Google Scholar (GS) is the most commonly used tool for literature searches and obtaining citations among researchers across all academic fields, including in the fields of ecology and conservation. However, recent analyses of GS citation outputs have found a high degree of inaccuracy, especially with regard to last authors, which for some disciplines (e.g. biomedicine, ecology) are of equal or even greater weight than first authors in terms of leadership on the work. As the average scientific paper has five or more authors, the order and visibility of listed names is of importance for academic recognition and promotion. This is also concerning as the last author may also be the corresponding author: the primary point of contact for the research and the leader of the research group. In this article we describe common errors with the Google Scholar citation function and the impact this can have on the visibility of scholarly work.