Do Google +1s Affect Your Search Ranking?

We seem to have solid evidence that posting a lot on social network Google+ affects your search ranking, which is no surprise since it is, of course, owned by Google. That said, just how much does a collection of +1's really affect your ranking?

According to a recent article on Mashable, there seems to be some evidence that Google +1s can at least indirectly lead to a better page rank. The problem is that it's a very indirect affect. The fact of the matter is that anything that leads to increased social sharing (like Facebook Likes) provides a potential jump in ranking. It's not a sure thing, just one of many factors that Google takes into account.

When it comes down to it, good SEO, link building, relevant keywords, and of course, great content seem to have as much to do with page ranking as endorsements like +1. The Google Panda algorithm is extremely intelligent and defies being gamed, so don't make the mistake of thinking that all you need is lot of a single thing to cause a jump in rankings. As with all things SEO, much more to it than that.

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