Google's +1 tool- A breakthrough into the Social Space?

'+1' will be a small tab featuring next to the sites displayed SERP. It will allow you to flag sites that hold your interest & you feel like recommending to others. So your friends/others will get to see the sites +1'd by you. To be able to use this tool, one needs to be signed in into his/her Google account and have a Google profile to be able to see the +1's.

Google’s '+1' will be highly beneficial to those users who are always looking for a piece of advice while picking their options. In short, it's another way of telling your friends as well as others, "Hey, it’s worth checking this out!"

Just another ‘Like’ or Tweet’?

+1 can be compared with 'Like' or 'Tweet' button, however there is a major difference between the sites; Google aims at landing people on an external page by providing them with most relevant links to their search (ads or organic listings), whereas Facebook/Twitter want users to stay on their page.

Impact on SEO

Although, there has been no official communication by Google on what impact +1 will have on SEO or search engine rankings, it won't surprising if Google starts rewarding the content with most +1s. Because the ultimate aim of the search engine giant is to provide the user with the most apt match for their search query.

This would also mean that the website owners would now need to put emphasis on providing the user with the most relevant & useful content in order to have more +1s.

When will +1 tool be available to users?

At the moment the feature is in the pilot testing phase & will be available to a limited group of users. The others will probably have to wait for a few months & keep using 'Like' & 'Tweet' till then.

Although Google's earlier attempt of breaking into the social space by means of Google Buzz failed to have an impact, the new tool seems to be more promising.