Google +1

In a huge step towards a more social search Google have announced their new +1 button seen as the potential answer to the facebook like.

Google have over the recent period look to integrate a number of social features within their search offering including, the ability to see which friends have tweeted a given link in search results.

The +1 button though is seen as a more direct move on facebook though as Google rep Jim Prosser stated in an interview with Mashable this week "only a very small percentage of searches and sites will have the +1 button within the next few weeks".

Users who opt into the +1 button experiment (and soon everyone else) in Google Labs will start seeing a +1 icon next to each link in Google search results and the search giant defines it as a “public stamp of approval”. Beyond showing up in search results, Google plans to offer to publishers a +1 button that lets readers +1 something without leaving the publisher’s site.

Facebook obviously has a huge head start here with its Like button — some 2 million sites and counting currently has it installed — but Google’s +1 button will instantly have a lot of appeal, given that the company says +1 data will directly influence its market share dominating search rankings.

You can check out more details at Google.com/experimental and the video below explains +1 in more detail