Help for authors timid about technology
You know those words you’ve been writing? The ones on your blog that you’ve spent countless hours carefully crafting?
Yeah, you don’t own those.
Not really. Not according to Google. This may be the biggest thing you haven’t heard of…yet.
Before you get upset, let me tell you a quick story.
Last year, David Cohen, a brilliant marketer, SEO, and mentor invited me to a small Google+ Hangout with other writers interested in SEO and Authorship. He also asked if he could use my personal website as an example during the meeting.
I said sure. Who doesn’t like free feedback from an expert?
But while we were on air, he said something that wrecked my day.
“Caitlin,” he said. “According to Google, you didn’t write any of these posts.”
Snap. I was mortified. Embarrassed. And more than a little bit angry at Google. Over 300 blog posts and none of them mine? That just wasn’t right.
I’ll never forget the day I first learned about Google Authorship.
This isn’t an in-depth analysis on Google Authorship, but it will give you a good basis for understanding. Here’s what you need to know:
1. You aren’t an author unless Google says you are.
You can write thousands of posts, but unless Google recognizes you as the author, it’s easy for someone else to steal your words. It’s like leaving a finished manuscript on a table at a writer’s conference. Someone is going to pick up your words and sell them as their own.
Authorship allows you to register your words. If someone copies and pastes your words to their own site and tries to take credit for them, Google will know. The thief will be penalized.
2. You have to play by the rules: Google’s rules.
Depending on who you ask, Google is either a gift from God to the masses or the technical spawn of Satan. I’m going to let you make your own call on that.
In the world of the internet, Google is calling the shots. Follow the rules or disappear from search results. Your choice.
When you set up your Authorship profile, your Google+ picture will show up in the search results. Having a photo increases the probability of someone clicking on your article.
This is an example of what Google Authorship looks like in organic search results. You’d click on that, wouldn’t you?
Tweetables:
- Is Google a gift from God or the spawn of Satan? Check out their Authorship program and decide. – click to tweet.
- You know those blog posts on your site? You didn’t write those until Google says you did. – click to tweet.
- What authors need to know about Google authorship. – click to tweet.
- Play by Google’s rules…or disappear from search engine results. – click to tweet.
- Get established with Google Authorship today. Here’s how. – click to tweet.
3. You can establish your authorship now.
Incorporating Authorship isn’t hard. Here’s the step-by-step guide so you don’t get confused (as I did in the early days of authorship).
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Set up your Google+ profile.
If you have a Gmail account, you probably already have an Google+ account. If not, you can sign up on Google+.
- Add your contributor links.
These tell Google where to look for your content. This is a screenshot of what mine look like.
To edit yours, go to your Google+ profile and click, “edit profile,” then click the “about” tab on your profile page.
You will want to scroll down the page until you find the profiles. Click “add custom link.”
- Add your Google+ profile to your WordPress account.
If you log onto the dashboard of your site, there is a small tab on the left bar for users. Click on the “users” tab and find your profile. Here’s what mine looks like.
You will want to fill in all the fields. This makes it easy for people (and search engines) to find you.
Notice that the Google+ field is filled out. That’s the most important field.
That’s it.
Give it a few days for Google to start recognizing the changes. You’ll start seeing your authorship photos crop up in search results. You’ll also want to make sure you provide this article and your Google+ ID when you are guest posting. After all, you wrote those words. You deserve the credit!
Don’t have a professional author website? Talk to us. We’ll help you get started.
Interesting info. Had no idea.Thanks!
Google authorship is so important to SEO’s, but also can be a little confusing. So thanks for this simple blog!
So glad it helped! It was confusing to me at first too.
Caitlin,
I tried to do as you suggested regarding Google Authorship, and learned my Google+ profile is temporarily suspended. Their message states my profile will “remain suspsended until content is removed”. But it doesn’t show me which content is not allowed. My best guess is the title of my book. Which has a word some may find offensive, whoremonger…the title is Letters From a Whoremonger’s Wife and is a memoir. It isn’t a word that is considered ‘forbidden’…so I don’t understand. Also, there is no way to contact Google.
I’ve clicked the link that says “unsuspend my profile”…then the message is the same…”until content is deleted account remains suspsended”. Any suggestions>
Thanks,
Danita
Hi Danita,
You actually can contact Google. All their support can be found by going to support.google.com. You may need to click around a little bit to find direct contact information for Google+ support, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to find.
I love seeing my picture in a google search, and not just because I’m oh so pretty, but because it is a nice attack on those content thieves and it is great for branding!
oy. always something. Thanks for the post.
how does this work for a blog with multiple authors? I’m assuming each author needs to set up their own goggle+ profile & add it to their account? I own a blog w/ multiple posters, so I’d like to pass on the info.
