Google shows that content is still king

Last week, Google launched a new feature called +1. This feature allows users to recommend web content and ads. The +1 button will appear alongside search results and website content, and users' interactions with it may be employed to target future ads and content to them.

Right now this feature is in a limited, experimental release. It offers a way for users to promote a subject or web page that they like. +1 clicks will only be displayed on search result pages when you are signed into Google. Much like Facebook's Like Button, you will see your own +1s as well as those from any contacts or friends listed in your Google Account.

This means that having valuable, relevant, and current content on your web site can really help your performance with Google. If your content offers value to a visitor, they are more likely to click that +1 button. Google will be rolling out the button for Web sites shortly as well, making it even more similar to Facebook's functionality.

Will this take the place of the Facebook Like Button?

Unlikely. Facebook has an enormous volume of users who are already connected and sharing. Google isn't a social network in the same sense. However, as Google collects this data, it can be used to improve the quality of search results and help users find information from sources they can trust because others have recommended them.

The bottom line of this new feature: make your content valuable so that others will want to recommend it. Exactly how much weight these recommendations will have in search rankings remains to be seen, but as the Web becomes ever more social, tools like these will become an integral part of users' daily experience.