Some online content may not qualify for Google Authorship markup.
Google Authorship: Does Your Online Content Qualify?
If you’re one of the lucky few to achieve authorship ranking on page one of search results, then consider your online content the recipient of Google’s official nod of approval.
But if you’re using authorship and still not gaining any ground, then read on for some information that could help you acquire the real estate you’re after.
The News from Google is there’s Less Room for Authorship
Thanks to a recent change in the algorithm that determines Google authorship, the amount of authorship content that ranks well in search engine results pages has dropped.
That means in order for your online content to achieve higher rankings, it must meet certain criteria within the algorithm.
Since there’s no way for us to know exactly what the criteria are, we need to use basic guidelines as our compass.
Here are circumstances where you should use authorship markup:
Blog/Article – Home pages, product pages and the like should not use authorship markup. Blogs or articles, however, contain analysis from a real person and so they are the right vehicle for markup.
Relevant to Google+ profile – If your profile says you are a renowned chef, then you should only give authorship to content related to your area of expertise.
Volume of related content – You know the saying, “The more, the merrier?” This also applies to your online content and authorship, especially when it’s focused on a specific industry or interest.
Byline match name on Google+ profile – The last measure of deserving content is whether or not your byline on the blog/article matches the one on your Google+ profile. Simple, we know, but it gets overlooked more often than you might think.
The Reason for Discerning
If you give authorship to all of your content, then you cannot appear as an “expert” in any one industry. In fact, by doing this, you will actually move your content down in the search results.
Qualifying your content before performing authorship markup is an important vetting procedure to ensure your best and most relevant perspectives are getting the attention they deserve.
