3 Predictions For The Future Of Google+ Profiles In Autosuggest

Google+ profiles have been showing up in the autosuggest listings in Google search results for some time. Now that we know this feature appears to be here to stay, it is time to take a closer look. Just to be clear about what we are discussing, let’s look at a few examples.

Here, we see an example of SEO Inc. CEO Garry Grant being featured.

Google+ Profile Autosuggest Example

Garry Grant Autosuggest

Here is an example of my profile showing up, John E Lincoln.

Google+ Profile Autosuggest Example

John Lincoln Google Profile

As we can see, Google is working profile suggestions into the autosuggestion list when logged into an account. Both of these profiles are a connection of the account I was logged into when doing these searches. By being a connection of the account, it enables you to show up in search when someone types in your name, or at least some of your name.

What Happens If You Select A Profile?

It gets really fun when you select a Google+ profile. Here is a look at what renders when mine is selected:

John E Lincoln Online Profiles

As you can see, what came up was a great listing of almost all of my online profiles. From Twitter to Search Engine Land to Facebook, almost all of them were listed. Also, on the right hand side, my Google+ profile was nicely displayed along with the option to “follow” me on the social network.

Unfortunately, this does not work for business pages at the moment. Even though the account I was in had +1’ed the SEO Inc. page, it did not show up in the autosuggest area, even after the full name was put in.

Predictions For Google + Profiles In Autosuggest

Being that Google+ is now a huge part of search engine optimization, this autosuggest feature brings up a few possible scenarios.

Prediction 1: This will result in less traffic to non-Google+ Profiles

As more people connect on Google+, these profiles will become increasingly prevalent. If this is the case, more people will be drawn to them in search results. This will result in more traffic to Google+ and more people being followed and added to circles.

Prediction 2: Google could charge businesses for this

Right now, you can add the +1 extension in AdWords, but this isn’t going to be enough for advertisers or Google. I believe Google could consider and possibly implement a PPC or CPM model the involves the autosuggest feature. Pages will be represented here much like what Google is trying to accomplish with Direct Connect.

Prediction 3: Google will push the limits and have setting issues

The question is, will Google only show first connections in these previews or will they show connections of connections or even further connections? Will there be a setting for this? If Google really wants this social network to allow networking and others to connect, outside of pure connections, they may enable an option to view friends of friends in autosuggest.

Have you seen Google running this test? What do you think about it?