Google has linked its +1 button on third-party websites to Google+, letting users share content through the social network launched by the company in late June.
Before, the +1 button was simply a way of telling Google that content was good enough to be considered a good search result.
Now, the +1 button also acts in a similar way to Facebook’s ‘Like’ button, letting users share content on the web with their social network.
The +1 button was introduced on Google websites in March and offered to third-party sites two months ago. The button is now being clicked 4 billion times a day.
For publishers, this should be tremendously helpful in boosting traffic from Google+, as it will result in more visibility and more reason for people to share their content on Google+.
“Clicking the +1 button is a great way to highlight content for others when they search on Google.,” said Google’s Vic Gundotra. “But sometimes you want to start a conversation right away—at least with certain groups of friends. So beginning today, we’re making it easy for Google+ users to share webpages with their circles, directly from the +1 button. Just +1 a page as usual and look for the new ‘Share on Google+’ option. From there you can comment, choose a circle and share.”
Snippet editing feature
Google has also added what it is calling “+snippets” to enhance +1 button sharing with images and descriptive text.
When used in conjunction with Google+, the +1 button will call up a +snippet–a link, image, and description–that will get shared among the user’s chosen friends, along with any added commentary.
These +snippets make sharing a more graphically rich experience and are thus likely to generate better click-through rates for publishers.
The concept is similar to Facebook news feed link sharing, except that +snippets are not editable.
On Facebook, the user can alter the headline and body text description associated with the shared link.
With +snippets, the user is forced to share the name, image, and description elements as coded by the publisher.
Google is making these new features available to those who have chosen to participate in the Google+ platform preview.
The company plans to make the features available for everyone on Google+ over the next week or so.
Read the official Google blog here.