Google is seriously facing the heat these days from Facebook and is trying to woo as many users as possible. Facebook has the power of socially connected 500+ million users whereas Google is the most preferred search engine by billions of people.

We all are familiar with FaceBook LIKE button as one of the most popular way of sharing the content with other Facebook users. Now, Google is coming out openly to give some competition to this LIKE button. They have developed a similar button with same functionality but with a different name called +1.

The concept is actually same: The +1 button will appear next to the search results in Google and if you are logged into your Google account, you can immediately click the button to notify your friends that you actually recommend this link. So, it behaves same as the Facebook LIKE button.

The Google LIKE button may drive more traffic to your site as compared to Facebook LIKE as your friends are more likely to follow or click links liked by you on Google results than Facebook LIKE. Here is an example:



Currently, this button is in testing mode and is expected to be rolled out soon. If you would like to see and test this button, you can register here to be part of testing.

Will this button be available for placement on websites just like Facebook LIKE?

Yes, Google is planning to roll out the button for website owners and the code for placement will be available as soon as the feature is launched. It will behave exactly the same way as the Facebook LIKE button on your site behaves i.e. storing and sharing your likes with your friends.

Facebook LIKE button shares likes with Facebook friends, Google +1 will share with whom?

The Google +1 (LIKES) will be shared with your friends in Google circle like Gmail contacts and chat buddies. They are also planning to include your twitter and other network friends based on your preferences and open social standards. So, once you 'recommend a link' on Google, your friends if logged in with their Google account and are looking for the same search result will see your recommendation something like this:

What do I need to do to start seeing this button in my Google search results?

At the time of writing this article, the feature is not yet rolled out completely. It is still in testing phase and only available to people who have registered themselves to test this feature here.

When will the button be available for web site owners to place it on their website/Blog/Forum?

As a website owner/webmaster, you can register here to get the first hand notification about the availability of this button.

What else?

It seems that Google wants you to create a Google Profile before you can use this button to recommend. I am not sure if this is mandatory or not, but the language on this Google blog do sound like this.

See this video to know more about Google's +1 (LIKE) button: