Google is going to be adding the equivalent of a 'like' button to web search. The '+1' button will appear next to search results or adverts and clicking on it will affect the rankings of the result among you and other people in your social circle.

Click here to try out the +1 experimental search.

Will it catch on? or end in a nasty mess like buzz (over which google is going to be audited by the Federal Trade Comission in the US). Only time will tell. If it does catch on, don't be surprised when we start seeing Asian SEO companies advertising +1 promotion services. These services will involve lots of low paid button pressers creating masses of google accounts, linking them all together and then clicking on the +1 button for each website that has an SEO contract with them. There are already companies that are offering facebook marketing, which is a way of generating visitor traffic via social media.

What this means for general SEO is that the issue of personalised search is going to be more important. At the minute, personalised search is based on what you promote, but if the social +1 button takes effect, then personalised search is not only going to be based on what sites you promote, but also any sites that any of  your Google contacts promote, which is a lot more volatile.