No more Google Authorship images

[Pois0n]

So apparently google has dropped profile photos and circle count in search, and the CTR is supposed to be the same... I doubt it.
Authorship images have always boosted my search CTR. Fuck google.

https://plus.google.com/+JohnMueller/posts/PDkPdPtjL6j

"We've been doing lots of work to clean up the visual design of our search results, in particular creating a better mobile experience and a more consistent design across devices. As a part of this, we're simplifying the way authorship is shown in mobile and desktop search results, removing the profile photo and circle count. (Our experiments indicate that click-through behavior on this new less-cluttered design is similar to the previous one.)
For more information on using authorship on pages of your website, check outhttps://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/1408986"

 

[BuildMoreLinks]

confusing as John Mueller linked to a page showing how to set up authorship?

 

[Pois0n]

confusing as John Mueller linked to a page showing how to set up authorship?

They didn't completely get rid of Google Authorship, just the images and circle count.

So it will look like this now:

 

[thesam]

Its bad they removed it, as they have more focus on adwords, I believe they are getting less results from adward and CTR is good for results with pics,

Now they remove pics and circle count to improve their CTR for adword ads

 

[Reyone]

I mean, what do you expect guys? Did the image really bring anything other than higher CTR for organic traffic? NO!

What is Google? A private company
What does a private company want? To grow!
Do they receive more benefit from letting people click on organic results or from people running ad campaigns? Ad campaigns!

So it seems to me like a pretty obvious thing to do. Yes it sucks, blablabla; but they are going to do whatever the fuck they want to increase their profits. If you want to play the game with them, then suck it up, otherwise there are a shit TON of other marketing techniques to drive traffic that do not rely on Google.

 

[reallife]

I have no doubt that's why they're removing it since it definitely improves CTR (and I'm sure to the detriment of ads) - but I'm still seeing it on searches. Maybe it's still in the works.

 

[VirtuaGirl]

just read that this morning. Not a smart move IMO because G+ is losing one of its real interest. Obviously Google wants more click on adwords and less click on organic results..

 

[ch8878]

I still see it.

You sure it has taken affect yet?

 

[OldFatGuy]

Still seeing it but I hope it's true.. Found the images just bloody annoying.

 

[PixelMathis]

images have always boosted CTR. That was originally intended to improve Google's overall user experience.

 

[asap1]

CTR goes down on links clicked and CTR goes up on ads clicked.

F*UK GOOGLE!!!!!

 

[iamleewalker]

I just wonder if it's a smart move, since the circle count has boosted their Google+ activity and experts and brands wanted to be more active there for pretty much this reason. Now, yes, CTRs will be higher for paid results, though will it be more beneficial for them in the long run?

 

[antichrist]

It is rolling out in the next few days which is why myself and you guys are probably still seeing some in the SERPs.

 

[upstarter]

They wanted to improve the CTR of their ads (which is already above the fold) so they removed the authorship images. They could've just put the logos of their advertisers near their corresponding ads and left the authorship images to still be displayed. Now we're all heading back to the late '90s when all we see are blue links.

 

[FatPenguin]

This has been REMOVED FOR MONTHS for me. They stopped showing my image a long time. But I do still see it on indexed Google+ posts that show up in serp results.

Yes, it sucks.

They make the most if Adwords on the search page is the primary ad people click vs. Adsense on publisher sites. You'd just hope end users are smart enough to realize the difference between an ad and the actual search results -- I sure can. That said, I WILL click on an Adsense ad WITHIN a site, but never within search results. I don't know why, I just don't.

 

[ezines]

It is rolling out in the next few days which is why myself and you guys are probably still seeing some in the SERPs.

I think it's already rolled out based on what I see on SERPs today including those with my own.

This has been REMOVED FOR MONTHS for me. They stopped showing my image a long time. But I do still see it on indexed Google+ posts that show up in serp results.

Happened a few times with me, as well...but it came back after a few days.

 

[Mindanao]

This is all for adwords. lol

 

[ch8878]

This has been REMOVED FOR MONTHS for me. They stopped showing my image a long time. But I do still see it on indexed Google+ posts that show up in serp results.

Yes, it sucks.

They make the most if Adwords on the search page is the primary ad people click vs. Adsense on publisher sites. You'd just hope end users are smart enough to realize the difference between an ad and the actual search results -- I sure can. That said, I WILL click on an Adsense ad WITHIN a site, but never within search results. I don't know why, I just don't.

What country are you in?

I'm in the USA and I still see them.

 

[davidffa]

Interesting. I still see some authorship pics and circles, but not nearly as much as I used to.

 

[Tealover]

Am I the only one around here who are happy with this?
Ok, I know less ctr etc, but as user I hate those profile picks. I want read articles, not see peoples faces.