Hi Cheryl,
Yes. Make sure each writer has their Google+ profile linked to their WordPress account and the blog that they contribute to is mentioned on their Google+ page.
My profile space doesn’t look like that! (Panic time)
Is it because I’m still using WordPress as my host, and don’t have my own domain?
What version of WordPress are you using? Make sure you are using the current version (3.5).
Are you using WordPress.org? Cause I don’t have that option on WordPress.com only GTalk…
Figured it out! I had to do “Verified External Services” at the VERY bottom of that screen.
On the off chance you’ll answer me- how important is it that I let them “geo tag” me? I value my privacy as I have children at home.
I am updated on my iPad3 but how do I know if my computer one is updated… In my browser?
If you’ve already updated it via your iPad, it should be updated still when you log on via your desktop. As for geotagging, I don’t see a need to use it.
Thank you! I appreciate you responding so quickly!
I retweet these articles a lot, and will continue to do so.
Hi–I had most of it set up correctly, but I do have one question. When I log into my dashboard on WordPress, I don’t see a spot for a Google+ username. I’m using Headway and my secondary profile (I don’t post using my Admin profile.)
It should still be in your profile tab. Find the spot where you can edit your secondary profile, click on it, and you should be able to find the Google+ spot.
How can you check to see what version of wordpress you’re using?
the google+ field isn’t showing up on my wordpress profile.
If you install the free WordPress SEO plugin by Yoast the Google+ field will appear. Also, there are a lot of other reasons you’d want to be using this plugin.
Thank you for this information. Curious what all you think are this plugins benefits–how you use it!
Sounds like we’ll have to write a blog post about SEO plugins!
“According to Google, you didn’t write any of these posts.”
So tell me how did he check? Is there a tool? Is it just from googling a sentence from the article?
Google has bots that crawl your webpage to index your site and your words. I’m not sure about the second half of your question though. Could you rephrase it?
I don’t have a Google+ field, either. WordPress 3.5.1. I am using my admin account. I also don’t see the “verified external services” link Symanntha mentioned on my WordPress.org install, but it does appear on the profile page of a group blog I contribute to that’s on WordPress.com.
Cheryl, you can find your WordPress version on your Dashboard under “Updates.”
Hi Kristen, mentioned this above to Cheryl, but if you install the free WordPress SEO plugin by Yoast the Google+ field will appear. Also, there are a lot of other reasons you’d want to be using this plugin.
Good call, Christy!
You have to have WordPress .org to use the SEO plugin by Yoast. What do you do if you have WordPpress.com?
Search the plugins section on WordPress.com. There are many SEO options and I believe there is something from Yoast as well!
Thanks.
awesome idea and A good basic understanding of the first steps to carrying out SEO. I would say picking the right keywords from the start can be of real benefit to a website so taking the time to choose wisely is also a good tactic which will help later on!
Yes! Keywords are incredibly important. We’ll be talking more about SEO in the upcoming weeks. Authors can’t afford to ignore it.
Thanks for this. As a creative writer authorship is very important to me. Will make the changes I need to make. Thank you.
That’s great to hear. Glad I could help!
Caitlan, I’m not seeing the Google+ on my wordpress site either, and can’t seem to find the plug-in mentioned above. What am I missing?
Try http://yoast.com/wordpress/
You’ll want the WordPress SEO Plugin.
Hi: I did everything except find the google plus line. I have the free wordpress blog and downloaded the SEO plugin but have no idea how to get it to my blog. I also read it isn’t available for free blogs. Does that mean I can’t get it to my blog? Otherwise, I got everything else in line.
You can also search for the SEO plugin in the “plugin” depository for WordPress.com It should be there!
Actually, it got me thinking and after searching,I think the G+ ID is just the string of numbers at the end rather than the full URL. I don’t know if there is any security issues with placing the whole path in there. In my profile, I am just using the string of numbers.
Thanks for the article. Good Information. I like several did not have the google+. I went to the link you gave and downloaded the file and extracted file. When I went to install, no install .exe button. Unable to install the file.
Ideas?
You shouldn’t have to extract a file. You can insert your G+ profile on your WP author profile page.
Thanks for the reply.
I appreciate it.
Enjoy reading your post and tweets too.
Google now use authorship markup as a ranking factor. It also a good thing to introduce myself over the internet. I also implement this on my blog.
Thanks for the article.
Google is going to favor AuthorRank more in the coming days. Look for more blog posts about it in the coming days.
Hello Caitlin!
So, I have question. I have a simple tumblr blog, and don’t really consider myself a writer. Is this something that I should still consider doing?
It seems that it may be important just to keep my identity online more secure.
