Google Search Ads Get More Social With +1 Feature

Google added the +1 social voting feature to their search ads today in an attempt to personalize users' "ad experiences." It also may be a move to create a fresh monetization channel for their new, and increasingly popular, Google Plus social network.

According to Google's engineers, clicking on a +1 button has the same effect whether it's an ad, a search results page listing, or an individual web page. +1 buttons will also start showing up on Adsense for Mobile text and image ads within the next couple of weeks. According to the search giant, users will be able to opt-out of the +1 ad personalization system by updating their Google account/Gmail personalization options. Advertisers can also choose to opt out and not have the +1 buttons appear on their ad campaigns.

We say: This is a very interesting move by the Big G. Adding a social layer to their ginormous ad network allows for all kinds of possibilities. It will also certainly affect the Adwords "quality score" feature that already gives advertisers (especially spammers) nightmares. So it may have a big effect on search engine marketing and pay-per-click (PPC) ad buying as a whole. Overall though, this should lead to better, more useful, and more targeted ads... higher revenues for Google... and more GREAT free Google products. That's always a good thing! :)

Learn some mo': Google Puts +1 on Ads, Creates Google Plus Revenue Stream