Google's +1 button is now available for websites. The new button will influence the position of your web pages in Google's search results. What exactly does this button do and how can you use it with your web pages?

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Google's +1 button is now available for websites. The new button will influence the position of your web pages in Google's search results. What exactly does this button do and how can you use it with your web pages?

What is Google's +1 button?

The +1 button is Google's answer to Facebook's "Like" button. It is a button that you can add to your website.

When one of your website visitors clicks the +1 button, your website URL appears on the +1 tab on the user's Google profile. Google wants website visitors to click on the +1 button when they find something interesting or recommendable.

What does Google do with the +1 clicks?

For people who are logged in to Google, their search result snippets might be annotated with the number of +1's that the listed page has received.

If someone who is connected to you through your Google account (Gmail chat list, contacts, etc.) clicked the +1 button, then the name of the person might be listed next to the search result snippet.

Google also announced that the +1 button will influence the search rankings of a page. The number of +1 clicks and the person who clicks on your +1 buttons might influence the position of your pages.

As it is very likely that spammers will try to use the +1 button, Google will perform tests before the +1 button has a major influence on the search results.

According to Google, the number of +1 clicks can also influence the position of an AdWords ad for the page with the +1 button.

How can you add the Google +1 button to your web pages?

It is very easy to add the Google +1 button to your web pages. The button is available in different sizes and different formats.

You can view examples and instructions here: How to add the Google +1 button to your web pages

What is Google's +1 button not?

The Google +1 button is not the same as the Google Buzz button. However, many sites have already replaced their old Google Buzz button with the new +1 button.

It is likely that Google Buzz functionality will also be added to +1. Google also announced analytics for the +1 button to show webmasters info on geography, demographics, content, and search impact.

Although Google's +1 button does not have a major impact on the position of your web pages in Google's search results yet, it does not hurt to add the button to your pages.

Google uses many different signals to specify the position of a web page in the search results. If you want to find out if your web pages have all the elements that are necessary to get high rankings on Google, analyze your web pages with IBP's Top 10 Optimizer.

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