Google have been busy launching new products this year and yet another one arrived on our desk last week. The Google + social networking project now allows users to make recommendations of products and services for their friends to see, which could affect the number of hits received by AdWords subscribers.
Known as +1, the project places a button next to search results and adverts which users can click to recommend adverts, services and products. The idea is that people who like what is on offer will use the +1 button to highlight the website for their friends and other Google account members.
Google says: "The +1 button is shorthand for "this is pretty cool" or "you should check this out. Click +1 to publicly give something your stamp of approval. Your +1's can help friends, contacts, and others on the web find the best stuff when they search."
The other side of the coin is that this could be a very valuable tool for companies who rely on the web to attract new customers, especially as can you can add a +1 button to your own website. You can learn more about how the +1 button works by visiting the Adwords Help Centre. Add the +1 button to your own website with the +1 button tool available from Google Webmaster Central.
The Google+ Project was launched as a direct competitor to Facebook and has received mixed reviews. Although there are great similarities in the way the two social networking sites operate, one major difference was the offer by Google for ‘face-to-face' chat through its Hangouts project. This was regarded by many reviewers and early users as a major ‘plus' for Google.
However, in what could be called coincidental timing, just days later Facebook announced a tie-in with Skype allowing its members to chat ‘face-to-face' with their Facebook friends.
So will users desert Facebook for the new Google offering or will they prefer to stay with what they know? Only time will tell. In the meantime, if you buy and sell over the Internet, the +1 button is worth investigating.
Posted Date: 21st Jul 2011