Google Authorship hit the SEO world as a new fad almost three years ago and quickly became all the rage as a part of professional digital marketing strategies nationwide. Agencies stressed the benefits of Google Authorship to their clients and respected SEO experts sang its praises from every rooftop. People treated it like the multivitamin of SEO – claiming that it was being used as a ranking factor, would increase organic click-throughs (which would provide a competitive advantage) and could prevent original content creators from being outranked by scraper sites for their own content. With all of these benefits available for the taking, people jumped on board.
Authorship Woes Explained
This is what an organic listing looked like when Google Authorship was set up and working properly:
This is what an organic listing looked like when Google Authorship was set up and working properly:
The problem, though, was that Google Authorship was glitchy and temperamental. The instructions provided by Google looked straightforward enough, but it was seldom a smooth process. There was a significant lag between when it was set up and when it would go live. Sometimes just the author’s name would appear alongside the article, while other times a name and profile photo would appear along with follower count. There was no way to discern why this was the case or how to fix it. Google was noticeably absent as people struggled to figure out why Authorship wasn’t working for their sites. And all of that hassle that everyone endured (the Google+ profile modifications, content tagging, biographical additions, etc.) was rendered useless last week when Google killed Authorship.
What We Can Learn
Google Authorship lasted longer than most SEO fads, but it was still that – a passing fad. Companies and organizations that set it up right away were able to reap three years of benefits, but most people didn’t learn about Authorship right away and, subsequently, got on board much later. This means that for the amount of effort put in, the benefits didn’t last very long. This is why it’s a better strategy to invest your time in proven long-term strategies like unique, high-quality, optimized content for the pages on your site and blog. Putting out great content that people want to read and share will never go out of style.
If you need help formulating and executing a solid SEO strategy that will last, we can help you out! Give us a call or send us an email today!
Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Web Consulting for small businesses, Copywriting and Local Online Marketing. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and enjoys cooking, watching sports and spending time outdoors. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about marketing theory and SEM trends… so don’t say you weren’t warned!
What We Can Learn
Google Authorship lasted longer than most SEO fads, but it was still that – a passing fad. Companies and organizations that set it up right away were able to reap three years of benefits, but most people didn’t learn about Authorship right away and, subsequently, got on board much later. This means that for the amount of effort put in, the benefits didn’t last very long. This is why it’s a better strategy to invest your time in proven long-term strategies like unique, high-quality, optimized content for the pages on your site and blog. Putting out great content that people want to read and share will never go out of style.
If you need help formulating and executing a solid SEO strategy that will last, we can help you out! Give us a call or send us an email today!
Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Web Consulting for small businesses, Copywriting and Local Online Marketing. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and enjoys cooking, watching sports and spending time outdoors. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about marketing theory and SEM trends… so don’t say you weren’t warned!
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