What to Do About the Changes to Google Authorship

A few weeks ago it was announced that Google is removing profile photos and Google+ Circle count from their search results.

There are a number of different speculations that are floating around as to why Google has done this, as it really takes a big bite out of the power of Google Authorship — aka: more click-throughs.

While Google has not officially (as of yet) said why they are doing this, here are the two prevailing reasons being tossed about online:

1. Google+ is dying on the vine.
2. The click-through rate is higher on search results with Google Authorship links and drawing attention away from Google AdWord advertisements in the search results.

I am not a Google+ fanboy, but I firmly believe this move has far more to do with the second speculation than the first one. Google isn’t going to cut into their own revenue, just to give you a better search experience or even a more accurate one if they don’t have to.

So now that they’ve made this change, what should you do?

Be Awesome

Again we see the fickle world of the Internet. All those hours everyone poured into getting their Google Authorship tweaked and functioning, and now a good percentage of its value is now gone. That’s how the Internet works, don’t be discouraged.

What you need to do now — and I hope you were doing before — is creating awesome content. The longer I blog and watch the ups and downs that the world wide web produces, the more I understand the importance of creating and curating something worth following. This isn’t an easy task, either. Quite frankly, I would rather spend hours trying to get my Google Authorship to work right. Believe it or not, that’s a lot easier.

But easy come, easy go. You reap what you sow. If you are willing to invest in something of value, it will repay you. You might not go viral, but you will make a difference; and that’s what we all should be trying to do.

So, if you blog for fun, profit, nonprofit or your church, keep your head down, keep curating and creating the best you can. Don’t get swept away with things like Google Authorship and things that only moves your focus away from what got you started doing this in the first place.

[via Search Engine Land]

Eric Dye

Support Lead at Valet, and Proprietor of DYECASTING. Human by day, gamer at night, lover of coffee, and all things spicy.