Google+ and what it means for your Google Rank
If you are one of the zillion people signed up for Google+, you will have noticed that you can ‘share’ or ‘G+1’ a result in the list of web pages a Google search presents to you. I’ve been getting to grips with the effects that sharing pages in this way can have on sites Google ranking performance.
I would expect that site I ‘shared’ would move nearer toward the top of the rankings, but whats interesting is that Google promotes sites that those in my circles have shared via the +1 button too. You can try this yourself: Open up a browser window and do a search that you have done before. Then, log in to Google Plus and do the same search. Different results?
What does this mean for website owners?
Still early days for Google Plus, and if there is one thing I’ve learned over 10+ years of optimising for Google and online marketing, it’s no knee jerk reations and don’t panic! It’s worth simply ‘sharing’ your link with your fellow plussers anyway, why not?
I’m hypothesizing here while I carry out further research with colleagues, but could we be seeing the effect on rankings affected by the number of people in your circles? If someone with thousands of plussers in their cirles shares a website, will that propel the site even further to the coveted top positions on page one? Could it simple be the value of a link from Google+ is higher than links from other places? We just don’t know yet.
What we do know, is that relying on Google to keep feed your website with visitors is not a great strategy. It’s like opening a chipshop on a bus route. If the bus operators choose to change the route, you’re stuffed.
Using a blend of methods to promote your website and your business is a much more reliable and less risky option, there are literally hundreds of ways to promote your website, why put all your eggs in one Google-sized basket?