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Have you heard of Google Authorship? It’s a remarkably simple change in search engine algorithms that associates online content with individual creators. As of 2012, Authorship has already begun to change the face of Internet publishing by searching for real people, not just web pages. As such, it offers producers a unique chance to maximise social authority for their benefit.
The only way to participate in Authorship is to get on Google Plus. SEO for Authorship works on social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, but on Google Plus (G+) you have direct communication with the Author Rank system. What you do on G+ expressly shapes how you do in Google Search.
How do you implement Authorship mark-up in Google+? The trick to Authorship mark-up is to link between your published work and G+ profile. It takes about five minutes to add the rel=author tag, which cues search bots to Plus-validated content.
Using rel=author tags lets Google grab your profile info, including your pic, and use it to populate and rank its search results. A rich snippet with a personalised photo and accurate information signals legitimacy to search spiders while attracting more click-throughs and conversions from real people. In other words, Authorship brings search relevance that translates into quality leads for content marketers.
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Let’s take a look at ten important ways to exploit Google+ for Authorship credibility and prosperity online.
1. Followers
Finding and growing G+ followers is one of the most effective ways to earn authority as an online content creator. Google+ is ideal for attracting new followers, with over 250 million participants and nearly a million unique users every day.
2. External profile links
All those G+ profiles amount to a public directory for the Authorship algorithm. Use your profile as an outbound hub for links to your work around the web. Cross-linking helps get your articles indexed immediately in Google SERPs.
3. Hashtags
A powerful hashtag system helps authors’ work get found by those who want to see it on Google Plus. SEO best practices suggest preceding primary keywords with a hashtag (#) to help associate your Authorship with the topics for which you’d like to establish expertise.
4. Circles
With circles, content creators can reach out to more people and sort them by custom categories. The structure of circles has significant implications for search engine optimisation because spiders use them to measure authors’ reach.
5. +1’s
+1 is similar to a Facebook “Like,” but it’s a much more powerful social signal. Generally speaking, the more +1’s a user has, the higher her Author Rank. Be sure to add +1 buttons to your website so others can endorse your work.
6. Pages
G+ Pages influence how the search giant decides who’s producing quality content and whether specific authors deserve recognition. Pages are an essential component of search engine optimisation for Authorship.
7. Regular participation
Google’s algorithms account for how often creators post and interact with others on the Plus platform. To search bots, quality Authorship looks like timely and targeted acts of participation that get lots of re-shares.
8. Communities
Authorship uses a person’s fan base as a proxy measurement for their social authority. G+ Communities function as a straightforward tool for gathering a social media following that translates directly into search engine optimisation.
9. Direct Connect
“Direct Connect” is an invitation-only feature that allows a Page to be circled directly within G+ search results when users type a “+” symbol ahead of a query. It’s like a gift from Google to reputable authors for adding value to the social media network.
10. Hangouts
When you ‘Hang out’ on Google+, you cultivate authority, gain instant placement in the popular, Authorship-optimised YouTube universe, and take advantage of one of the most valuable forms of SERP bait: Video—over fifty times more likely to make page one than other types of content.
