So yeah, this blog is a little schizophrenic in that it covers SEO, finance and productivity. I make no apologies for that, since I feel all three subjects are awesome enough to explore and they have some real areas of overlap – essentially common-sense development of small businesses and entrepreneurial spirit.

So with that out of the way, let’s crack on with some SEO news!

Google +1

Those in the Search industries will be aware that Google is making a very calculated play into Facebook’s territory, by developing and promoted a new social layer to the search results. Google +1 — believed to be the release versions of the secretive Google Me and Emerald Sea projects — is essentially Google’s version of the Facebook Like button.

This mean yet another social button to add to your websites, but with one MAJOR benefit: web pages that have been +1′d (plus one’d) by Jack, for example, will recommended to all of Jack’s contacts in his Google social circle. Not only this, but there’s a pretty good chance that these social upvotes will start to play a significant part in determining how high the page sits on the organic search results.

In essence, Google is laying the groundwork for a ranking factor that could be as important as inbound links.

Now Google has apparently claimed it’s not trying to take a bite out of Facebook, but it’s worth remembering Google also said they were not trying to create a Paypal competitor with Google Checkout – which of course they did.

There are some really comprehensive articles on this that you simply must read when you get chance.

One more thing: these little +1 icons will also show next to paid search results (Adwords) although it’s confirmed upvotes will not directly affect Quality Score (and therefore bid prices). Again, Google is being ever so sneaky with this: any brightly coloured icon next to a paid search result will definitely assist click-through-rate, and in doing so will indirectly affect Quality Score.

So Google’s unspoken message is this: If you don’t want your competitors to have an unfair advantage in either SEO or PPC, you must implement our new product.

Unlike Buzz, Wave or SideWiki, I actually think Google +1 is a good idea that will stick around, and I’m excited at the potential for links to become less important as a ranking lever.