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The Future of Authority
Google is constantly updating to ensure that search results yield the quality that we can all use and enjoy. Algorithmic variables have changed with Panda and Penguin, but what has remained constant is the notice a website gets for having authority. With the pushing of Google+ and Google Authorship, quality content (i. e. interesting topics that people want and are relevant to your site) is still the future of determining authority. This is a pretty simple idea: authoritative content informs, engages, and influences.
It is the functional content that people are using Google to search for.
It is what Google wants.
The never ending need for authority is where Google Authorship and Google+ come in. Google Authorship is the linking of any content you have published to your Google+ account on search results.
Rel=Author (AKA Google Authorship)
First here are Google’s instructions for linking your site’s or your personal content to your Google+ profile when it appears in search results. (You’ll also find basic information and definitions). Rel=author is the coding Google recognizes to give authorship to an article or blog post. Everything you publish can be attributed to represent you or represent your site. Here is an example of what it looks like.
Here are a few of the advantages you get with Google Authorship:
- You can see your headshot right next to your results
- After a user has been on your page for two minutes and hits the back arrow, Google provides links to more content by the author under the original result
- You can interact with people on Google+ about your content to improve sharing ability
- The more your content is shared on Google+ the more authority you will have
- Google can hold authors accountable for their content (You are a recognized author!)
Google is using Authorship to better quantify quality content. And this is a relatively new tool. If authority continues to build with content that uses Google Authorship, then more and more people will have to start doing using it. So the advantage of getting started now is the fresh look it has in search results and therefore, how it can boost your CTR. When everyone is on board, this won’t be the case but it will give way to a whole new system of for defining the highest quality content.
Author Rank
There is a lot of speculation towards how much Google Authorship is going to play in future updates by Google. Copy Blogger points out that regardless of the implementation of Author Rank, authority is still what matters. If you start using Authorship as a way to really build your site’s authority and CTR then you are well on your way to a higher SERPs and will be fine with or without that implementation.
So, you’ve now learned why the rel=author tag should be the next thing on your web developer’s to do list. Properly implementing the authorship tag can help your website achieve the high click thorugh rate it deserves. And every click will be one more visitor to your website.
Zane Schwarzlose writes for Fahrenheit Marketing, an Austin web desgin firm. Zane loves a well-implemented author tag.