Did Matt Cutts Really Say Google+1 Is Not a Good Quality Signal for Search Rank?

Its not unusual for media outlets to not always report accurately so they can make a catchy headline. I saw this headline echoed all over the Internet “Google: +1 Is Not The Best Quality Signal”. I traced the “original” to Webpronews. However, Webpronews was summarizing an article called “Matt Cutts On Penalties Vs. Algorithm Changes, A Disavow-This-Link Tool & More” by SearchEngineLand. In that interview, the exact text is:

DS: asks question about Google+ and SEO

MC: When we look at +1, we’ve found it’s not necessarily the best quality signal right now.

DS: You have to be on Google+ if you want to rank well in Google.

MC: No!!!! It’s still early days on how valuable the Google+ data will be.

So I ask again, did Matt Cutts Really Say Google+1 Is Not a Good Quality Signal for Search Rank? Or did he really say “we’ve found it’s [Google +1] not necessarily the best quality signal right now.”? (emphasis mine)

I get plenty of questions regarding Google+1 from clients about whether its worth doing.

I think its pretty obvious that a) Google+1 is too new to be of much concern, but b) it may become important as more people use it. Because its a Google replacement for Yelp reviews, and Google and Yelp are established and irreconcilable enemies, I think I would bet on Google. As for Google+1 – just not RIGHT NOW. And be careful who you trust to report news accurately.