Google vs. Facebook! Many consider it as the “rivalry of the century” and it is this rivalry that has forced Google to find alternates in order to compete with and overcome the Facebook dominance. This hunt for alternatives has paved the way for Google Plus. For those who are not familiar with Google+, it is basically a Google powered, social networking and identity service. 

Google+ was launched in September 2011. The network incorporated Google Profiles and Google Buzz, and introduced new social services like Google Circles, Sparks, Hangouts, etc. With Google+ the search giant aimed to outshine the market share of Facebook which has over 800 million users. 

Google used every possible way to rapidly increase the numbers of Google+ users. According to a report, Google+ managed to grab more than 90 million users by January 2012. In December 2011, an independent analysis revealed that Google+ that an estimated 625,000 users were joining this infant network every single day. It was believed that if Google+ could sustain this growth then it would reach a total of 400 million users by the end of 2012 – a mammoth achievement indeed. 

However, merely joining a network, does not guarantee success. There are so many factors that contribute to a network’s popularity and the one of them is the average time spent by a user on the same. According to a report in February 2012, the average monthly time spent on Google+ by a user was only 3.3 minutes as compared to that of Facebook which remained as high as 7.5 hours. This disparity between numbers shows that Google needs to do a lot more work in this area and need to work on creating some tools to engage the users on the networks. Google is aware of this and is using every means to overcome this even if they have to work against their own suggestions and recommendations.

Google+ and SEO: 

Can we use this new social network to improve your website’s rankings? Would Google use such a palpable ploy to inspire people to use Google+? Such questions come to the mind of many. The answer to these questions is a firm YES. Definitely Google+ has an impact on Search Engine rankings. Google bosses are so determined to topple the market share of Facebook that they would have at least considered the option of human sacrifice if they thought it would help them in wrestling market share away from Facebook. Now let’s have a look at Google+ impact on SEO:

> Most of the social networks place “no-follow” attributes in every outgoing link telling search engine spiders not to follow that link. Google+ on the other hand, offers do-follow outgoing links from its pages. Interestingly, it was Google itself, who presented the idea of “no-follow” links, but just to induce web masters and SEOs to use this network for SEO purpose; they have allowed the same on Google+.

> Another benefit of Google+ is that it can help new websites/pages to get indexed faster. It usually takes Google a few days to index a new site. However, if you share your website’s link on Google+ or place the +1 button on your site, the search engine will index your site within a few minutes! Talk about efficiency.

> I believe that Google will start using the +1 button to influence its search result. It will not come as a surprise to me if they include Google+ in their search algorithm. Matt Cutts has repeatedly said that Google is looking to incorporate social interaction into determining content quality. 

> Recently I did a little experience with the Traffic’s Google+ page. I added Traffic’s Google+ page as a “friend” on my Google+. Shortly after that I searched for SEO service on Google and found wewanttraffic.com on my first Google result page. Before this little experiment, the site was nowhere to be found within the first five SERPs. Bear in mind, this surge in rankings was personalized for me as I was the one who added Traffic as my “friend." As Google+ grows, and user interaction increases, sharing links and the use of +1 button will definitely push the sites’ ranker higher. On Facebook, Nike's fan page has approximately 5 million fans. With such a gigantic fan following, a few Google+ shares can drive significant traffic from the improved personalized search results. 

Many SEO experts believe that the pages shared on Google+, are receiving a thumbs-up in Google results. Google Plus is in its infant stages and Google is still working hard on it and modifying it structure and architecture on daily basis. I am sure that as more people starting to use Google+, we will surely see a massive impact on search rankings. As a smart webmaster and/or an internet marketer, we all need to keep a close eye on this tool. Besides there is ample proof indicating a move toward social integration, I and I’m confident that very soon Google+ will evolve itself into a wonderful resource to better connect with your readers while giving boost to your rankings in Google. 

