You can’t hop on Twitter or read any of the social media blogs without hearing about Google’s latest search changes and the uproar it has caused.

In short, articles shared on Google Plus are landing higher in search engine search results than the original articles themselves. Taking that one step further, Google Plus social mentions are eroding the relevance of the search results being returned by producing Google Plus mentions that have nothing to do with the terms searched.

At the time of this writing, the top 7 results returned for my name – Liz Jostes – are Google Plus mentions (when signed into a Google account). When not signed into Google, my Google Plus Profile is in the #5 spot.

Liz Jostes or Liz Jostes Google Profile

Another change in search is the option to choose “Liz Jostes” or “Liz Jostes Google Profile”. Both when I’m signed into Google and when I’m not, a search for my name auto-suggests these 2 options.

If I am not signed into a Google product and choose simply “Liz Jostes”, my top result is my LinkedIn profile, with my Google Plus profile in spot 5. And if I choose the “Liz Jostes Google Plus” search term option, the top 5 results are all Google Plus results. Also, if I choose my Google Plus profile, here’s what is displayed in the search bar.

How to Optimize your Profile for Search Results

Kristi Hines wrote an incredibly informative article for Social Media Examiner that demonstrates the differences in search results when someone who is in your Google Plus circles searches for your name versus a person searching for you who is not connected to you via Circles. The entire article is full of important Google Plus insights, but we’re recommending this read this week specifically for #5 in her list, which shows you how each piece of information on your Google Plus profile relates to what is shown when your Google Plus Profile is returned in search results.

So tell us, when was the last time you checked to see how you looked to Googlers?