Search engines are constantly changing their algorithms and evolving at a rapid pace. While this is excellent for technology and online advancements, it can oftentimes be difficult to keep up with rules, standards and expectations when it comes to your own search engine optimization! One of the most notable changes to recently take effect is the extinction of Google's authorship within its search results.
For those that may not already be familiar, Google Authorship recognized when you would comment on a post on either an outside website or when you posted something on your own website - And would then match your Google+ page, resulting in your photo and a small blurb about you coming up in the search results for whatever article that you commented on or post that you created. The below screenshot offers a glimpse of what Google Authorship used to look like within search results, provided that you used the authorship tool and had it correctly set up:
Now, three years after its introduction, Google Authorship has come to an end. Authorship results will stop showing up in standard search engine results and will no longer be tracking data from content in this manner. By the end of June 2014, all author photos were removed from results pages. It was noted that this was discontinued because of Google's effort to unify desktop and mobile experiences with search. According to their studies, author photos didn't mesh well with the limited screen space and bandwith offered on most mobile devices. Additionally, their studies did not indicate any major differences in click behavior among results with or without author photos.
The below screenshot showcases how the same page of results (and the same links) look now, with this change implemented and Authorship now a thing of the past:
As you can see, there is no name or photo attached to the link anymore. With Google testing and reevaluating its tools consistently, it is important to note when major changes such as this occur. Our Real Estate Virtual Assistant team is always available to answer any questions that you may have about search engine optimization and how it effects your online presence. Contact us today to discuss your online marketing, social media and search engine rankings and see how our team can help you!
Megan Quinn
Copywriting Specialist
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