Google is about to launch their newest attempt to better social networking by introducing the +1 button to search results. This new feature will allow users to vote for a particular page they take an interest in by clicking the +1 button and sharing it with their network of friends. This addition to Google is much like the popular Like button that has already taken Facebook by storm.

When searching for a favorite vacation destination on Google, all somebody would have to do is click on the +1 button to the right of the link result and it would then be instantaneously shared with their network of friends and others across the web. Also, when a user performs a specific Google search, they will see every site that their friends and others +1’d beside the particular link results that might be of personal interest to them.

In order to be able to use the +1 button and see it in the search results, you will need a Google public profile. This will help users see who recommended a certain restaurant, clothing store, etc. A person’s +1 will be created in a new tab on your Google profile. The user has the option to keep their +1 tab private and just manage them for personal use, or they can share it with everyone they want to.

Social networking has become a huge factor in many successful businesses around the world. Facebook with its Like button and Twitter with its Tweet button have changed the way people are introduced to new information about millions of companies they might be interested in. Now Google’s +1 button will more easily help users to find new companies and see who in their network of friends as well as many other people have visited and +1’d their website of interest.

By having these new social networking features, businesses are able to get more traffic to their site without any expense incurred! The more +1 button clicks by a company’s link in a search result, the more likely they are to have a large amount of visitors to their website each day. Statistics have shown that the correlation between Facebook and Twitter shares (Like button, Tweet , comments) all go hand-and-hand with website rankings and linking root domains. Now with Google launching its +1 button, and soon with the ability to embed +1 on actual website content, the possibilities for companies to grow are virtually endless. Google’s +1 button is still being worked on, but if anyone is interested in learning more about this new social networking feature they can visit Google’s +1 page.

Noell works for Search-Placement Marketing located in South Florida. She enjoys writing about topics such as SEO, social media, and internet marketing. Search-Placement Marketing is an internet marketing firm specializing in SEO, Paid Search, and Social Media Marketing.

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SEO Effect tools is proud to present the all new the SEO page scan. Scan your webpage’s in 3 easy steps and discover what you can do to improve your chances to be found in Google, Yahoo, Bing and… Facebook!

The SEO page scan consists out of 3 steps:

1. Let our crawler index your site’s pages
2. Connect keywords to your page URLs
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Make sure that SEO Effect knows what URLs are on your site, at least for the most important pages. With our crawler — and the soon to be released interface with Google Webmaster Tools — you can quickly assess your dead links and page errors. We’ll also show you how many URL’s are indexed by Google, Bing and Yahoo.

Step 2: Connect keywords to your page URLs

Just drag, drop your keywords to connect to the page or ‘URL’. In a future release this is prefilled based on your Google analytics data, if your site has enough traffic to forecast this.

Step 3: Scan each page and take action

Do a SEO scan individual pages. The improvements are ranked according to highest impact in your ‘on page SEO score’. Use the advices and tips to improve that page for each assigned keyword.

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SEOs have known for years that meta descriptions and meta keywords do not impact a site’s rankings on Google. Well, maybe not all SEOs have known this. I never cease to be surprised by how many people I meet who talk about “optimizing meta keywords” to get top rankings on Google. If it were that easy, everybody would be top ranked (which causes a problem, since only 10 people can be top ranked). That’s another story for another day, though.

So, what about meta descriptions?

We’ve known for years that Google doesn’t consider meta descriptions as a factor in ranking websites. In fact, Google just recently stated in a blog post that “we still don’t use the description meta tag in our ranking.” Can’t be much plainer.

But there is more to the story!

Google may not use meta descriptions in their rankings, but your meta description can actually influence your rankings. In fact, I expect meta descriptions to play an increasingly larger role in rankings in the coming months and years.

Meta descriptions DO affect my rankings? Are you sure?

Yes, meta descriptions do affect your rankings on Google. Let me explain…

Meta description tags won’t affect your “absolute” rankings (yet), but they will affect your personalized rankings. Here is how it works:

Google now automatically personalizes search results based on your personal web history. One of the factors used is your click-throughs. If you click on a website in the Google SERPs, Google will rank that website much higher for you on subsequent searches. (In one test, Google moved a result from page 5 to #3 rank based on my clicks.)

This means that a website with a higher CTR will, on average, be ranked higher in personalized searches for returning searchers. To put it another way: If you are able to entice users to click on your website in the Google SERPs, then they return later and search for a similar keyword, your website will be ranked higher!

How can you increase your CTR in the SERPs? Two of the factors that influence click rates you have control over – your page title and…that’s right, your meta description!

How Meta Descriptions Affect Your Rankings

Good meta descriptions = Higher CTR = Higher rankings in personalized search results!

At the present, your meta descriptions will only influence your ranking for a small segment of searches (return searchers with personalization on). (This segment is small, but it may not be as small as you think, as many searchers routinely perform multiple searches to find multiple results to research and compare.)

Could meta descriptions play an even greater role in rankings?

Possibly. We know that search engines are starting to use more clickstream data in rankings. As Google and Bing consider CTRs in their ranking algorithms, meta descriptions could become even more influential in rankings.

What do you think? How important are meta tags? Do you think they will become more or less important?

Adam Thompson is an SEO and conversion optimization specialist. Visit his website for a free website analysis and online marketing strategy.

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