Google Launch "Search plus Your World"

When Google launched its version of a social network, Google+ last year, there was a lot of commentary about the perceived inevitability that they would combine the network with the search product at some point.

Well, that point has arrived. Google have now announced that they are "transforming Google into a search engine that understands not only content, but also people and relationships". In other words, they are now going to be incorporating Google+ information too, terming the new service "Search plus Your World". Specifically, there are three new features:

* Personal results - these are the Google+ results such as photos and posts, including both things you have posted and things that have been shared with you. For example, a search for a holiday destination may now produce posts from friends talking about the same destination, or photos they have posted.
* Profiles in Search - people's profiles will now appear in both autocomplete and search. Typing a friend's name gives you an autocomplete of their full name, and selecting a predicted profile takes you to a page about them, including their Google+ profile of course.
* People and Pages - helping searchers find people profiles and Google+ pages on specific topics, with quick links to connect with them.

These developments should surprise no one, and yet a minority of users will see this, as most searchers do not have Google accounts. However, the implications for search engine marketing and SEO could be profound, how do you target when everyone gets their own unique search results? So, we will be watching closely.