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Google Plus is acquiring users at such a rapid pace that it’s impossible not to take notice. Many will point to charts, like the one below, to demonstrate the speed of unprecedented growth.

Want to rank better on Google? Get people to add you to their Google+ Circles, and that seems to be a potentially huge boost, based on a search I just did.

For the past couple weeks, a select gathering of us (likely including many Search Engine Watch readers) have been playing with Google+. It's an interesting social media experiment by Google, but it is likely to remain that. Another "almost ran" in the social media game; another Google property that just won't quite make it. Here are five reasons why.

Google has announced changes to the +1 button that could mean huge things for sites and businesses in terms of driving traffic. Google has turned the +1 button into what it should have been when Google+ was launched: a means of sharing content to your Google+ Circles. Or in other words, Google’s version of the “like” button.

Facebook just announced with a blog post and big media splash that it’s now mimicking some Google+ features by letting users edit posts, and making it easier to control who sees their updates and view their profile as others do.Well, actually, Facebook’s post makes no mention of its nascent rival from the search giant, but it’s pretty clear from today’s announcement that the current king of social network and online identity is paying close attention to Google’s attempt to create a different model for online identity and sharing. Google+ has done more than its share of mimicking Facebook — the stream and the inclusion of games. But it has also taken steps to differentiate itself from Facebook, most clearly in rejecting the binary Friend model at the heart of Facebook.