Google Rel=Author Markup: Why Your Picture Needs To Be In The Search Results

Chances are you've come across a search result with the author's name and photo next to their search listing. Users tend to gravitate towards these results as they stand out on the crowded page. Yet few businesses have taken advantage of this feature. The internet is saturated with content similar to yours and having your author information appear is a simple (and free) way to add prominence and credibility to your search listing. According to a recent article by Search Engine Land, only 1 in every 5 Google searches shows Rel=Author (a.k.a. author markup) in the top 100 results, so it's the perfect time to jump on board before your competitors do.

Author markups enable the author of the webpage to link their content to their Google+ profile page (which has to link back to the site for 2 way verification). Doing so shows a rich snippet of their Google+ profile (your image, name and link back to the profile) next to their webpage in the Google search results. Be warned, however, I have seen some instances where Google hasn't accepted someone to participate in this relatively new experiment, but the benefits far outweigh this possibility.

What Benefit Does Author Markup Offer My Business?

In case I haven't sold you enough on the idea, according a recent study on the impact of rich snippet markups on traffic, the number of clicks increased by 150% once the rich snippet was added.

Let's take a closer look at why click-through rates increased dramatically. Author markups:

Highlight your listing. For free, I might add. It now stands out from the 4 out of 5 results that don't have an author markup attached. Anyone can see it. Even users who aren't logged into their Google accounts or their social media accounts will still see the rich author info and photo. Provides credibility. Info for rich snippets is taken from a verified Google+ profile. Increased exposure. Your name is hyperlinked with your Google+ profile URL so if people like your article they can easily visit your profile.

Author Markup And SEO Benefits

Cutts previously featured in a Google Webmaster video discussing the introduction of author markup. In this video, his colleague Othar Hansson alludes to author markup having SEO benefits. "It's early days, we hope to use this information, and any information as a ranking signal. We want to get information on credibility of authors from all kinds of sources to use as ranking signals," Hansson says.

Now SEO professionals are speculating about Author Rank; the idea of assigning a higher level of trust and authority to content created by verified authors. In other words, the better the content is, the more trusted the author becomes and the more trusted their future content becomes.

While the SEO benefits have been widely debated, it does make sense. Who seems more trustworthy? Content created by verified authors who have created previous quality content over less reputable writers appearing in the search results? Google is aiming for an SEO-less world where content ranks based on its quality, rather than how well optimized it is. Associating a verified and trustworthy author to content and having it as one of the ranking signals will help Google determine quality content. The best SEO software in the world can't give you this kind of exposure on the search engines!

How Do You Implement Author Markup?

It's a little daunting when you're not an SEO professional but it's a lot simpler than you think. Basically, you just need to link your Google+ profile to your blog (which has to link back to the site for 2 way verification). Follow Google's instructions on author markup listed here and reference step 1 and 2 below for further clarification for Google's instructions on verifying your email address and how to find the "Contributor to" section on Google+.

If you encounter any problems, try following all the instructions I've detailed below:

Step 1. Create a Google profile or a Google+ account

Use an email address with the same domain as your blog and verify the account using the email they send to you after you sign up. Once you view your profile, under the heading "Work" you can add your email address and you will see a grey circle with a tick next to it to show it has been verified.

How To Implement The Google Rel=Author Markup

Supposedly as long as you post on the same domain as your email, and the posts have the same byline as the name on your Google+ account, this is sufficient for Google to link your articles to this account. But just to be safe, I wouldn't stop at this step.

Step 2. Link your Google+ profile (through the "Contributor to" section) to your blog

What Is The Google Rel=Author Markup

On the right hand side panel, click on "Profile".

Click on "Edit Profile" just on top of your cover photo.

Scroll down the page and find "Contributor to" links.

Click on these words to open the edit box.

Now just enter in your blog URL.

Step 3. Link your blog to your Google+ profile

In each article page, there needs to be some reference to the post's author in order for this to work. Placing this link in your "About me" or author bio is best. I could include a paragraph in my bio page requesting readers "Visit me on my Google+ Profile for more Google+ tips and tricks" with "Google+ Profile" pointing to this your Google+ profile URL. Here is the general code:

<a rel="me" target="_blank" href="[Your Google+ Profile URL]">[description of what the link points to]</a>

4. Link your individual content to your Google+ profile.

Now that its implemented, when you write an article, simply link your name in your byline (your hyperlinked name that appears under the article title) or author box (often at the bottom of the page with info about the author) to your blog author page with the

Rel=Author code.

Here is the general code:

<a rel="author" href="[Author page URL]">[Name]</a>

Tip: If you use WordPress, there are plugins, such as Author Box Reloaded, that will add the markup for you automatically. They will also add your image and icons to all the social networks.

5. Test this connection

Google provides a testing tool to verify your author markup and simulate what your webpage would look like in the search results. But be warned that this tool can indicate false errors.

