Google Enhances +1 Button to Enable Sharing to Google+

The +1 button just got a makeover! Starting yesterday, Google started rolling out new features that allow users to use the button to share a web page directly to Google+. Similar to Facebook's sharing button, when on a web page, clicking the +1 button will also offer the option to 'Share on Google+.' Doing so will allow the user to add a comment, choose a Circle to share it with, and share!

This is a step up from the +1 button's previous functionality, whose sharing power was limited to a tab on the user’s Google+ profile. Below is a video overview of the +1 button's new functionality.

The New Functionality Highlights 2 New Features

1. Sharing With Google+ Circles: As we mentioned, the 'Share to Google+' option now included as a function of the +1 button allows users to select specific Circles to share web pages with on Google+ and enables the user to add a comment as well.
2. +Snippets: Users will also notice that when they click the 'Share to Google+' option, the web page's title, an image, and a description automatically gets pulled in, just as Facebook's sharing feature does. Google also announced the ability for publishers to customize the code of their +1 button to modify what automatically gets pulled into a +snippet.

Google indicated it will be rolling out the new +1 button features over the next week or so.

Huge Benefits for Marketers

The +1 was already powerful for marketers, with the button now embedded on more than 1 million websites and generating a total of 4 billion daily views. We also reported two weeks ago that websites that use Google's +1 button generated 3.5 times more traffic from Google+ than websites that don't have the button installed. This is impressive as is, but the button's newest features will undoubtedly make the button even more powerful.

With users' new ability to share content on the web with their Circles, your content's potential to spread even further and reach more people increases dramatically. If you don't already have the +1 button installed on your website/blog, don't hesitate any longer. You're likely missing out on a major opportunity to expand the reach of your content and increase traffic and leads, especially now.

Comments

Posted by Pamela Vaughan on Thu, Aug 25, 2011 @ 10:00 AM