Well, Google stepped further into more “social” search results this week by introducing their own version of the Facebook Like, a social sharing button dubbed +1. They describe +1 like this:

Click +1 to publicly give something your stamp of approval. Your +1′s can help friends, contacts, and others on the web find the best stuff when they search.

Take a look:

View the video on YouTube.

Here’s what your search results will look like if you see a result that has been +1′ed by one of your connections:

You can see that Mark has +1′ed his property, which is now reflected in my search results.

Google hasn’t rolled this feature out to everyone yet. If you don’t see the +1 button next to search results, you can head over to Google Experiments and request to join the +1 “experiment.” Once you’re “in,” you’ll see the button next to the title in search results (and next to AdWords, too … but that’s a topic for another day).

There are a few things that you can do to make sure you’re getting the most out of this new feature to benefit your online marketing efforts:

Update Your Profile

Start here, because you need a public Google profile in order to use +1. Your profile is also one way Google learns about where else you are online (and who you’re connected to there), so make sure your profile info is up-to-date and that you’ve added links to all of the social profiles that you use on a regular basis. Take advantage and feed the machine as much information as possible.

Don’t have a profile yet? Get one here. (Here’s mine to give you an idea of what this looks like.)

Do Something Worth Talking About

I think this one should be a given, but I really can’t emphasize it enough. Social sharing is all about word-of-mouth. You need to do something so interesting, funny, unique, etc. that people will want to tell their friends. (Or you could just sing an incredibly bad teenage pop song.) Be worth talking about at the water cooler or over a beer, and some of that conversation is bound to happen online.

If you’re not doing this in the first place, why would anyone want to recommend you or your website?

Build a Strong Social Presence

There are lots of other reasons why social media can benefit your business, but your prospect’s online social circle is influencing the search results they see now more than ever. Expanding your networks on Facebook, Twitter and other social sites will increase your opportunities to start working your way into these “social” search results. Sharing links to resources besides your own website will help you build a broad, almost-ambient presence over time in your connections’ search results pages.

Get +1 for Your Website

Of course, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to make a recommendation for a web page before you’ve visited the page. I’d imagine the only people who will be clicking on the +1 button from the search results will be marketers and SEOs. (Um, guilty.) For everyone else, including the vast majority of your brand’s audience, they’re much more likely to make the recommendation once they get to your site.

That’s why Google soon will be rolling out the +1 button for websites. I’m sure it will be very similar to the Facebook Like, Tweet This and LinkedIn Share buttons … you’ll be able to place it on any page on your site. And yes, you will want to add this to your site. Make it as easy as possible for visitors to your site to share your content with their network.

It’s a bit odd that Google didn’t roll out this feature as part of their initial launch, but you can sign up to get notified when it does become available for your site here.

In any case, when Google makes a move like this, it’s worth watching. It’s clear that social networks will have a huge impact on search, and more importantly, how your brand’s online presence appears in search results. Keep pumping out great stuff, keep growing your network and make sure you’re giving Google as much information as possible about what you’re doing. Do that, and it’ll be +1 for you and your brand.

And while you’re here, why not click that “thumbs up” button below? I’d like that a lot.

Visibility matters. It’s critical that readers can find your site through search engines, but it’s just as important that you know which terms those readers are using to find you. So it’s good not only to keep an eye on the keywords that you think are important, but also other terms that are similar to the ones you think of first.

Google has a TON of great resources to help you learn more about keywords, including Google Trends, Google Insights, Google Analytics, related searches and Conversion University. One of my favorite new(er) tools is something Google calls the Wonder Wheel … it’s sort of like a mind map for related keywords.

Here’s how it works:
First, try your original search. In Jonathan’s case, here’s what his initial search would look like:

(Kudos to my #AptChat co-host Lisa Trosien for owning the #1 result! Also note that Training Factor’s YouTube videos show up in the top results, even above their own website — a great example why you should be using multimedia to increase your visibility online.)

Now, let’s see what Google thinks are some related terms. Just click “Show Options,” then click “Wonder Wheel” in the sidebar that appears on the left. Here’s what you get:

You can see that some related terms include “conservation programs,” “nwp services corporation,” “utility management” and “operational efficiencies.” If you’re writing about multifamily training, these might be a few good terms to include on your website or in blog posts (assuming that they’re relevant to your topic).

Don’t forget to try synonyms for your original search, too. Instead of “multifamily training,” Jonathan might want to try “apartment training.” A quick spin on the Wonder Wheel shows that related terms include “apartment leasing training,” “apartment maintenance training,” “apartment classes” and more. (Litter box training? Who knew?) Keep digging, and watch the Wonder Wheel expand quickly to discover new subjects. Here’s an example:

As you can see, you can use Wonder Wheel to easily find terms that are related to your original search. If you’re blogging or maintaining a website, this can be an excellent way to discover popular terms and brainstorm new topics for future blog posts. So take the Wonder Wheel for a spin. You might be surprised at what you find.

Have you tried Wonder Wheel? Has it helped you? What other tools are you using for keyword analysis?

UPDATE: (July 2011) It appears that Google has disabled the Wonder Wheel in their latest redesign. We’ll keep you posted if we see that Google brings it back in the future. (We sure hope they do!)

Read every slide. If you’ve already seen it, then read it again:

I think there’s more to the story for apartment companies (that’s why we’re here!), and I don’t agree with everything she says, but for the most part, I love it. I use a lot of the same data everyday in my work here at 30 Lines.

What are you doing to get your name out there and engage residents and potential customers? Wait, before you answer that question … go back and read those slides one more time. (And check out Marta’s blog — she writes lots of other good stuff, too.)

Now get started!

Simply put, geotagging is a way to tell a website specifically where you’re located on the map. YouTube added the option to geotag videos when they’re uploaded a little over a year ago, but hasn’t offered a way to search based on that information. Expect this searchability to extend to other Google properties soon, as well. Google Earth already offers some geotagged YouTube videos, but only for a select few videos.

It’s not hard to imagine that tagged videos will soon be searchable in organic Google results, on Google Maps, Google Local (which is essentially another way into Maps) and Google Earth. A search for “San Francisco apartments” will net photo and video results along with the text. (Other search engines currently provide results like this, and searches on Google Maps already return photos.)

It takes two seconds to scroll down and type your address after you add the video description. If you’re posting property videos to YouTube (or Flickr, or any other photo/video site, for that matter) make sure you are taking advantage of features like this that might make your media more search friendly.