The rel=author tag, has been around for years to tell the search engines that you are the author of a piece of online content. But it has recently gained a lot of attention because of the benefits of “Author Rank” are now multiplied with the introduction of the Google+ profile. This relatively new social media and search engine optimization (SEO) tool produces the added benefit of showing your Google+ profile picture and some statistics about your authorship prowess that lend instant credibility and draws the eye of the internet user. Take a look at the image above…which search result grabs your attention? The simple concept can be a little confusing to implement, so follow these easy instructions to set up your rel=author.
Free SEO Tool: Rel=Author using Google+ Profile
While it’s still relatively unclear how the the rel=author affects your SEO rankings, most experts agree that Google+ profile integration with rel=author is a new SEO tool that will have an important role in determining quality content and, therefore, influencing your PageRank. Whether this is the first time you’re hearing this Google news or you’ve already figured this, don’t panic because here are a few helpful Google SEO tools that all online companies can use!
Setting up Your Rel=Author
Three-link Method
This was the first way Google introduced setup of rel=author. This, as its name indicates, involved three linking steps:
- Linking each author’s content page, such as a blog post, to an author page
- Linking the author page to your Google+ profile
- And then linking your Google+ profile back to the author page
This works somewhat like a circuit board. Starting at the blog post you pass the “wire” (link) to your author page with the rel=”author” tag making the first point of conduction. Then the thread continues by linking the author page and Google+ profile, so that another point of contact is made by using the HTML tag, rel=”me”. The final step is then linking back to the author page via Google+ by putting a link into the ‘Other Profiles’ section of the Google+ profile, again the rel=”me” tag is applied to this link. This closes the circuit and Google now knows you are the owner of the Google+ profile and your author page.
Two-link Method
Did that all sound a little plicated? Apparently Google thought so, too! With all those steps, which also involved HTML, Google realized they needed to streamline the process. This is the easiest and most recommended method.
Removing the complexity of coding, this new two-link method allows users to link directly from author content pages such as blog posts by simply including with the rel=author tag in the author box (also known as author bio) to their Google+ profile. To complete the connection, link the blog homepage to the Google+ profile in the ‘Contributor To’ section.
Email Method
The last method was created because some authors do not have the ability to set up the link required in the two-link method. But be warned, it only works if your email address is associated with your domain name (URL). For example, if the website domain you are publishing on is www.seobuzzim.com, then you have to have an email like [email protected]. To use this method, verify the domain-specific email you want to use as your Google+ profile email address. This tells Google you’re associated with your domain and thus your work published on that domain is attributed to you.
Which method have you used? Did you find challenges with the website template you use when implementing one of the methods? Comment below! Need help? Contact our internet marketing company.
Update: If you are using the WordPress SEO plugin by Yoast, implementation of authorship can be completed using the latest plugin version. 2 places to update:
– under SEO/Titles&Metas, on Home tab, enter your business’ Google+ page URL, such as https ://plus.goo gle. com/b/111675777320302455702/111675777320302455702
– under your author profile in Users in the Contact section, enter your Google+ profile URL, such as https ://plus.goo gle. com/106023235918844047610
Note: the publisher is my business page while the author is my personal profile. Also, note the example URLs have extra spaces in them to prevent links from being created in this comment.
Then go to your Google+ profile, edit profile, and under “contribute to”, add the link of your blog author page. Mine was in the format of http ://www.do main. com/blog/author/username.
Let me know if you need help with any of these techniques!