Have you noticed the images that are showing up next to search results in Google lately? These images belong to authors who are placing their photos next to content they have written. They are doing this via Google Authorship, a tool that allows content publishers to add photo attribution to their content.
The authorship tool is interlinked with your Google Plus profile and is pretty easy to setup. Here are the benefits Google lists for using their authorship tool: “Good for authors like you • Distinguish and validate your content in search results. • Get more followers on Google+. • Help readers discover your other content on the web. Good for the Web • Help users find high quality content on the web. • Empower them to engage with content authors through Google+.”
These benefits Google listed are great but there is one that Google hasn’t mentioned, increased click through rate (CTR). A Google search result page consists of mostly text lines, an image stands out significantly among the text and many site owners are seeing a higher CTR because of this. Users are drawn to the images next to the search results and end up clicking on them. An increase in CTR in organic search result will make every search marketer smile. We at Mason Interactive have begun implementing Google Authorship for many of our clients.