Within the past few years, the search giant Google has met with an extremely high amount of criticism because they are constantly changing the way things are done. Every time they make a change in their search engine algorithms, for example, website owners are sent into a panic because those changes may impact their rankings in the SERPs.

This latest update, however, has been a long time in coming because Google was requiring YouTube users to log into their Google+ account before allowing them to share content or comment on videos. It has been announced that users can now interact with YouTube without going through a Google+ account. This has been met with enthusiasm and downright delight, especially by SEO experts such as Click Intelligence who regularly perform video marketing on sites like YouTube.

The Google – YouTube Connection

While many internet savvy YouTube users are aware of the fact that Google owns YouTube, many others couldn’t quite get the connection. Even so, requiring users to log into their Google+ account was quite controversial because it was seen as an effort to literally force people to create a highly public Google+ account. According to Bradley Horowitz, VP heading up Google Photos and Streams, users will now simply need to log in with their regular Google account.

Is Google Admitting Failure?

A great number of critics believe that by requiring YouTube users to log in with their Google+ account they were trying to build up a successful social site. Unfortunately, these critics believed that Google+ was trying to gain favour based on the laurels of the more popular video social site. It is here that the dissention arose in that Google was literally forcing YouTube users to create a Google+ profile before they could engage with other users. This was seen as a rather pathetic ploy to gain members, the same kind of tactic that would have other sites penalised by Google itself in their rankings! Many found this to be a contradiction in terms and one that many users found deplorable.

Is There More to the Story than What Meets the Eye?

Whilst it may seem like a victory for opponents to the current Google+/YouTube registration policy, as usual, there is more to the story than what meets the eye. It is true that users will no longer need to log in with a Google+ account. Google is actively promoting their magnanimous gesture to comply with popular opinion, but users will still need to log in with a Google account, just not a + account. Yes, Google does own both companies but this is seen as an effort to dominate and control how users can interact with YouTube.

Early assessment of what critics are saying seems to be favourable however the full impact is yet to be understood. Many believe that Google, although owner of YouTube, should separate itself from YouTube altogether and allow users to register as a YouTube member without being a Google subscriber. In either case, it is a step in the right direction and receiving a good deal of good press. Yet this is Google so we will need to see what the future holds.