In reply to Christina.

Google makes changes to their algorithms all the time. They did recently make some changes in regards to Google+ too. Mostly it's that Google+ profiles are being shown more and if you're logged in to Google you'll starting seeing more content recommended by people in your circles on Google+

Google is pushing + a lot and they're looking to it more for signals about where to rank web pages. If you don't already have one you should probably get a Google+ profile and start networking a bit.