I would love your thoughts.
Hey Nathan –
Claim the works that you want associated with you. If you don’t want your Tumblr connected with your personal brand, don’t link it.
Overall, yes, I would encourage you to claim your Google Authorship. It doesn’t take very long and it only offers benefits.
Sounds like plan. I’ll carve out some time to do that.
There is no G+ in my wordpress profile . Im using the latest ver of WP
I just went through the comments here . I installed the SEO plugin – And I got the G+ option.
Thanks
Great to hear!
Which WP SEO Plugin do you use? There seem to be several as I search. (I didn’t have the Google+ option either.)
Found it in the thread.
I also have prompts for: Title to use for Author Page and Meta description to use for Author Page. Can you elaborate on what you used in these fields and why?
Hey Cheryl,
We recommend Yoast or SEO Scribe.
Title for Author Page and Meta Description – What do you want to come up on the internet every time someone comes to that page? You want to make it simple and keyword rich. What are you know for? What do you want to be known for?
Thanks to post this article.
I had picked up a kindle book about Google Authorship, but the links didn’t work and it was very confusing. Thanks to your great article and comments I’m all set up now.
Hey, that’s great to hear! Thanks for letting me know. It made my day!
Caitlin,
There is no place in self-hosted that I can see for google+
Where would I find it?
Thanks.
Self hosted? Could you explain a little more? I’m confused.
I do believe all of the ideas you’ve offered in your post. They’re very convincing and will definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are too brief for starters. Could you please extend them a bit from subsequent time? Thank you for the post.
Oh Sohbet, if I didn’t think you were a spambot, I’d be flattered.
thanks for information, i had no idea about google authorsip give impact on seo.
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Hi there, I discovered your web site by the use of Google while searching for a comparable matter, your website came up, it seems to be great. I have bookmarked to my favourites|added to my bookmarks.
Thanks for this post. So, basically, you have to create a Google+ account for Google to acknowledge you as the author of your blog posts in their search engine results? Is that right? Does any of this relate to copyright issues? And if so, how?
I’m torn on this. I don’t use Google search anymore, I use Bing. I also don’t have Gmail. I don’t want to have a Google+ account and it seems if I want my site/blog to show up in Google’s search engine results, I’m being forced to? Isn’t that…like…blackmail? Or will my site/blog show up in Google searches but just not at the top of the list?
And, does Google *really* discover scraped posts or do you have to find them first and notify Google after you ‘register Authorship’? Or does Google only discover them if the thief tries to do their own Authorship links? Lots of questions.
It seems like it’s a marketing ploy to monopolize the Internet’s information (& people’s info.) and create higher stats for Google+ thereby seemingly increasing Google’s station/worth thereby increasing Google’s profits. Or am I totally misinterpreting this?
Hi Lisa,
I understand your conflict. While you don’t use Google or Gmail, millions of other people do. As a writer, you want to get as many people viewing your site as possible. So yes, sometimes it can feel like blackmail. Until another search engine steals some of Google’s monopoly, it’s “play by the rules or disappear.”
Your authorship is a digital signature. You are registering as an author, and once you do that, all the posts that have already been electronically registered to you (the ones that you’ve posted with your WP account) are solidified as yours. It’s like writing with a pen or a pencil. Once Google sees that it’s yours, someone can’t cross it out and claim authorship.
Google does discover scraped posts. There were a lot of “content farms” that were penalized heavily for shoddy articles that were reposted all over the internet.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for share advantage of Google Authorship. Can you please confirm – Google Authorship apply only with a blog or also for an website. I don’t know how to protect website content piracy.
Hi Kumar,
Authorship is for blogs and websites. You’d only want to use it on the blog side of the site. You can also use Publisher REL tags.
I have had my G+ authorship stuff set up on my blog for a while now but what about sites that I have been a staff writer for but don’t write there any more? How can I establish authorship for those posts? Or old posts on other sites?
If the previous posts were on a WP-based website, just ask the editor or webmaster to add your G+ ID to your author profile.
…and what do you do if they are NOT WordPress based websites that you contributed to?
This article will help. It goes into the richly technical side of the matter. – http://bit.ly/YbpIRO
Hi Caitlin – great article. Couple of questions. I only have a Gmail account because my biz partner and I wanted a central email address that we could both access and use in marketing. Having this email address is the only reason I have a G+ account (which I’ve done NO setup on and hadn’t really planned on). We have a website for our real estate partnership. I will be doing most of the blogging on our website. Should I change the user (display) name on my G+ account to the name of our partnership? Or just keep it as my name? If I’m going to go into my WP account, and under my user information, add the G+ URL, what steps to I need to take to make sure that everything corresponds between my blog posts, my G+ account, etc?
