Guest posting has become very popular since Google started saying that they were going to pay more attention to blogs. They put a little more emphasis on blogs because they wanted to move people away from link farms, and because blogs are often updated (which is something else that Google likes). Google are also aware that some people guard their blogs as if they were made of gold. Google however are aware that low quality articles are just as likely on blogs as they are on article websites, which is why they created the AuthorRank system.
All about Google’s AuthorRank system
Launched in 2011 by Google, the authorship program and its index (known as AuthorRank), now receive more attention from the SEO community than any other SEO element. Suffice it to say that the authorship program is the current bandwagon, and for good reason. Even though it appears to still be in the experimental phase, the program has changed gradually to the point where an article may now have its Authorship displayed in search engine results.
On in five of Google’s top results has a “rel = author” tag
Searchmetrics.com revealed that almost one in five results already included the tag “rel = author” thus presenting a photo of the author (of the article) in the search engine results page.
Behind the visual change however, is a much more important issue–the visibility of the author’s content and the ranking of the author’s website on Google.
What is Authorship?
Google Authorship is a program that allows an author to associate his or her creations with his or her Google+ profile. And in doing so, an author can create a connection between his/her content that has been published on a particular domain.
The Authorship is reflected by the appearance of an author bio that is presented by the author. On the search engine results, you will see a photo of the author, the author’s name and a link to their profile on Google Plus. It is also possible to see the number of people who are in the authors circle, and you are able to gain access to links from other authors.
What is AuthorRank?
The AuthorRank is an algorithm that calculates the authority of the author based on the quality of the author’s creations. Nobody knows exactly what criteria are taken into account by the AuthorRank but one can imagine that it is things such as the degree of engagement that the author is able to create, and the influence of people who interact with the products of the author. The number of people who have circled the author may also count towards a person’s AuthorRank.
What is the tag “rel = author”?
The “rel = author” tag is the code that allows an author to associate content with their Google+ profile.
Why worry about the Authorship, AuthorRank and “Rel = author”?
Firstly there are SEO reasons. When it comes to things such as guest blog posting, the AuthorRank is a good replacement for PageRank. On the other hand, things such as Authorship and AuthorRank can be integrated into PageRank itself, which will therefore allow Google to classify high-quality content more appropriately. PageRank and AuthorRank will help to identify a level of quality and trust that Google can use to better position articles and guest blog posts within search engine results.
The development of credibility
People with blogs hope to one-day gain enough credibility to be taken seriously, but this takes time. When a guest poster enters the scene, they also have no credibility. But with Authorship and AuthorRank, a guest poster can bring his/her credibility from other online articles.
When Google displays the tag “rel = author” after each search result, the links corresponding to it will help the author to gain some credibility, because the operation requires that Google has previously verified the existence of a real connection. A real connection between the author and the site that the search engine results is point to.
In addition, everyone has not yet implemented the tag “rel = author” and so this is the perfect time to get out and start building a relationship of trust, especially with users who do not know you as an author, but regularly your face next to links in Google.
About the Author: Sonia Jackson represents the UK website http://www.royal-essays.com which helps solve all problems with writing different essays and research papers according to the rules in the UK.