Just like the Facebook like feature, Google has now rolled out the social search feature to 19 countries across the World. The feature was currently under test in the US only, something iM3 has been testing over the last few weeks to see the impact and functionality.
The Facebook Like button results in friends [from the same social network] viewing what you think is either popular, worthwhile or something you actually like. No one is sure weather this affects the Google search results as yet, but recently Bing has announced they will take into consideration the number of Facebook likes when ranking a page in their SERP’s.
In a social web blog post, Google confirms that the social search feature will not only display friends who shared when logged in with Google, but also those who posted via Twitter and Facebook. This occurs when someone has publicly shared the link; Google knows this through either username similarities or people linking Twitter to Google Profiles.
We have tested the US version in recent weeks and it certainly pulls rank if you are signed in. Our social media profiles (search “seosheffield” on Google) all ranked higher when a +1 had been applied.
