Google Author Markup
Solves “Who Wrote This”!
Google’s new author verification process is part of the recent major changes to SEO that you need to pay attention too!
Many people view Google+ and the +1 button as merely a social network and social proof button, because not everyone yet realizes that these are part of Google’s new strategy and that they will deeply impact SEO. Authorship is a big piece of that puzzle.
Matt Cutts, head of Google’s Web Spam (and thusly, SEO) team has already confirmed that the Google +1 button WILL impact SEO. And… while the +1 button may not yet connect to G+ (due to G+ being in beta) that will change in the near future.
One component of how it will work is by changes we make to our website telling Google+ that “me” as a content “author” is the same person that is in that particular Google profile. Did you catch that? Your Google+ profile gets connected to your site and your SEO!
Google expects to see each piece of content on your site link either directly or indirectly to your Google+ profile using the “me” and “author” relation tags. The Official Authorship Help Page is here.
Either way, this “me” and “author” stuff tells Google who you are and allows them to properly credit you for the post, to properly keep track of the social engagement you are building, give your content priority in the search results of those who have Circled you on Google+, and to (on popular posts) modify the rich snippet to display your G+ profile picture next to the post! Whew!
That’s a lot of work for two little tags!
And fortunately, while this takes some work to get set up, once it’s set up, you will not have to mess with it often.
People are visual identifiers primarily and they are substantially more likely to follow a link to something you’ve wrote if they recognize instantly it’s by you.
I’m going to to put together a how-to guide for setting up authorship on WordPress but because my friend DiTesco‘s post is so very similar I want to share that with you now. Click here.
For a basic, straight forward setup, his post will get you going. Contact me if you would like to hire me to install this for you.
Here’s some related posts of interest:
- (Yoast.com) Highlighting WordPress authors in search
- (Yoast.com) rel=”author” and rel=”me” in WP and other platforms
- How to integrate Google Authorship to your WordPress Thesis blog
- Google Plus One Adding Authorship
- (Thesis) Link Author Name on Archives to Google Profile
- Google Authorship Markup Verification Tutorial For Bloggers
- Getting Your Thumbnail in Google Search Results
I will be creating a blog post on how to set this up as well but I really suggest you go ahead and get it done in the very near future rather than putting it off.
Two things you may need: The Rich Snippet Testing Tool & The “Allow REL” WordPress plugin. Any post you use to guide you will likely link to these but I’m sharing them here just in case.
It would not surprise me but would prove interesting if this verification eventually became part of Google’s battle against stolen content.
If you’ve been wondering how Google intended to make G+ relevant to you – now you know!
Have you set up Google Authorship on your blog yet? Have you played around in the Google search results to see if you see any of your friends or those you have circled yet? I’m really excited about this!
I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks for the tweets… Facebook shares and of course.. plus ones!
Kimberly
Your Partner In Online Success
Looking to expand your knowledge of Google+ and how to make the most of it? Check out my brand new Google+ 101 Training Course!
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Related posts by Kim:
- 3 Google SEO Changes Rattle SEO Experts & Bloggers Alike!
- Google + 1 Button Plus + 1 Button Not Equalling 2 Plusses!
- Tell Google To Remove An Indexed Post or Page From The Search Results
- Ever Wonder How Google Search Actually Works?
- How to Get Better Visibility on Google
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
hey this is something really interesting about the SEO searching, I know people use +1 only as a social media network. This kind of authorization will also help SEO marketers and researchers in getting good and proper information as well.
There’s a very recent post on Mashable that the +1 button now does connect to Google+:
http://mashable.com/2011/08/24/google-1-google-plujs/
Wow, So by setting up Google Authorship on blog, your pic will appear next to your blog link in google search and you can easily attract people to read your content.
That is in fact a cool future that means I will have to get my rep up and write high quality content to atractt more visitors
Wow, So by setting up Google Authorship on blog, your pic will appear next to your blog link in google search and you can easily attract people to read your content.
That is in fact a cool future that means I will have to get my rep up and write high quality content to atractt more visitors
Thanks for the headsup Kim. I just recently wrote about this too (commentluv link).
Seems a great way to get people’s and bot’s attention.
Thanks for the headsup Kim. I just recently wrote about this too (commentluv link).
Seems a great way to get people’s and bot’s attention.
Hi Kim,
this is really helpful, because I’m a SEO worker now I’ve learned something new and I will add in my knowledge of this information. thanks kim.
Its a great way to get attention. Loved it . will do it for my site soon.
Hi Kim,
this is really helpful, because I’m a SEO worker now I’ve learned something new and I will add in my knowledge of this information. thanks kim.
Its a great way to get attention. Loved it . will do it for my site soon.
The speed of change can be dizzying. I keep putting Google+ off due to a load of other projects. Does your Google+ 101 Training include the material on authorship with steps to take?
I’ve learned something about SEO, this blog post of yours is is a very helpful, specially to newbies..
Whew, now there’s something else to do! But it sounds like THIS something else will really be helpful. Leave it to Google. I’m wondering if Google intends to take over the internet and create a monopoly!
I haven’t added the +1 to my site yet, it just seems like one more thing to clutter the site to me. However, if I were in the tech/seo industry then I think I would as it seems to have been adopted widely already.
This is best to attract more traffic also by attracting readers using your name and contents. great informative post.
Thanks Kim,
I love following you! It give me a sense of security that I know someone who knows so much about whats going on and what is about to be going on. I’m happy to stay one step ahead of the game with you! Thanks for all of the great information that you put out there.
-Kyle Quinlan
Thanks Kim,
I love following you! It give me a sense of security that I know someone who knows so much about whats going on and what is about to be going on. I’m happy to stay one step ahead of the game with you! Thanks for all of the great information that you put out there.
-Kyle Quinlan
Hey Kim, I figured this change would be coming. I have been putting it off but I guess as you suggest that its something probably that should be taken care of now so you can make sure to capture as much of that social traffic that you might miss by not being officially registered and linked as an author by google. Google’s the boss!
Hmm that’s great news! As months go by the significance of Google+ in SEO is becoming clear.