What is Google +1
Google +1 is different than Google Plus, although they both were rolled out at
roughly the same time. The +1 is a way to “like” or recommend a website or business to others while Google Plus is a new social media outlet that is designed to function in a manner similar to Facebook.
If you have a Google account, typically this is an email or Gmail account, then you can begin recommending your favorite websites and businesses. Do a simple Google search, of the results that appear you’ll see a small box with a +1 in it to the right of the company name. This is where you click to recommend the page to your acquaintances who are connected to you through your Google account (typically the people in your Gmail address book).
Why would you want to +1 a business? This is simply a recommendation and you don’t have to participate in the +1 option, but it might prove to be useful down the line. Imagine there is a great new sushi restaurant your friend Jim went to last week, you want to try it but can’t remember the name. Google sushi restaurant in your area and suddenly “Good Sushi” pops up in your search with a notification that Jim +1’d this. Now you know what restaurant he meant without having to track Jim down and ask him again. Or, imagine you’re a lawn care business and there are 20 of them in your region, by having all of your friends, family, and clients give you a +1 your page is more likely to show a recommendation to someone else, it’s like being a friend of a friend and getting a recommendation that way.
But be warned, there are companies out there offering to sell you +1s. Anything that can boost your company’s web presence and visibility is a hot business now and a place where scams abound. Good, solid search engine optimizers will never offer to sell you +1s and there is no proof that having a ton of +1s will really help your search results, instead Google may just flag you as being spammy.