Those are great questions, Jefferson!
I would recommend setting up a company page on Google+. In the coming months, you’ll see more of what’s called “Publisher REL tags” which is a way for the company to claim authorship. I would also set up a professional Google+ account if I were you. You may already have one if you have a regular Gmail account or an Android phone.
One of the reasons Google+ membership spiked this year is because Google automatically gave all Android users an account. But that’s a tangent for a blog post.
All that to say –
1. Get your own Google+ page and follow the steps above to create it and link it to your WordPress account.
2. Create a business page for your company. Add content there. Include a link on your email signature or company newsletter. People will start adding you in circles.
3. Keep in touch! Let me know how it works for you!
Keep writing, Jefferson!
Caitlin – got another question for you. What do you recommend if you post your content on more than one website? For example, I post on the Real Estate community website Active Rain, but I also have a blog on my own website, and I usually like to post my entries on both. What’s the best way to ensure Google doesn’t ding me or something for that?
On Google+ – you can list yourself as a contributor to multiple websites. Make sure that you reciprocate the link on each blog by linking it with your Google+ ID.
OK Caitlin – one more question for you. I am 99.9% certain I’ve done everything correctly on both my WP site AND my Active Rain blog (they walk you through the steps very clearly), yet NOTHING is coming up when I Google “my name article subject”. I’ve even tried it using my name and the exact title of the article. I’m not seeing any signs of Google authorship whatsoever. What gives? Thanks again for all your help!
OK, well, let me edit. I just googled the name of my team, and near the bottom of the page, my Active Rain blog came up with my photo, signifying Google authorship. Let me ask you this. Does it make a difference how much of your G+ profile is completed, or how active you are? Mine is not very, and I don’t plan or want to be at the moment…..
Give this one time. If you want to know now, check with Google Webmaster tools. I’m not sure how much of your G+ profile needs to be completed but I do know you need those reciprocal links.
This was such a helpful article! I got onto my WordPress site like you suggested, but in the contact section, there was not a space for Google+ or Twitter like on yours. Is there an easy (I’m still figuring out WordPress) way to add those? I included them below the Contact section, in the Verified External Links area. Is there more I can do?
I saw someone mention plug ins. Where do I find those?
Are you on WordPress.com or WordPress.org?
For .Org –
1. Go to your WordPress Admin Panel in your dashboard and click on Plugins » Add New
2. Type in the plugin name – In this case Yoast SEO. You will want this one – WordPress SEO Plugin Developed by Joost de Valk
3. Click “install” and then “activate.”
4. Go to your dashboard, on the side panel, you should see “Yoast SEO” (or something similar) as one of the options. Click on it. Fill out the information.
Great article Caitlin. I am just getting my wordpress website up and running so I was going through your steps. When I got to the WP dashboard on my profile there was only jabber/google talk but no google+ entry. I just set up a google+ account today, but now I don’t know where to put it. I would appreciate any help you can give me!
And your screen shots were very helpful by the way!
Hi Susan!
Great job setting up the G+ account! That’s a huge step.
Do you have the Yoast SEO plugin installed on your WP?
1. Go to your WordPress Admin Panel in your dashboard and click on Plugins » Add New
2. Type in the plugin name – In this case Yoast SEO. You will want this one – WordPress SEO Plugin Developed by Joost de Valk
3. Click “install” and then “activate.”
4. Go to your dashboard, on the side panel, you should see “Yoast SEO” (or something similar) as one of the options. Click on it. Fill out the information.
Let me know if it works for you!
Fantastic Caitlin! Very helpful and it worked! I so appreciate your help.
I think Google+ is actually a very effective “poor man’s social CRM”. For example, you can create Circles to qualify followers for link building. And you can pay attention and connect more with the more important prospects.
Great article, love all the images. Google is stepping up into the social world for sure!
Does this apply to eblogger/ blogspot also?
Thank you so much for the explanation. My brother and son (both techie artists/musicians) were talking about this question about authorship on Facebook a few months ago and I commented on Thomas’s site. I’ve been wondering about the logistics of it all. You always shed light on the confusing areas!
Thanks, Laura! That made my Monday!
As a real estate agent, when connecting to Google+ authorship should I use my personal google account or the one I set up for our team. The team account is where I upload to YouTube, share to facebook, etc
If you are building up your personal brand as a real estate agent, I would use your personal one. If it’s for the team, I would look into “publisher” rel tags, which is not talked about as much. It’s pretty much authorship for the publisher, like the NYTimes.
Hello Caitlin,
Thank you for this post! My girlfriend and myself both run a blog where we are both authors and write posts. Can you create google authorship for two people writing for the same blog? Thank you very much for your help!