If you haven't heard, it was recently announced that Google will be removing some author photos from search. At first many web developers may not think much of this, but it's going to have some pretty serious implications. Part of the reason Google originally introduced author photos was to create authority for certain links.
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.
Studies have shown that users are drawn to pictures and search results that contain pictures find that their CTR increases at an astounding rate. In some cases the change is over 150%, and even in the lowest range a change of 30% is very impressive. This means that ads, even if they occupy the top three search spots, would be far less valuable.
It remains to be seen what else changes in the coming weeks. This comes only a little bit after the announcement of a Google "Panda" SEO adjustment, including the exclusion of backlinks factoring into search ranks.
The recent announcement by Google regarding the end of author pictures in search results took the SEO world by storm. This seemingly insignificant feature was actually a gem for online marketers that could raise their CTR by up to 150%. The question on everyones mind has become why did google implement this sudden change, and where do we go from here.
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.
Studies have shown that users are drawn to pictures and search results that contain pictures find that their CTR increases at an astounding rate. In some cases the change is over 150%, and even in the lowest range a change of 30% is very impressive. This means that ads, even if they occupy the top three search spots, would be far less valuable.
It remains to be seen what else changes in the coming weeks. This comes only a little bit after the announcement of a Google "Panda" SEO adjustment, including the exclusion of backlinks factoring into search ranks.
The recent announcement by Google regarding the end of author pictures in search results took the SEO world by storm. This seemingly insignificant feature was actually a gem for online marketers that could raise their CTR by up to 150%. The question on everyones mind has become why did google implement this sudden change, and where do we go from here.
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Keyword Advantage is a news review site that reveals the truths & myths by providing a Keyword Advantage Review.
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