• About
    • History of Dallas SEO
    • SEO Expert Witness Service
  • Contact
  • Topics
    • Bing
    • Blogging
    • Branding
    • Domain Names
    • Google
    • Internet Marketing
    • Link Building
    • Local Search
    • Marketing
    • Public Relations
    • Reputation Management
    • Search Engine Marketing
    • Search Engine Optimization
    • Search Engines
    • Social Media
    • Tech
  • Advertise
  • Email Newsletter

Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer on Search, Marketing, Tech, and Domains.

traffic analysis tools

Home » Google » The Real Reason Google Removed Google Authorship Photos From Search Results

The Real Reason Google Removed Google Authorship Photos From Search Results

Posted By Bill Hartzer on July 11, 2014at 10:20 am

Relevant content in organic search results distracts people from clicking on sponsored search advertisements.

— Bill Slawski (@bill_slawski) July 11, 2014

I know that’s a really long title for this post, but I wanted to get to the point with the headline. We all want to know the real reason why Google removed Google Authorship Photos from the search results, right?

I wrote in my post about Google removing Google Authorship photos that John Mueller from Google responded with a reason. Now, I understand a little bit more about his statement to me. John said it is all based on CTR behavior:

Our experiments indicate that click-through behavior on this new less-cluttered design is similar to the previous one…

Well, uh, yeah. I know really understand. It’s really about the Click-Thru behavior on a less-cluttered design.

When there are less photos in the search results pages, then users click more on Google AdWords ads. It’s all about the money. And while Google won’t come out and publicly state this is the reason (I wouldn’t do that if I were them), I truly believe that by putting the Google Authorship photos in the search results they made less money with Google AdWords.

It’s all about the money.

Those of us who routinely had their photo show up in the search results benefited from increased clicks to our websites and the awesome content that we write. But Google doesn’t care about that. They’re in it to make money. And by removing the Google Authorship photos from the search results, it’s a less cluttered design, and Google’s internal tests showed them that they make more without Google Authorship photos.

Google stock price

Remember, Google is a public company. They have shareholders to report to. And Google is going to make changes to their search results that benefits their bottom line.

Well, that’s not enough? Larry Kim, in a LinkedIn post, has proof that the removal of Google Authorship photos “was based on authorship photos’ impact on the CTR of paid search ads…”. Mr. Kim “examined the CTR of the ad above both before and after Google’s announcement. We found hard evidence that the CTR of the ad improved significantly when author photos were no longer being displayed in the SERP.”

Filed Under: Google, Search Engines

traffic analysis tools

Listen to "Digital Marketing with Bill Hartzer" on Spreaker.

About Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer is CEO of Hartzer Consulting, LLC, an SEO Consulting firm that includes services such as search engine optimization, technical SEO audits, domain name consulting, and online reputation management.

Recent Posts

  • RightoftheDot Live Online Domain Auction February 25 February 18, 2021
  • Jabez LeBret on Digital PR, Journalism, and Media Coverage February 5, 2021
  • Someone Stole My Domain Name: Here’s What You Do February 1, 2021
  • 23 Top Level Domains TLDs Up for Auction January 27, 2021
  • GotConn Privacy Search Engine Launches January 26, 2021
  • Andrew Muller on Testing Google Ads Using Facebook Ads January 15, 2021
  • Mike Rhodes from Web Savvy On Google Ads January 8, 2021
  • How to Opt Out of Google Analytics December 16, 2020
  • Majestic Just Changed SEO and Linking Forever December 15, 2020
  • Yext Consumer Search Trend Predictions for 2020 December 8, 2020
  • SearchBox Launches SearchAI SmartSuggest, SearchAI Answers and SearchAI Personalization December 7, 2020
  • Google Poly is Shutting Down December 2, 2020
  • Domain Name Brokers Put FFF.com and HHH.com Domains Up for Sale December 1, 2020
  • Google Webmaster Tools Moves Twitter Account November 11, 2020
  • Email Deliverability, Setting Up DMARC, DKIM, and SPF on Your Domain October 29, 2020
  • The Bing Search Engine is Now Microsoft Bing October 6, 2020
  • Beck Power on Building Authority on Social Media and Repurposing Content October 2, 2020
  • Naira Perez on Paid Media, and an Intro to Social Paid Media, and Audiences September 17, 2020
  • Fake Birth Date Used on Google and Apple Accounts Is on Credit Report August 17, 2020
  • What is Bill Hartzer Disease? July 20, 2020

DFWSEM logo

Bill Hartzer is a Brand Ambassador for:



Industry Friends

WTFSEO
SEO By the Sea
Jeff Lenney
Jeff Gabriel
Phil Drinkwater
Dixon Jones

Connect With Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer on Twitter
Bill Hartzer on Instagram
Hartzer Consulting on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on YouTube

Categories

  • Advertising (19)
  • Bing Search Engine (6)
  • Blogging (42)
  • Branding (12)
  • Domain Names (200)
  • Google (228)
  • Internet Marketing (24)
  • Internet Usage (84)
  • Link Building (52)
  • Local Search (38)
  • Marketing (179)
  • Marketing Foo (30)
  • Pay Per Click (1)
  • Podcast (9)
  • Public Relations (8)
  • Reputation Management (9)
  • Search Engine Marketing (44)
  • Search Engine Marketing Events (47)
  • Search Engine Marketing Firms (19)
  • Search Engine Marketing Jobs (33)
  • Search Engine Optimization (156)
  • Search Engines (203)
  • Social Media (187)
  • Tech (7)
  • Web Analytics (16)




Note: All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only, and are mentioned only to help my readers. All other trademarks cited herein are the property of their respective owners. Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement.




Hartzer Consulting



Website, Content, and Marketing by Hartzer Consulting, LLC.

Copyright © 2021 by Bill Hartzer and Hartzer Consulting, LLC.

Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
Go to mobile version