So our friends at Google recently decided that they wanted to start displaying various authors information up in organic search results. This new program is called the Google Authorship Mark-up. This change is supposed to help deliver high quality content to Google’s end users while giving props to those who generated the displayed content.
This will all be executed by using HTML5 micro-formats such as the rel=”me” and rel=”author” tags used to identify a websites content. Not only does this help the user looking for quality information but it also helps the author gain recognition for the content they do create. We believe this will have a significant impact on your blog’s overall SEO This adjustment will be a game-changer and you should apply this principal to your blog from now on to get the most out of your written content.
The Steps to Set Up Google’s Authorship Markup for Your Blog
First off, if you don’t have a Google Profile set up already go ahead and set one up. Be aware that you can get some really nice backlinks to your website or blog using anchor text in the About Section. Try not to abuse that no matter how tempted you may be because keeping a clean Google Profile can really benefit you with your search engine optimization. And another interesting tidbit of information is that when setting up your Google Profile picture, try to use a nice professional headshot of yourself and always avoid having any kind of logo in it. If it happens to have a logo in it, it is highly probable Google will not show your author page in the search results. Once you have a Google Profile set-up you need to set up an Author Page for your blog. This Author Page should simply be a short bio of the author with a nice professional headshot as the profile picture similar to the one used in your Google Profile.
How to Connect Your Google Profile From Your Author Page
Once you have your Google Profile setup and ready to go you will need to link to your Google Profile from your Author Page from your blog.
Here’s what the link should look like:
<a href="[profile_url]?rel=author">Google+</a>
All you have to do is replace the [profile url] with the assigned Google Profile URL associated with the content and whatever you do: don’t delete the [ ?rel=author] attribute.
How to Connect Your Author Page From Your Google Profile
So now that we have your Google Profile linked up correctly on your Author Page we have to return the favor on your Google Profile with your Author Page link. All you have to do is go to your Google Profile and click on the “Edit Profile” option and then click on the “Recommended Links” section and simply add your blog there.
If there happens to be multiple authors that write for your blog make sure to send a link directly to the assigned authors page to give them their well-deserved credit. Do not forget to check the box that reads, “This page is specifically about me.” Once you have both your Google Profile and your Author Page on your blog reciprocating the correct links, you need to submit an Authorization Request.
My Thoughts
As the merging of social and search is becoming more apparent, I see Google’s Authorship Markup being very beneficial to authors who bless the web with useful content as well as helping users find the content they are looking for. It isn’t quite clear how much weight this carries on your overall search engine optimization performance just yet but we suggest you follow these steps provided and start applying this process to your web design immediately.
