Recent Google+ Move Puts Competition in Check?

It's been an interesting season for online marketing and the search engine optimization industry.  As SEO practitioners closely follow the evolution of search, it’s becoming more apparent personal trends and social media engagement are making way into the SERPs.  Google, the most coveted of SEs, suffered a blow to its ego in 2010, a year Facebook received more visitors.  2011 stats read a bit differently, yet at this point, Google can't ignore the sight of Facebook.  Perhaps G knew it was time to engineer a "move."  Google did move into the social media stratosphere, offering Google+, its own social service, but now it's a lot more…

Google recently (fully?) divulged its plans for Google+ integration.  As many in the SEO field predicted, G is aligning Google+ info into its natural search results' pages.  Google+ members, and those signed in to Google, can experience two levels of search: the broader Web we've all grown accustomed to leveraging, and now, the "Search Across Your World" personalized engine, unique to each individual.

The new integration of the Google brand's social site information is ironic because many sensed the tension between the two Web titans.  Some theorized Facebook, with its 800-million-plus users, would usurp the SE throne away from G by offering a better search engine, one that would include a lot of social-site-rooted results in searches.  Who did it first, the still servant and master, Google.

Will users embrace the option?  We shall wait and see.  Do those in the search engine optimization industry enjoy Google's dominance?  Recently, a number of quirks about Google+ and Google results and integration have raised concern and speculation.

What may seem hypocritical to some is the omission of social results from other social spheres, mainly the "competition" Facebook, along with Twitter.  As Google promotes the use of "Your Web," it is blindingly ironic there are no plans to integrate info from other social spheres as well.  Shouldn't outside-of-Google-brand online behavior be categorized under "your Web" too?  Google project manager director, Jack Menzel, states it's because Google only "has access to info from one social graph," its own Google+ platform.

Maybe the integration of Google+ info into the "Your World" search option will not be so momentous after all, you can switch back and forth between the "old" and "new" results option.  However, it wouldn't be outlandish to flirt with the notion that Google has more plans in store…

Stay tuned in, readers.  Google made a major move today, but Facebook, expecting to go public early this year, has its own in-house moves to ponder.  It's necessary for Facebook to look at the whole landscape, the entire Web "board" now.  Is Facebook hiding some soon-to-be strategy behind its own visage or does Google have its competition in check?

Thanks for reading.