Yep, that was exactly why (or at least, very strong circumstantial evidence): https://productforums.google.com/d/msg/websearch/H4XbbwWmtAY/Rj8lcMhcHUMJ https:/

Yep, that was exactly why (or at least, very strong circumstantial evidence): https://productforums.google.com/d/msg/websearch/H4XbbwWmtAY/Rj8lcMhcHUMJ https://productforums.google.com/d/msg/websearch/H4XbbwWmtAY... I don't think it was ever officially announced/admitted anywhere, though. But it was exactly around the time that Google+ was rolled out.