Last month, the Internet fraternity saw a makeover of Google algorithm with Google’s ‘Search Plus Your World’ (SPYW), dividing it into two parts. For better and for worse.

Below are the top 5 ways in which it has affected SEO.

1)Change in Search Interface –

Basically, an inspired Google Search, will now show Google+ pages & profiles in search results. Google wants you to have a Google+ Business Page and thus be active on Google+ too.

Example: Google ‘cars’. You see Ferrari, Ford Motors & Toyota Google Page above the paid listings. Note the link given below the Google+ suggestions. It says, ‘Learn how you could appear here too.’ It is more like an open secret for the marketing team to bank on.

2) Personalization of search

Personally, I feel that you will better understand this, once you log in to your Google Account. Its an insane combination of general results with the results from the people in your circles.

Here is a search result for ‘scuba diver’. I am logged in to my Google Account here and I find images and few web pages in the results which are recommended by one of my Google+ friends.

Its clear that Google will rate anything and everything above your normal results, if people in your circle have shared it or +1’d it.

So, if your Google+ business network is small, your website will be a rare in personalized search results.

3)Google Bias –

Google says ‘Don’t be evil’, but SPYW is evilish. Here, the search engine giant attempts to steal the social market away from others. The following will help you understand why Google is biased:

a) Promoting Google+ aggressively over other Facebook & twitter.
Where are pages and profiles from Twitter and Facebook? Example: Lamborghini has a Facebook Page (2,233,272 likes), Twitter Page (26,123 followers) and a Google+ Page (5,279 have it in their circles). But when we search ‘Lamborghini’, we only see their Google+ Page.

b) Promoting Google+ content to users who are not logged in.
If you feel that the personalization will change when you are logged out, then it will only disappoint you. The search result found for Lamborghini was after logging out of my Google Account. Google will continue to show you stuffs from Google+ pages in search results. This is a promotional move to urge people to jump in to Google+.

c)Google+ Profiles are all over the search results.
Yes, Google is suggesting Google+ Profiles too! I Googled ‘Danny Sullivan’, editor-in-chief of  SearchEngineLand.com, and I get a suggestion in the search box, which is his Google+ Profile page. And this result was found even after I logged out of my Google Account. More than 6,00,000 people have Danny in their Circles.

Bottom-line, you may be the world’s richest person (I’m just exaggerating!)  or even superman, but if don’t have a Google+ profile page, you won’t be suggested.

4) +1s are the new social signal

Google’s efforts have made +1s the new social links. I bet Google is an extremist. Till now, the search giant never really clicked with the social networks and now it has doomed the importance of other social signals such as Facebook likes, shares and retweets to some extent.

So how this works?
If someone in your circle has +1’d any Web Pages or shared videos, content related to a search query you have made, you are likely to see the related Google+ pages higher in your search results.

Google’s emphasis is on improving the search quality (really?). But from marketing point of view, more 1+ and shares would mean higher ranking for your website (for a specific keyword). This means that if many users have +1’d your website, then Google will consider your website to be of high quality.

5) Increases website click through rate

Is click through rate important? Yes it is.
But how will Search Plus Your World affect it? Basically, if your website has ranked up for a particular keyword and has more +1 than the other website shown in the search results. So, there is a possibility that your website will get more hits as compared to the other websites.

Here is a scenario: I am in your Google+ Circle and we like Apple (Yes techie! Apple Inc.). I explore news all day long and have liked an article related to Apple.

Now Google says that +1 is like a “stamp of approval.” So, if I have +1’d a content, you are likely to click on it(of course if you make a search for same or related topic), assuming that the content is not spammy.

According to Google, one would like to read the content recommended by friends and acquaintances, as compared to that from strangers.

Concluding, it can be said that Google’s modus operandi is to gain market share for Google+ in the social world.

This is all I have for my blog friends in this post. In the next, the focus will be on ‘Ingredients for a successful Google+ Brand Page’.

Got any insights on SPYW?
How Google’s Search plus your world has affected your SEO strategy? Please share your insights below.