For those that know me (and/or attended my session at DD10), they know I take a much different approach than most towards social media. The majority of our shoppers that are looking to buy a car go to Google first - and if I can do anything to ensure that I will not only be found when they are searching, and that I am not only found but also appear in the best light, then I am one step ahead of my competition. You are fooling yourself if you think that +1 will not have any effect on SERPs. The simplest analogy that I can share is that if you are looking for a great Italian restaurant in your area, and you search, Google can always provide indexed results, but wouldn't you prefer a list of the Italian restaurants that your friends suggest? Now take that to a much, much higher level with millions of people, and wouldn't Google like to present the most relevant results that take into account personal endorsements of sites? Hint - have you ever heard of back-linking? Like everything else, Google is always looking for ways to improve their algorithms, and this is the type of answer they have been looking for in a long time (except it took Facebook to show them how to do it...). Do I know if it will be successful? Not sure - but can I afford not to participate fully in the market where the significant majority of my shoppers start their search for sales or service?...
Great seeing my fellow SEO friend Billfred here!
