AuthorRank is a term that was first coined by Matt Cutts in an interview earlier this year. The general concept as I understand it is that every content creator on the web will have their own profile that links all of their content together. The sum of this content as a whole will be used to ascertain how trustworthy an author is a source and it will have an impact on search results.
You can already see the first hints of the AuthorRank system being worked into Google with the introduction of pictures from an individuals Google+ profile being shown directly within the search results.
In the image above you can see that there is an author image to the right of the search results which also links to the author's profile. This is the first steps into an author optimized web where articles and web content in general is ranked and shared in relation to the authority of their creator. As you can imagine an image of yourself placed directly on the search results page will really draw peoples attention, especially whilst you are one of only a few that are taking the time to get ahead of the authorship rush.
If you currently publish content on the web or even run your own websites there are several steps that you should be taking immediately…
- Create a Google+ Account So You Can Start Linking your Sites
- Use a Real Picture of You On Your Profiles (No Graphics Unfortunately)
- Configure your WordPress Blog for Authorship Optimization
- Run a Test To See if Your Authorship Optimization Was Successful
If you are not one of the millions of sites that are running a WordPress site then you can use the official AuthorRank Optimization guidelines from Google to make sure your site still complies with the new AuthorRank attributes.
Whilst this article has hopefully give you an introduction as to what AuthorRank is and one of the most immediate ways you can benefit from it you should keep in mind that we are still in the early stages of it's adoption across the web. Those who are quick to adapt will gain the fastest benefits to their site and it could be the difference between gaining and retaining a first page ranking against falling into obscurity.
Through this site I will be keeping you up to date with all of the most important AuthorRank news, tips and strategies so if you want to be kept in the loop then please consider subscribing to the feed or our email subscription feature below.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on AuthorRank and how your adopting it within your websites so please feel free to comment below. And if you have any burning questions about AuthorRank and the changes rolling out across Google then please do share them and I will try to address them all in future features.