Google Drops Authorship Images in Search Results

12 years ago

If everyone is using it then it is not an advantage anymore. I think they just used this to find out what content is real and what is just being spun/rewritten for backlinks. The picture was a way to get people to participate by making them feel like they were going to get an upper hand on those that didn't use it.

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MikeFriedman

12 years ago

Originally Posted by UnkwnUsr

If everyone is using it then it is not an advantage anymore. I think they just used this to find out what content is real and what is just being spun/rewritten for backlinks. The picture was a way to get people to participate by making them feel like they were going to get an upper hand on those that didn't use it.

Not everyone was using it. It was a huge advantage in some niches. I saw click through rates double and triple in some SERPs just by adding it.

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writeaway

12 years ago

That's actually great news. It keeps people on their toes. Also, it pushes people to focus on building quality content-based links instead of wasting time on shortcuts.

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MikeFriedman

12 years ago

Originally Posted by writeaway

That's actually great news. It keeps people on their toes. Also, it pushes people to focus on building quality content-based links instead of wasting time on shortcuts.

It wasn't a shortcut anymore than "building quality content-based links" is a shortcut.

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SEO Eddie

12 years ago

It's a shame really, it was a nice bonus for those of us who used it, and there was nothing stopping everybody from using it if they wanted to make the effort. But video thumbnails should still work, so nevermind.

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boxoun

12 years ago

Did it take away visibility from the hundreds of Adwords ads?

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mkgg

12 years ago

If anything, some people were abusing it and i think thats the whole reason they are discontinuing. Throw a nice chick photo and there goes your click-through rate to the sky.

I have been guilty of this both as a searcher and for my websites. You automatically want to point that mouse over to the SERP with the nice girl photo even if the search had nothing to do with girls.

But that is basically how us males are even in general life, show us the promise of a cute girl and we will follow happily like a puppy. Was only a matter of time before someone used it in serps.

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MikeFriedman 12 years ago

Originally Posted by mkgg

You automatically want to point that mouse over to the SERP with the nice girl photo even if the search had nothing to do with girls.

Don't kid yourself. Every search has to do with girls.
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yukon

Banned 12 years ago

Why bother with a small static G+ profile image when you can get a customized video thumbnail image per page that's at least twice as big?

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hipeopo02 12 years ago

I used it on a porn site when it first came out. CTR skyrocketed until it was removed LOL
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Slin

12 years ago

Yeah, I definitely didn't see this one coming.

They need to rethink how they had it set up though, too many sites had images for their homepage and things and that wasn't the idea that Google had in mind.

I have a feeling that they'll find another way to bring it back sometime in the future.

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chris_87

12 years ago

Here are some additional comments via interview by John Mueller if anyone is interested. https://plus.google.com/+MarkTraphag...ts/diWrZDAUHWc

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yukon

Banned 12 years ago

Originally Posted by chris_87

Here are some additional comments via interview by John Mueller if anyone is interested. https://plus.google.com/+MarkTraphag...ts/diWrZDAUHWc

This part (below) does't make any sense considering video thumbnails are twice as large as author thumbnails. Not that I'm complaining, I'll take video any day.

I'm looking at one of my ranked video thumbnails on Google SERPs right now (mobile), the image takes up about 1/3 width of the search page. I find it hard to believe Google would drop mobile video/images based on the comment below.

The change was a user interface and experience decision as Google moves toward a "mobile first" implementation (a consistent appearance across both desktop and mobile).

On mobile, author photos eat up both considerable display resources and space on the screen.

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yasser

12 years ago

helped a lot yet for me , it is gone today

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nettiapina

12 years ago

I've got no idea if this helped me or not, but it took months for Google to get it working for my site. It's kind of amusing how utterly pointless this thing turned out to be.

But I'm guessing that many SEOs got another cool-sounding activity to their monthly status reports.

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cbpayne

12 years ago

Originally Posted by nettiapina

I've got no idea if this helped me or not, but it took months for Google to get it working for my site. It's kind of amusing how utterly pointless this thing turned out to be.

Who said its pointless? The authorship may or may not be a factor in rankings and determining authority of authors ... it just does not display a picture in the SERPs anymore

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nettiapina 12 years ago

Originally Posted by cbpayne

Who said its pointless?

Me perhaps, in the bit you quoted? But I was trying to say that the image was pointless and in the case of my site.

I can see why Google would like to know the author and link their profiles, but I'm not sure at this point what's the benefit for a site owner.
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Jeffery Moss

12 years ago

They're just taking down the picture. But, for me, it was always nice to associate a familiar face with content rather than only seeing the title of the page on listings. It's a trust factor, when people see your face, they want to click through. I don't think that's in any way related to SEO or helping your rank higher, but it does build trust with people so they feel more comfortable clicking through to your site.

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cbpayne

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Jeffery Moss

I don't think that's in any way related to SEO or helping your rank higher,

might be:

For one thing, I suspect this may be in part a sign that Google is ready to move the concept of author authority to the next phase.

With this latest development, I think Google may be saying, in essence, "Thanks for playing, everyone. We are now going to reward the winners." While I still think any real "author rank" as a direct ranking factor is off in the future, it may be that Google is ready to send the message that when it comes, the boost will only be for those who have proven themselves to be truly top-notch content creators -- the trusted, respected elite.

from: Google Removes Author Photos From Search: Why And What Does It Mean?