After months of speculations, Google has finally launched the +1 button for websites. The +1 button is Google's most serious attempt at bringing a social element to search. As a part of the launch, Google has partnered with several websites to launch the +1 button.

What is Google +1?

Google +1 is a way for you to suggest pages which you like to your friends and contacts. When you click on the +1 button, it gets added as one of the signals which determines the ranking of the page. When your friends and contacts search for something related to something you have +1-ed, they will see that page from the search result.

+1 is big!

The Google +1 is a very big feature from Google and could end up altering the search result. Yes, your contacts will get your +1's in their search result - but the effects of your +1's are not restricted to your friends and contacts. Google is going to consider the number of +1's a page has got as an indicator of the quality of the page. This means that a page which has got a lot of +1's could end up higher in the search result.

Having +1 as a search signal could clean up the search result for Google by making the searches more relevant - something that they have not been able to achieve even with the Panda update.

Get +1 for your website

Google +1 is open for anyone with a website to use. To use it in your website, click here and get it. The +1 button is available in four sizes right now.

Activate +1 for your search

Right now +1 for search has not been activated throughout. It is only available as an experiment. If you want to be part of the experiment, go to the Google Experimental Labs page and join the experiment.

+1 in the search result

Once you have joined the experiment, +1's from your contacts will start appearing in your search and you can +1 a search result.