If you work in the marketing field chances are you’ve heard the term “Google Authorship” before BUT you might not know exactly why it’s important or how to become Google Authorized. I’ll share with you 6 simple steps you’ll need to take in order to get Google Authorized and explain the many benefits of being Authorized on Google.
As we all know there is plenty and I mean PLENTY of information on Google search results lately. One of the main reasons Google came up with the concept of “Google Authorship” is because it helps connect a piece of content with the Google+ profile of it’s author. The idea is that an author can build rank and trust (called Author Rank) based on the content they write all over the web. By providing “Author Rank,” Google is now able to filter out the duplicate content and now provide credibility to search results that include the author’s name.
Google already has a way to determine your expertise on those subjects and it is getting smarter at how it ranks authors and their content. For instance, if your content is constantly +1’ed and shared, it will be a strong signal that the content you create is of high quality and offers plenty of value. If you’re wondering why you should become Google Authorized — listen up!
Top 3 Benefits of Verifying your Google Authorship:
- SEO Benefits of Authorship — Develop an “Author Ranking” which results in a ranking boost to all content you write.
- Name Awareness & Industry Authority — Get your name out there to build your online authority. This will result in a much higher click-through-rate on Google!
- Increased Connection & Engagement between an Author & Online Audience — Helps facilitate engagement with your audience, as people will now be able to tell right in the search engine which content you’ve authored.
If you think the benefits listed above are important to you and your company then please follow the steps listed below to be on your way of getting Google Authorized!
6 Steps to becoming Google Authorized:
Step 1: Create a Google/Gmail Account if you don’t already have one, then add a Google Plus account: https://plus.google.com/
Step 2: Add your profile picture to your Google Plus account. (This is what’s used to display your photo in the search results.)
Step 3: Link your Google+ profile to your website: https://plus.google.com/authorship (Be sure to click the confirmation link in the email you receive.)
Step 4: Add the Google Authorship language to your WordPress website using a Google Author related plug-in (there are plenty out there, we currently use Google Author Link by HelpForWP).
Step 5: Send your web person your GooglePlus URL – So they can add it to your blog user name on the WordPress Blog.
Step 6: Verify that you set everything up correctly by using the Structured Data Testing Tool:
Happy Authoring!
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