About /
Google is often improperly classified as a technology company, when it is in fact one of the most progressive marketing organizations in the world. The 2011 rollout of Google +1, which allows individuals who are logged-in to Google to “vote” for a particular Web page or digital asset, is more proof that Google plans to promote highly personalized marketing for years to come.
The Plus One (+1) Button, according to Google:
“…gets conversations going. Click the +1 button to give something your public stamp of approval. Then, if you want to share right away, add a comment and send it to the right circles on Google+.”
Google +1 Buttons are showing up increasingly within Google-controlled search engine results pages and display banner advertising. Rosetta’s Search and Media Thought Leadership team has collected points of view during cross-functional meetings, and provides the following information for its clients and partners. Our initial Point of View from April 2011 has been updated and included within this joint document.
Organic Search Impact:Google admits it will eventually take +1s into account when calculating standard Organic search engine rankings, but currently the feature only seems to improve rankings and exposure of Web pages and digital assets promoted within one’s own “circles” of influence. Rosetta Partner BrightEdge provided research in June 2011 that showed that more Web site home pages have a Google Plus button than a Twitter button, so the use of this sharing tool may grow.
Paid Search Impact: Paid search ads impacted by +1 will only affect Google users who are logged into their Google account. Google estimates in 2011 that only ~20% of their users are logged in at any given time. However, the Google Plus platform has been opened to more users as of September and both Organic and Paid search can be positively affected if someone’s particular target client segments are more likely to use Google Plus and to share online.
Display Advertising Impact: This feature is the “baby,” having rolled out in October 2011. Depending on campaign restrictions, Google will include recommended +1 ads in bid auctions on any sites or pages that a friend visits, thus expanding audience reach opportunities. Users’ friends are more likely to see ads that are +1’d, which increases opportunities for engaging new, relevant audiences.
Measurement: Google +1 results can be tracked and are accessible through the AdWords UI, and will be aggregated across both the Paid and Organic accumulations. The hurdle that stands in the way is that if you are using different destination URLs between Paid and Organic search, then there will be no aggregating of results. This impacts the overall value that +1 can offer because of the use of dedicated, non-Organic landing pages. The data can be compared and leveraged to help improve conversion ability of both Organic and Paid search pages, as well as banner calls-to-action.
Google +1 has been available to Organic search users since the official launch in March 2011. The view of Organic search results was forever changed, giving logged-in users the ability to immediately provide a vote of confidence for a particular search result. The 2008 view looked like this:
Now in December 2011 when logged-in:
Google has been asked if the +1 activity will eventually shape the “standard” algorithm that provides the base set of results, which are not personalized to logged-in or other tracked users. According to Search Engine Watch:
“Google most recently confirmed again to Wired that ‘Google will study the clicks on +1 buttons as a signal that influences the ranking and appearance of websites in search results. The purpose of any ranking signal is to improve overall search quality. For +1’s and other social ranking signals, as with any new ranking signal, we’ll be starting carefully and learning how those signals are related to quality.’”
Rosetta estimates that it will become increasingly important for search marketers to consider how to increase their +1 total for their HTML content as well as digital assets. It is highly likely that increased +1s will show correlation to better exposure and traffic, and, over the coming months, causality will continue to be a sought-after “smoking gun” for SEOs that evangelize the power of this social sharing tool.
Keep in mind also: Facebook “Likes” and “Tweets” are similar social signals that should be measured independently if possible.
Google +1 is the leading search engine’s latest attempt at making a splash in the ever-growing and evolving social networking space. While past attempts have not worked out in the search giant’s favor, Google +1 looks to have the possibilities to impact not only Organic results but also Paid traffic.
Almost any time that a visual change or option is made to an ad unit, Click-Through-Rate (CTR) typically sees an increase based on the newness that consumers want to experiment with. The potential for a consumer to feel more confident with a Brand/Product/Paid ad because someone in their network +1’d it could provide a potential boom effect on traffic.
Despite all of the potential and anticipation that comes along with Google +1, there are still questions that only time and testing can answer. As described in the initial Overall Impact, Paid search will only be affected at the rate of adoption of logged-in users. Although this stands at 20% currently, indications point to this number growing. In September 2011, Experian Hitwise reported:
“Google+ emerged as the third largest site in the Social Network and Forums category last Wednesday, a day after the site went from ‘invitation-only’ to ‘open access’ available to everyone.”
Paid and Organic ads are automatically included in the +1 experiment, but to have the full opportunity tested you will need to have the +1 button added to your actual Web site. While the code is minimal, it will take development time with a release schedule. In 2012, the Search team will continue to work across Organic and Paid to find synergies and increase performance as a result of +1-enabled traffic and insights.
Following its implementation on search results and search ads, Google’s “+1” button officially launched across display advertising on October 10, 2011. This indicates the first time social-enabled ad campaigns are available across the Google Display Network. Essentially, the +1 button allows users to recommend the ad’s landing page to their friends and contacts with a single click. Like search, the +1 notification appears only to users who are socially connected via Google. Implementation is simple, as Google seamlessly activates the functionality on the backend.
On desktop, the +1 button and recommendations will appear at the bottom of display ads and then fade out until the viewer hovers over the ad. The viewer can also close the overlays by clicking the ‘x’.
Google’s +1 button on display ads may impact users’ online (and offline) interaction with brands. This feature capitalizes on the strong influence of peer-to-peer recommendations and gives users an easy way to share their brand interests. It provides a way to bring a key aspect of social media’s value directly to display ads, giving users easy access to social “sharing.”
+1 is a cross-media feature: as a single +1 button works across +1 buttons on Organic search results, display banner ads and Web site assets
A consistent challenge in display advertising is the lack of click-based actions, as average industry click-through rates are less than 0.1%. While the click certainly isn’t the quintessential metric of online media, the +1 feature actually gives users a compelling reason to click, take action and recommend a product to their friends, possibly leading them to click through the ad itself.
The +1 feature could bring new life to social display advertising and may begin to take on the role of a rich media ad unit, due to the interactive nature of “+1”. This could be a positive sign, as rich media is typically successful when it comes to driving product recommendations. According to a study by KN Dimestore/Lotame, users are 34% more likely to recommend an advertised product if the ad uses expandable rich media and 25% more likely if the ad uses pre-roll interactive video (versus only 11% more likely with flash ads only).
According to Pointroll, when rich media is involved in a campaign, brand awareness shows a 102% lift, message association shows a 127% lift, and purchase intent shows an 88% lift. Granted, the +1 button is not quite as inviting, dynamic and interactive as an expandable display unit, for example, but it’s interactive nonetheless and may lead to valuable testing opportunities for our clients.
Sources: 2009/2010 Pointroll site events data; 2011 KN Dimestore commissioned by Lotame.
Google +1 provides a clear path to integration of efforts across Paid and Earned Media. By taking action based on trusted analytics coupled with real-time performance monitoring within controlled networks, testing could be developed to show the progression of media creative performance. For example, analysis of how display ad creative imagery and text complemented content that had been previously +1’d within Organic or Paid search, or actually at the site, can then be used to plan future desired outcomes and conversion funneling efforts.
In the example above, each data set would contribute performance information related to +1’d content, which would then feed elements to be tested within text and imagery creative for ongoing digital assets and other marketing content development.
As more users interact with Google +1 and larger data samples begin to be generated, testing will yield greater ROI for those who have the foresight to manage interactive marketing coordinated across channels. Those who also consider how mobile and other connected devices could be used to test different ads will gain even more advantage in 2012.