You may have heard of Google Authorship and wondering exactly what it is. Basically, the program works by attaching an actual author’s name to each post that’s published on a website, lending credibility and verifiability to the work.
Google Authorship works because Google uses a picture of the author of the article or blog post by using the rel=”author attribute. That picture comes from the author’s profile, and when a reader clicks on the image, their browser will link them back to the author’s profile.
Why Is Google Authorship So Important?
Occasionally when you complete a Google search, you’ll notice faces appearing next to certain results. This is especially true when the result is a blog post or article. Google achieves this by using Google Authorship with the link, and this is the search engine’s way of relaying to users whether or not the snippet is attached to quality content. The image of the author lends credibility to the article, and along with other features employed by Google, signals to searchers that a given link may be better to click on than say, one without an image beside it.
How to Implement Google Authorship
To implement Google Authorship, all you have to do is follow these steps:
1. Make sure you have a Google+ profile and that you use a photo with a “recognizable headshot” (Google’s words, not ours)
2. You need to be sure to add the URL or the blog that you author in the “Contributor to” part of your profile. You accomplish this by clicking the profile button under the homepage button and then going over and clicking on the navigation column on the homepage for Google +.
3. Make sure a byline with your name appears on each page of the content (byline = “By Suzanne Watson”)
4. Make sure the name on your byline is the same as the name on your Google+ profile
5. Verify that you have an email address that the content was published on
6. Go back to this page and enter your email address…and you’re done!
You can test this feature by clicking here. You may connect with me on Google plus by clicking here.