The big news this week was Google's announcement of closer integration of Google+ with their main search. The search giant will incorporate more Google+ content in search based on who you are connected with, what they have shared and what you have uploaded yourself.

Google mixing search with their social network promises to change how businesses approach search optimisation. Building social connections through Google+ will now have a real benifit in organic search, and is an important part of any online marketing strategy.

Google's integration of Google+ into the main search results is going to add the following features:

Personal Results, which enable you to find information just for you, such as Google+ photos and posts—both your own and those shared specifically with you, that only you will be able to see on your results page;
Profiles in Search, both in autocomplete and results, which enable you to immediately find people you’re close to or might be interested in following; and,
People and Pages, which help you find people profiles and Google+ pages related to a specific topic or area of interest, and enable you to follow them with just a few clicks. Because behind most every query is a community.

Right now Google+ is not anywhere near as big as Twitter or Facebook, it's integration with more of the Search engine's products guarentee that it will continue to grow, multiplying it's impact over time. While it is not critical just yet, if you or your customers use a lot of Google's products, if you are not active on Google+ just yet, now is probably the time to take a closer look, because we have not seen the end of it's inegration with the rest of the Search Engine's services just yet.