+Peter G McDermott voiced thoughts I have had for a while on suggested users, and more recently on Search Plus Your World. This is a must read.
Reshared post from +Peter G McDermott
Google Must Remove the Suggested Users List and Here's Why
There has been a lot of conversation going on about Search Plus Your Work, +Google+, the Suggested Users List and the Hot List. In all reality, you can bark all you want about the "What's Hot" list, but it isn't important. That is a transient pulse of what is being share and doesn't result in anything but momentary exposure for people with engaging content–I use the term engaging loosely.
What really matters is the Suggested Users List (SUL) and Search Plus Your World (SPYW) and I think that there are a lot of people afraid to talk about it.
Now that people connected into Google+ have SPYW by default, they are exposed to content that has been suggested by users of this network, chiefly, content suggested by people that they have circled. So if you are looking for "website design" you might find several results that come from +1's on the web at large or shares on Google+ from people you follow.
Whoever +1's or suggests the most content on here will have better luck having their "vetted" content pop up in their followers searches. So, when you +1 a website for any particular reason, remember that your followers will see that when they search for relevant topics.
Traditional SEO is Dead
Because of SPYW, whoever has the largest following, has the largest impact in search results, because they are impacting everyone that follows them. If +Britney Spears +1's a makeup website, then all of the teenage girls that follow her will see that at the top of their search results. Therefore, she is basically offering free PR to that business simply by the virtue of +1ing it on a whim. That can translate to huge money, especially for someone that has 2,000,000 followers.
You can work on the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) of your website all you want, but social interaction–yes that little +1 button counts–is starting to impact search results more than other traditional methods. Therefore, what you should be focusing on is sharing and engaging people with the content that you want to appear in search results. What sucks about that, is that your G+ content might rise above your regular content which means bad news if you depend on advertising revenue from the content you post on your website.
Why the SUL Needs To Go, Now
Google has made a tremendous unfair advantage for certain people that they have chosen to show off to new users. These inorganic follows turn into an augmented search-result reality where the people on the SUL have the largest influence on the way Google+ users search the Internet, and their influence will only continue to grow as this network grows.
As an independent content creator trying to find my place in this space and trying to make a living from it, I am at a critical disadvantage from the people that Google has chosen. I have had in-depth conversations with +Eric Rice, +Chris Pirillo, +Robert Anderson, +Hermine Ngnomire, +matthew rappaport, +Bruce Garber, +Paul Roustan and countless others surrounding this topic.
The general consensus is that Google is taking what should be a fair playing field and picking favorites. I think Google was naive in doing this, because they may have not taken into consideration the amount of impact, influence and–potentially–money that they were throwing in the lap of people that they have chosen to recommend.
In order to keep this space fair, level and objective and to make sure that they're not handing the Internet to 300 people on a silver platter, Google needs to understand that their mere "suggestion" translates into the potential to make a lot of money and deprive other content creators of the opportunity to succeed.
I have heard several people that work with, around and for Google admit that when Google steps away from the algorithm, things typically don't end well. So, Google, my advice to you is to put an algorithm in place which is democratic and organic. Because, after all, we all like it when things are organic. Isn't that what you're tyring to do with search now?
This isn't happy get-together anymore. This is business.
CC: +Vic Gundotra +Bradley Horowitz +The New York Times +Larry Page +Louis Gray +Robert Scoble +Mike Elgan +Mike Stenger +Aaron Wood +Bobbi Jo Woods +Brett Bjornsen +Carter Gibson +Ryan Crowe +Denis Labelle +John Fanavans +Margie Hearron +Kimberly Hayworth +Lynette Young +Dan McDermott +Jaana Nyström +Anthony Quintano +Maria Quiban +George Rodenbaugh +Johnny Roquemore +Tiffany Henry +Gabriel Vasile +Ryan Van Sickle +Becky Worley +stephanie wanamaker +Dolidh Young +Alireza Yavari +Leo Laporte +Sarah Hill +Natalie Villalobos
</rant>
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Tag +Keith Cramer +Jim Gomes
I highly suggest going to Peter's post and reading ALL of the comments there. It took me about a half hour to seriously digest everything, so fair warning.
I saw this yesterday via another repost. I don't have Peter in a direct circle. Initially, I think I agreed with his assessment. However, after sleeping on it, I'm not so panicky and breathless about how bad the SUL is. Yes, it can have a powerful skewing effect, but it is easily countered. I make my own judgment on whether I like a recommendation that a Robert Scoble makes. He might get me to click on something, but if it turns out to be junk, I will tend to ignore his recommendations. And to completely block his recommendations, I simply uncircle him. Presto! Instant search optimization that I was in control of. I like SPYW. It is a fairly transparent recommendation system (I.e., it's clear to the user that it is working). I don't think it's much different that reading posts from people in your stream. I have seen many times where people (myself included) have recommended products or websites. Nothing wrong with that. And Peter talks about the organic and inorganic growth of circlers. This is a non-argument for me simply due to the fact that the Shared Circle feature exists. The SUL is nothing more than a quick access to a big shared circle. So, I guess my overall response is: meh.
So far I've only 1+'d things like people's comments on G+ (as in the fb "like") Does that even do anything searchwise?
+James Lamb I am unsure. I would hazard a guess that a healthy conversation on a topic would bring up the topic itself; the ways of Google are mysterious.
Magic Google Ball: results are unclear. Search again later.