Imran Zaheer

SEO Manager, Traffic

Author Bio:

Imran Zaheer is the SEO Manager and SEO Analyst at Traffic, Dubai, where he specializes in campaign design, keyword analysis and SEO ROI planning and control. He is the leading members of Traffic’s SEO team, and an indomitable resource when it comes to planning and executing SEO campaigns. 

Only less than two years ago, the Middle East was living without an online utility that could guide people to the right places for having their needs met. Then came YaDig toward the end of 2010 and transformed the way the locals would find business establishments and interact with them. What YaDig pioneered in the Middle East was the concept of a social reviewing website that helped people quickly find the right places to go near them, share their personal experiences with local businesses, and stay in touch with their friends all the while. A breath of fresh air for the region’s people, YaDig’s growth exploded and today the site ranks as the Middle East’s leading social review website. 

It was not just the consumers that YaDig benefited; seeing the site’s whopping (and increasing) traffic made up mostly of the young, ready-to-spend demographic, local businesses also joined the site for greater exposure to the potential customers. The site’s review service helped local businesses keep track of their performance and learn directly from customers what they liked or disliked about the business. A recent business success story unveils the power of YaDig for businesses and consumers alike. Today YaDig’s innovative business user tools enable merchants to smartly respond to customer feedback, post deals and events, and run advertising campaigns on the site for enhanced consumer engagement. 

Growth: 300,000+ Pageviews per Month

In less than two years, YaDig’s Middle East user base has exploded from a few hundred to tens of thousands today, and the numbers are only increasing. Last week the site hit the 300,000 pageviews per month mark growing over 25% since last month. The love YaDig has received so far from the UAE community (50% of our traffic right now) has been reciprocated with continuous enrichment in the site’s database for this region; thousands of new places in different categories are added every week for different Middle Eastern locations so the locals get more out of their favorite site. 

More Places for Better Utility

YaDig started off with just five categories that included hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, night clubs and bars. But knowing the initial five categories covered only a fraction of places that people go in their lives, the guys/girls introduced many new categories later that encompassed virtually all possible venues a person is expected to visit in his or her lifetime.

The inclusion of such important categories as automotive services, beauty & spa, education, home services, medical & health, and sports & leisure among others has made YaDig.com an even cooler tool that people can use all the time in their everyday lives. Today YaDig stands proud as the Middle East’s easiest place to find the info you need and even with a sprinkle of user opinions too!

YaDig’s Vision for the Region

What YaDig engineers strive to achieve is making the site more useful and exciting for its users, both consumers and business. The website’s new build comes with new design, better search, and more interactive tools for users and businesses. With an approach that utilizes user feedback and local market research, YaDig envisions developing the site into an inevitable and most comprehensive guide to the Middle East’s businesses. As for expanding its outreach, YaDig is geared up to optimize the untapped online potential of such important countries of the region as the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait and more. With a vision so promising, YaDig’s Middle East users should expect a lot more exciting coming their way in the near future. Until then, enjoy and keep YaDiging!

Facebook completely dominated social networking in 2011 - a trend reflected in social networking in the United Arab Emirates.

According to StatCounter’s 2011 statistics, Facbook with 87.88 percent of the market share dominated social media in the United Arab Emirates in 2011. Youtube help the second spot with 4.11 per cent, followed by StumbleUpon and Twitter at 3.5 per cent and 3.3 percent respectively.

The poor showing for supposedly star performers like Twitter and Google+ (included in the Others category) is not surprising. Most users in the Middle East are still playing “catch-up” to micro blogs and Facebook killers. Nonetheless Twitter is gaining momentum, even if it’s at the expense of StumbleUpon, which lost 3.6 per cent of its market share in the last quarter of 2011. 

Apart from its success on social networking, Facebook is also usurping the traditional strongholds of search giants like Google, Yahoo and Bing. People are spending more time on Facebook than on Google, or than on Yahoo and Bing combined. In fact 2011 became the first year when a social network thrash search engines in this particular category – a big bust for search engines.

The web is changing and uses across the world are changing with it. Let’s see how the old-web does against the now-web in 2012.