Over the past week, Google execs and Sales representatives alike have been speaking agency to agency touting their most recent SEM development, the +1. Google is finally taking a leap into the “socialsphere” and a shot at taking share away from Facebook. Ultimately, the +1 is Google’s version of a “like” button on Facebook. If you click the +1 and are linked to your friends via the Google Profile network, then your friends will see your Search Results recommendations, or your +1’s.

By introducing this type of technology, advertisers question what impact this will have on targetability – can I now target ads on the Google Display Network to those that +1 a certain topic? How about deliver keyword to those that have a +1 threshold? Lot’s of questions.

Think of it this way- does getting a +1 on your listing drive up your organic ranking? If so, will there be a click fraud issue?

I’m curious to see how this plays out in the future, but I applaud Google’s new addition…for now.

Google recently announced their Click-to-Call feature allowing local advertisers to post their phone numbers in Adwords ads, enabling seamless one-stop connectivity between advertiser and consumer via a Smartphone Adwords ad.

Going one step further, this week, the search giant is rolling-out their Click-to-Call platform on a national level where advertisers can add a national phone number to the last line of ad text for any existing or new campaign, making it easy for customers to connect with the business by phone directly from the ad, regardless of their location.

“This can be especially helpful when you’re trying to connect with the business call center rather than a specific business location. After searching for travel services, for example, you might want to call to discuss trip planning with an agent… Now, if you’re using an iPhone, Android device, or Palm Pre, you can just click the phone number to call the business without needing to navigate to a new page”.

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