The Google +1 Button has been available since March (to select websites at first) and now the company with the button in full force has announced the ability to track the success of their social sharing option through Google Webmaster Tools.
Websites owners who log into their webmaster account can see how many views the button has generated for their articles, how many +1 clicks each page has received and the impact the button has had on Clickthrough Rates.
The program also gives users access to other social widget analytics including the Facebook Like Button and Twitter. To gain access to full button tracking users are required to add a small piece of code to their websites.
The program tracks social engagement by showing behavior changes based on the use of the +1 button. For example are users who click on Google +1 more likely to spend additional time on your site. It also tracks which pages on any given site are driving the highest number of social actions with +1 and other social sharing buttons.
If nothing else the program will allow webmasters to split-test the button via different page placements to optimize the +1 button and see if it’s offering any value added services to the site in use.
Here’s a look at the tracking output for the Google + button:
You can also see the output of the +1 button compared to other social sharing options (ignore the fact that the Google +1 Button has the most shares, the screenshot is from Google):
Try out the tracking program in your Google Webmasters backend and let us know what you think.
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