AuthorRank is quickly becoming the new SEO you must include on your website if you want to continue to be found on Google. You’ve probably been reading more about putting the rel=”author” tag on your site. There’s way more to it than that! Google insists that you have a verifiable digital identity and they want it on G+. And, they want you to close all the backlink loops properly too. Discover what you need to know about AuthorRank and why you must add it to your site SEO strategy sooner rather than later.
What is AuthorRank?
In 2011 Matt Cutts announced that Google would begin to support authorship markup. Basically, it uses special code to connect the author of a post, page, or article to their online author page where more info about them can be found. That includes linking to posts you’ve written on your own site, or guest posts you’ve written on other sites. Then linking that page to a verifiable digital identity, and then linking that back to the author’s main site. As long as all the special linking code is installed, you’ll be credited by Google with creating the content.
This Authorship markup helps you get found in search results via what Google calls Rich Snippets. They feature your picture and more links from you. They are also getting more prominent positions in search results, hence the new nickname for the whole process, which is AuthorRank.
Why Google is Doing This
Google billed authorship markup as a way “to help people find content from great authors in our search results.” While that it is true, it also helps Google identify the originator of any content on the Web.
Here’s the real story. Google is doing this for Google’s benefit. A lot of their money comes from AdWords. To get the highest bid, they have to be able to place those ads on super sites. The problem is that there’s a lot of duplicate content out there, especially with the good stuff. Google can’t always tell who originated it. So, they put some penalties in place to discourage it. Those were part of the Panda and Penguin algorithms.
But, that wasn’t enough to help Google quickly identify the super sites from the scraper sites, so instead of dishing out more penalties, they decided to sweeten the deal and entice content generators to help them. That’s really what AuthorRank is all about. It allows Google to more quickly identify the originator of the content. That allows them to strip the ranking credentials from scraper sites that steal super content and use it in an effort to divert traffic to their spammy-scammy sites.
Sweetening the Deal
To get more people to participate, Google put a little sugar on it and now gives a higher ranking to any site and author that helps them. The quicker you get with that program, the more you’ll benefit.
Getting AuthorRank set up is one of the ways to get higher rankings.
Another way is to create focused, in-depth content.
What Google Wants
To ensure they are putting the right ads on the right sites, Google primarily looks for two things: authority and relevance. AuthorRank and focused content are ways for you to help Google understand that you are an authority on a topic. In other words, when it fully verifies you and sees that you continually create content on a specific topic, it will weight your content in the algorithms as being more relevant, and then it will likely rank your content higher than content from authors it cannot verify or who are more inconsistent with what they write about.
Engagement Counts
Another factor that plays into Google’s algorithm is how much engagement your content receives. So, it’s not all about just hooking everything up correctly. It’s about writing content that inspires participation with your audience. That algorithm also takes into consideration how much engagement you have on social media, specifically, how many G+ Circles you are in and how much you participate there.
Now, you may think playing around on G+ is not as fun as Facebook. Get over it. This is business and it means money in your pocket. Find people and Communities and even Hangouts that you can participate with by posting and sharing and +1’ing other people’s posts.
The Bottom Line
Google is already favoring posts from content producers who have their AuthorRank ducks in a row. And, search engine results with a human face next to them are getting more click-throughs.
Here’s what Google’s former CEO Eric Schmidt had to say:
“Within search results, information tied to verified online profiles will be ranked higher than content without such verification, which will result in most users naturally clicking on the top (verified) results. The true cost of remaining anonymous, then, might be irrelevance.”
And, this post on ProBlogger reveals that he is getting 35% more click-throughs with AuthorRank set up.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t tell you everything you need to know to get it configured to see that kind of result. And, most pro SEO folks aren’t about to tell you all of their secrets either. I will. I’m not going to be put out of business by you knowing how to do this for yourself. I want you to know how to succeed! You can do this yourself if you’re just given the opportunity to see how and why.
