In an announcement, Google stated it will terminate the “Add Me to Search” feature that allowed individuals to create personal profile cards highlighting their information on Google Search results pages.
This change will take effect on April 7th, 2024.
The tech giant explained that while the people cards functioned as intended when launched in 2020, the feature did not prove as useful for users as initially hoped over the subsequent years.
The cards were designed to serve as virtual business cards, helping professionals, influencers, entrepreneurs, job seekers and others establish an online presence and improve visibility in searches for their name.
Users who created a people card will have until May 7th to download or save the content from their profile before Google permanently deletes that information.
The company will send reminders about the discontinuation date as it approaches.
For those looking to boost their visibility in Google’s search rankings, leveraging technical SEO elements like XML sitemaps can be beneficial, as covered in my recent blog Map Out a Path to Higher Rankings with a Sitemap.
While retiring the people cards only impacts this specific Google Search feature, the decision raises broader questions about the future of similar tools aimed at allowing individuals to showcase personal details and achievements online across platforms.
Google regularly evaluates new product features and is willing to sunset those that do not provide sufficient value to users, in order to focus resources on developing more helpful tools and services.
The removal of people cards suggests this particular experiment did not meet expectations of meaningfully boosting exposure for individuals on Google’s iconic search engine.
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