Total content viewer numbers added to Google+ profiles & pages, +1 button removed

Today, users are now able to see how many total views their Google+ profile or page, posts, and photos have been viewed by others.

Users will notice a new "views" number under the follow button for their profile and page, as well as those of other Google+ users. This number represents the approximate number of times a Google+ profile or page has been viewed as well as the number of times their posts and photos has been viewed. It essentially an aggregate number to give a peek into how popular the content of the profile or page has been. It is also replacing the +1 button on Google+ Pages which did seem to be a bit of an oddity since if you like a page enough to +1 it, then you probably like it enough to follow it.

By default, this feature is turned on for all users starting today. However, like most other things on profiles and pages, it can be hidden if the user so chooses. In order to change the setting, simply visit the "Settings" page. Then scroll to the "Profile" section, and uncheck the box for "Show how many times your profile and content have been viewed" as seen below.

How to hide the total content viewer numbers.

This new feature is very interesting, especially for those that are utilizing Google+ as a way of building a personal brand or for a business reason. It will be especially interesting to see how the number of content viewers correlates with the number of followers. I suspect that there will be some profiles or pages with a higher number of followers than their content viewer numbers would suggest and vice versa.

Update: Googler +Yonatan Zunger has clarified some misconceptions with the new view count feature in his post which we've embedded below:

What do you think about the new update? Is it something meaningful to you? Let us know in the comments below!