Setting up AuthorRank
There are 14 steps to properly set up AuthorRank. And, it needs to be fully integrated with your other site/theme and SEO settings. (That adds another 4 steps.)
I have yet to find a single post or tutorial on getting everything connected properly. So, I created a live workshop to take you through it step-by-step. All of it. And the best part is, you’ll know what you’re doing and why.
That’s important because Google makes changes all the time. And, SEO plugins are constantly changing to keep up. So, you need to know what you’re doing. Nothing about SEO is set-it-and-forget-it anymore.
The SEO and AuthorRank Workshop is Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 at noon ET. You still have time to register. You must already have a Google+ Profile and the WordPress SEO plugin installed. I’ll help you finish setting both of them up properly, and show you how to coordinate the plugin with your on-page SEO efforts for maximum benefit.
You’ll also get several bonuses including how to fix the number one mistake that folks make with their XML Sitemap, and the exact code I use on BlogAid for my Author Resource box and RSS feed footer. These will help you maximize AuthorRank and protect your content from scraper sites, which brings down your SEO ranking.
What Every Site Owner Should Know could save you hundreds of dollars and months of frustration. Free with subscription to BlogAid News.
MaAnna:
This was an amazing and informative explanation of Author Rank. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to explain everything in plain English. I finally went pro and set up my own domain on wordpress.org last month. I do have a google+ profile and already use SEO Yoast thanks to Nina Amir’s suggestion. What I do not have is the resources to attend your workshop tomorrow, but I hope to be able to change that in the near future, as I see great value in your tips and teachings. Thank you.
Glad you found it helpful, Amanda. Getting a new site launched can seem overwhelming. There are so many pieces to the puzzle. Stick with it. You’ll get there!
Thanks for sharing this informative post, This is a good move from Google and its importance will continue to rise and the worth of established authors will increase in the future.
Great post, MaAnna – but I think you might be being a bit harsh as to why Google made these changes… While I’m sure their monetization figured into it somewhat, it seems the main reason is to ensure they return the best possible search results for their users. As it does for all of us, a better user experience garners more market share for Google, with it’s accompanying increase in the bottom line. That being said, though, it’s great to see you shedding some light on an important SEO change that might otherwise be beyond the scope of many bloggers – kudos!
Just today I saw a report that Google’s search stats dropped below the 80% line, meaning that at least a few folks are jumping over to other search engines. So, you’re right that one of their main goals is to provide the best search results possible for users. Ultiimately, that’s what keeps their search stats high.
But, with hundreds of millions of dollars of ad revenue connected to that, I don’t think I’m overstating their stake and/or ultimate motivation in why they’re making these changes.
The perk is, if you help Google, they help you. So, I see it as a win-win for all of us and I’m trying to do my part!
Thanks for sharing the information about Author Rank MaAnna. I have more three months to start up a blog because of my exams. Can you please post a tutorial on implementing author rank as I have missed the live Workshop :(
Hi Naser, it was a paid workshop. I’ll be taking it to a video course in the next week or two and you’ll be able to purchase it then and access any time you like.
Hi MaAnna,
It is a happy development that Search is changing into a more quality and authority focused science and Google Authorship sets the right basis for valued authors and businesses.
It is very important to act now as time matters and whoever is late will miss his/her turn from others than hop on to start building their AuthorRank.
Agreed, Joanna. Folks who don’t jump on this now are going to get left behind in search.
Hey MaAnna, thanks for sharing this. I have been searching for more information on how does google author rank works and I think I’m quite satisfied with the things that you have posted here. If there is a like button on your author rank I would have clicked it right now :D. All the best to you!
Thanks for your kind words, James. Glad you found it helpful!
I’ve tried to understand how Author Rank and Authorship worked for weeks now. Wasn’t sure if I should pay attention but thanks to your post, I see how important this can be. Thanks for explaining.
Is the replay available?
Never mind- I now see it is, or will be, a paid webinar.