SEO Roundup: June 27, 2014

Updated: February 28, 2019

The big news in SEO and online marketing this week regards Google (doesn’t it always?) and their recent announcement that they’ll no longer be displaying authorship photos in SERPS. What does that mean for us? Depends on who you ask, but it’s safe to say that most of us are at the very least bummed about this development.

Over at Moz, the discussion on the removal of authorship photos includes some important reminders. Namely, that authorship itself isn’t going anywhere, and its purpose – to help identify quality content by subject matter experts – remains the same.

Meanwhile, the folks at LunaMetrics have posted a poll regarding how authorship photos affect search, and the discussion at Search Engine Land contains a lot of different perspectives on the change and authorship in general. On Search Engine Watch they have a bit of data regarding authorship photos and traffic, but it’s less than encouraging.

I tend to be an unabashed Google fan girl in most cases because I believe they truly are trying to serve the best results to searchers. In this case, though, I’m finding it difficult to defend this choice. Those images in the results have become indicators searchers look for, and I find it curious that Google would choose to remove something that has served its intended purpose so well. When you consider the current push for visual search, the removal of visual elements from search results makes little sense.

We’ll have to wait and see how the whole thing shakes out. In the meantime, let’s move on to topics that aren’t so discouraging . . .

Analytics:

• Have you had a chance to learn your way round the new dimension widening feature in Google Analytics? If not, don’t worry. This fantastic 3-part series is the only guide you need. The author even gets into off-site optimization in part 3, offering some incredibly useful instructions. If you work on the analytics side of SEO, this series is a must-read.

Copywriting and Content Marketing:

• One of the best ways to tell an actual copywriter from someone in love with his or her own words who doesn’t realize that copywriting is a job that requires actual work, effort and skill (sorry, that’s a rant for another day) is to assess the writer’s ability to adapt their voice. Want to be a pro at communicating with your audience? Learn to speak their language.
• On the other end of the spectrum, it isn’t always about the copy, especially when you’re trying to appeal to visitors who scan rather than those who read each word.

Link Building:

• The last thing you want when building quality links is to associate your name with a bad website. Read this for tips on how to tell quality guest blogging opportunities from those you’re better off skipping.
• If you can believe it, there are still link builders out there who work in terms of quantity above all else. Not just the black hats, either. Plenty of folks still hesitate to turn down any link opportunity, so they fail to properly vet their prospects. When the links come in, they do more harm than good. Don’t be one of those people! Read this instead.
• And finally, here’s a tactic you may not have considered for doubling your link potential. This one set my mind working in all sorts of new ways, and I can’t wait to see what I can do for SEOA’s clients with it!

Thanks so much for the tips I received this week! Scouring through all the content we produce in this industry takes a lot of time, and I always appreciate a heads up on something awesome I might have missed otherwise. Google+ is the best place to find me, but Twitter works, too. I’m not very active there (I know, bad marketer! Feel free to slap my hand), but I follow the goings on, and if you send me a link for the roundup, I will definitely get it.

See you next time!