About seven years ago, Google decided to launch it’s very on social networking site that they named Google+. On Monday, Google announced it will be closing down the consumer version of Google+ in the coming months as it disclosed a privacy bug.
Google said “the consumer version of Google+ currently has low usage and engagement,” adding that “90 percent of Google+ user sessions are less than five seconds.”
In 2011, Google launched the plus one buttons for websites, and had hinted that those buttons were one of many ranking signals used for search quality and rankings. But in the years following its release, Google pushed back on that. It hinted those buttons were one of many ranking signals used for search quality and rankings. Over the years, Google pushed back on that, and as Google+ grew (or shrunk), Google said it did not use Google+ or plus ones as a ranking signal. It was a hot topic as studies showed evidence both ways.
In any event, since Google+ is going away, nobody has to worry about the fat that Google+ and +1 buttons having an impact on ranking going forward.