{"id":4980,"date":"2013-03-11T08:51:51","date_gmt":"2013-03-11T13:51:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.adviceinteractivegroup.com\/?p=4980"},"modified":"2013-03-11T08:51:51","modified_gmt":"2013-03-11T13:51:51","slug":"what-the-heck-is-author-rank-and-authorship-and-what-must-business-owners-do-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.advicelocal.com\/blog\/what-the-heck-is-author-rank-and-authorship-and-what-must-business-owners-do-about-it\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Heck is Author Rank and Authorship and What Must Business Owners Do About It?"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW – Download our new EBook: A Complete Guide To Google Authorship & Google Publisher!<\/strong><\/p>\n

We know that Google has been fighting a long battle with Facebook\u2014a battle over search and users. Google\u2019s social networking platform, Google+, competes directly with Facebook. To solidify the position of Google+ and to make it completely necessary to users, Google has integrated it into its search results algorithms, known as Author Rank and Authorship.<\/p>\n

This next part is important, so pay attention!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the most obvious questions:<\/p>\n

What are Author Rank and Authorship?<\/h3>\n

Author Rank is a score that is based on and reflects a writer\u2019s productivity; the score may be modified or scored in various ways to give some content more value than others.<\/p>\n

The Authorship program offers Google users the ability to associate the content they write as authorized content on the web with a very specific Google account.<\/p>\n

\"authorship\"<\/p>\n

So, to be clear, Author Ranking depends on data collection and analysis and Authorship is driven by direct user input. Got it? Is it important? Yes, it is!<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s just listen to what Google\u2019s former CEO Eric Schmidt<\/a> has to say:<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin search results, information tied to verified online profiles will be ranked higher than content without such verification, which will result in most users naturally clicking on the top (verified) results. The true cost of remaining anonymous, then, might be irrelevance.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All this being said, one of the goals of Author Ranking and Authorship is to drive better content by verified authors. As discussed, Google has confirmed that it will reward content creators who meet Author Rank\u2019s criteria by boosting the authors\u2019 content in search results. But could Google\u2019s real goal with Author Rank be to promote Google+? I think so.<\/p>\n

How do you play Google\u2019s game?<\/h3>\n

\"Blog<\/p>\n

At the core of success with Authorship is engagement with Google+. This means you need a Google+ profile. It also means you must get involved. You have to interact with other Google+ users\u2014especially those in your field\u2014on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

Post frequently to your blog.<\/strong>
\nWhat, no blog? Shame on you! Create one and schedule regular posts. Keep to the schedule. Make it important and relevant to your industry.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important, too, that your blog generate activity<\/strong>.
\nDo what you can to promote your blog and get people in your industry to engage. Contact others in your field and invite them to comment or become involved. Create content that is truly interesting, truly thought provoking. Give other experts a reason to interact\u2014even if it\u2019s to disagree with you. Google wants to see people caring about what you write.<\/p>\n

Get published on other blogs<\/strong>\u2014especially authority ones.
\nIf you can establish (to the Author Rank algorithm) that you are expert enough to write on other blogsand not just your own, you will have an advantage over bloggers who only write on their own blogs.<\/p>\n

Write a book<\/strong> (I mean an eBook).
\nIt\u2019s really not enough to be \u201cweb-only.\u201d Put together an eBook with your best insights and with a great cover. It doesn\u2019t even need to be long;just produce some solid information. Get it noticed by Google Books. If Google can see that you\u2019re also a \u201creal author,\u201d Author Rank will like you all the more.<\/p>\n

\"Social<\/strong><\/p>\n

Be social<\/strong>.
\nDo you tweet your insights? You don\u2019t? Start. Author Rank will take this into account, but only if you have followers. All the Twitter basics apply:<\/p>\n