Yesterday Google once again, rocked the SEO world with its announcement that all author images would be removed from search results. To those not in the SEO world this might seem like a minor aesthetic change, but, to anyone well versed in online marketing knows the value of the author image. This change can have a devastating effect on many sites cutting their CTR down exponentially leaving them with only a small fraction of their previous traffic.
There are many speculations about this sudden change and the reasoning behind it. One school of thought believes that the change might be centered around user experience, and ties in with the search engines new 'mobile first' management strategy. The idea is that, eventually, mobile users will surpass desktop users making it the most important market. Because of this, Google is aiming to unify the site into a single site that is mobile and desktop friendly.
As a free service Google makes money off ppc advertisements that it places strategically in on its search pages and on other sites via Adsense, if it's clicks drop due to the advantage of a free service, like Google Authorship, then eliminating the advantage would seem like a natural solution.
This whole thing demonstrates exactly how volatile the rules of Google are. Marketers have to always be on their toes if they want to get ahead in the search engine results, and this just throws another wrench into the works... kinda like how it did when Google originally introduced the pics to begin with a couple of years ago. It's not certain quite yet why Google is choosing to do this, but it ultimately doesn't matter. As people who rely on Google to bring us visitors and customers, we have to play by their rules or risk losing our entire business.
Regardless of the reasoning behind the change, the fact remains that one well kept SEO secret is now a thing of the past forcing marketers to find traffic elsewhere.
Of course, another pressing question is wether authorship is even worth it with the removal of the treasured photo. Some say that this might actually be a sign of Google expanding and growing the Authorship program to be more inclusive and involved. What exactly that might mean or the benefits it might have are yet to be seen, but a replacement option would definitely be appreciated! The recent announcement by Google about the removal of author pictures from search results landed a nasty blow to many sites. The official reason given is purely aestheic and user experience related, but many wonder what the real reasoning might be.
There are many speculations about this sudden change and the reasoning behind it. One school of thought believes that the change might be centered around user experience, and ties in with the search engines new 'mobile first' management strategy. The idea is that, eventually, mobile users will surpass desktop users making it the most important market. Because of this, Google is aiming to unify the site into a single site that is mobile and desktop friendly.
As a free service Google makes money off ppc advertisements that it places strategically in on its search pages and on other sites via Adsense, if it's clicks drop due to the advantage of a free service, like Google Authorship, then eliminating the advantage would seem like a natural solution.
This whole thing demonstrates exactly how volatile the rules of Google are. Marketers have to always be on their toes if they want to get ahead in the search engine results, and this just throws another wrench into the works... kinda like how it did when Google originally introduced the pics to begin with a couple of years ago. It's not certain quite yet why Google is choosing to do this, but it ultimately doesn't matter. As people who rely on Google to bring us visitors and customers, we have to play by their rules or risk losing our entire business.
Regardless of the reasoning behind the change, the fact remains that one well kept SEO secret is now a thing of the past forcing marketers to find traffic elsewhere.
Of course, another pressing question is wether authorship is even worth it with the removal of the treasured photo. Some say that this might actually be a sign of Google expanding and growing the Authorship program to be more inclusive and involved. What exactly that might mean or the benefits it might have are yet to be seen, but a replacement option would definitely be appreciated! The recent announcement by Google about the removal of author pictures from search results landed a nasty blow to many sites. The official reason given is purely aestheic and user experience related, but many wonder what the real reasoning might be.
About the Author:
Keyword Advantage is a news review site that reveals the truths & myths by providing a Keyword Advantage Review.
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