Ever wonder why some posts that appear in your search results include an image of the author?
The authors of those posts wisely linked their Google+ profile to their online content, establishing Authorship. Google Authorship was created several years ago to allow writers to claim their content. In establishing a direct link between authors and their publications, Authorship also allows search engine users to find additional content written by the same writer, making Authorship a great way to identify and highlight high-quality content.
There are some other clear advantages to establishing Google Authorship:
- Increased visibility and a higher click-thru-rate for your posts
- Build trust and online authority
- Content will be protected from online plagiarism
- Google may eventually give better rankings to pages with Authorship information added to them and include additional links to similar articles from the same author below the originally clicked link
There are some other clear advantages to establishing Google Authorship:
- Increased visibility and a higher click-thru-rate for your posts
- Build trust and online authority
- Content will be protected from online plagiarism
- Google may eventually give better rankings to pages with Authorship information added to them and include additional links to similar articles from the same author below the originally clicked link
Establishing Authorship is an easy process. Simply follow these three steps:
Step #1 – Create a Google+ Profile & Link Your Blog
A profile should be created for every author on your blog. Fill out the profile as completely as possible, including a bio, your location and information about your education and work experience. Be sure to include a professional profile photo, preferably a recognizable headshot that you use elsewhere online, such as your website.
The next most important component of your profile is the “Contributor To” section. Add all the sites where you publish material. Of course, you’ll want to make sure that you include a link to your blog.
Step # 2 – Create a Reciprocal Link
Now that you’ve pointed your Google+ profile to your blog, you’ll need to point your blog back to your Google+ profile. There are several ways this can be done:
Email Verification
The easiest way to complete the Authorship process is via email verification. To use this method, you’ll need to have a profile picture uploaded to your Google+ account and a byline must appear on each page of your content. The name in your byline must exactly match the name on your Google+ profile.
To verify via email, visit the Google+ Authorship page and enter an email address from the website on which you’re publishing, then click on the link in the confirmation email.
Rel = Author Tag
If you don’t have an email address on the same domain, you’ll need to add a special snippet of code to your content. Of course, the Xs in the sample below would be replaced with your custom Google+ profile link.
<a href=”https://plus.google.com/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx?rel=author”>Google</a>
This snippet can appear anywhere in the content, but it’s usually included at the bottom of a post, so it isn’t distracting.
If your website is on WordPress, there are plugins that enable you to easily incorporate these tags into your content.
Step # 3 – Test it
Once you have your Google+ profile set up and you’ve established a reciprocal link, you can test that it’s working correctly by using the Google Rich Snippet Testing Tool. Simply plug in the link to one of your blog posts to see how it will appear now that you’ve established Authorship. If something is not configured correctly, Google will offer suggestions for further steps. It will also identify if one author is set up correctly, but another author on the website has yet to be set up.
Please note, although your test results may show that you’ve successfully established Authorship, it can take several weeks for your Authorship information to begin appearing in search results.
Have you created a Google+ profile and established Authorship? If you’ve done so, have you noticed an increase in traffic to your posts?
Rita Chaires
SEO and Social Media Manager
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (800) 846-1555
www.aaepa.com
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