry is one year old at least.

    So far, I don’t have the functionality on google you are writing about so I guess it came and went out quickly so the casual user not paying much to social media hasn’t noticed it at all. So maybe that wasn’t such a big deal after all? What is the story from perspective of one year?

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