Google Plus +1

Google this week have released their long talk about +1 button and much like the prominent Tweet This and Facebook Like buttons you will see all over the web. +1 buttons let people who love your content recommend it on Google.

‘The +1 button is shorthand for “this is pretty cool” or “you should check this out.”

Click +1 to publicly give something your stamp of approval. Your +1?s can help friends, contacts, and others on the web find the best stuff when they search.’ – Google

Recommendations will appear in relevant search results as a friend’s recommendation, much like how Google Reader can include results from your RSS feeds in your searches.

Google Plus +1 search results example

Google explains the mechanics behind this:

“Sometimes it’s easier to find exactly what you’re looking for when someone you know already found it. Get recommendations for the things that interest you, right when you want them, in your search results.

The next time you’re trying to remember that bed and breakfast your buddy was raving about, or find a great charity to support, a +1 could help you out. Just make sure you’re signed in to your Google Account.” – Google

It looks like this could be Google’s first step towards a social networking platform to rival Facebook which has worked the rumour mill for sometime. I guess these buttons would then also work like the current Facebook Like buttons, in terms of being included then in your friends’ “Feed”.

Get it on your website

Head over to the +1 Button Generator to grab the code for your website. I added them to this blog in a matter of minutes, it was all pretty painless.

You can also find more information about the +1 button on Google’s official website.

By Mark Hesketh

I'm a PHP Developer based in UK, building modern PHP web applications and writing about everything I learn.