There you have it. Now go and link your old blog posts to your Google+ profile. While this has been clearly implemented for Google's own self interest (forcing you to use their social network) author markup provides anyone who creates online content, particularly small businesses to get their content to stand out.

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Small Business Search Engine Optimization

As a small business owner, it'll be important to understand that although you are extremely intelligent at what it is you do, it'll be very hard to know everything there is to know about small business search engine optimization. Now of course, there are some areas where you can help a great deal - such as understanding specific keywords and keyword phrases that would lead to your products and services, as well as understanding how individuals are searching for your products and services. But even this much understanding about what you do will take a tremendous amount of skill, time, and knowledge on your part. This is the reason it is so important to hire a search engine optimization (SEO) service provider to handle the optimization requirements for your web presence.

Small business search engine optimization services will be all-inclusive. From optimizing your web presence to understanding how people are using search terms in order to find your products and services. These are all important processes; however, there are a lot of different techniques and methods that will need to be utilized in this entire process. As a small business owner, it will be very difficult for you to take time away from your responsibilities in order to learn every single aspect that will need to be known in order to effectively perform the services and to realize results. SEO service providers are trained on every single aspect that deals with optimization.

They have the ability to look at your web presence, make adjustments where necessary, do the market research, create content, distribute this content, and get your web presence indexed in a way that drives targeted relevant traffic back to your website. Once this process has been completed, everything will typically run on autopilot allowing visitors to find your web presence on a 24/7 basis. Now, it's also important to realize that this process will need to be performed on a consistent basis. Once it has been set up, it will need to be maintained in order to continue to maximize on the results.

In other words, just because your website has been optimized initially, you will still need to make adjustments and improve your content because your competition is also trying to compete for the same keywords as well as the same customers. So, when it comes to small business search engine optimization, it's important to realize right off the bat that if you are not qualified in every aspect of optimization, it'll be important to hire service providers that can handle the entire process for you.

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Search Engine Marketing - Making People Visit Your Website

After years of research, it has been established that search engine marketing or SEM is the most viable method of marketing for most businesses. It is also often called inbound marketing. What you do is make people visit your website, rather than sending them emails or phoning them to sell your products. It means that you are not forcing your products onto people and making them uncomfortable.

How it works

When people want to purchase something or want some kind of service, they go to search engines and enter keywords. These keywords are what your website should be optimized with. For this to work, you can hire a good search engine marketing company that has experience with businesses of your size. You can also learn SEM yourself, but it takes significant investment of time.

When people search on the internet, you want them to find your website first, which mean that you should be high on search engine ranking pages. There are a number of techniques to achieve this such as pay per click campaigns. You can also choose sponsored ads. Initially, search engine marketing was considered to be a fairly simple way of advertising.

However, the number of websites started growing and there was a lot of overcrowding. This has made the process a lot more complicated. You now need to compete with thousands of business that sell essentially the same thing as you do. This doesn't' mean that you cannot do SEM for results, but only that you need to be clever with your strategy.

Earlier, you only had to worry about how search engines ranked your own website. Today however, there are other aspects of marketing that you need to focus on. For example, social marketing or SMM is a vital part of SEM. You don't just need to spruce up your presence on Google, Yahoo or Bing, but also on social networking websites, which number in the dozens.

SMM involves targeting users of prominent social networks. They include Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn and a host of other sites. They also include social bookmarking sites like Digg and StumbleUpon. It can get very confusing to handle all these websites on your own. This is why it is wise to choose a specialist search engine marketing company for the job.

Although SEM is very complicated, the convenient thing about it is that you can track results in a much easier way. For instance, if you have a Google AdWords account for SEM on your website, it will show you exactly what keywords are more popular with users for a given period of time. You can then use this information to modify or add content on your website that matches these keywords or phrases.

Because of complicated regulations that have been put into place for search engine marketing, a professional firm that exclusively deals in helping businesses with their marketing is what you need. Once you get a good idea of how SEM works, you may be able to automate some of the processes and reap benefits.

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The Advantages of Local Search Marketing

Local search marketing is about getting a business good exposure in local search results and local directories and there's a lot to gain by being prominent in these. Most consumers like buying from businesses close to home: I've seen statistics that about 80% of customers live with 8km of the stores they go to. Search engines are now detecting searches that have a local intention and displaying the local results along with a map. This makes it far easier for consumers to find what they're looking for and how to travel to the business as well. Local directories can also bring businesses good exposure.

You can create an account pretty easily with most online directories. In Australia the best known ones are True Local, Smart Local and Hotfrog. Google, Yahoo and Bing also allow you to claim a "Places" page where you can upload your business details, and these are used as the basis for ranking you in the local search results. You don't need to have a website to be listed in any of these. The Places pages are free and an entry-level listing in the local directories is also free.

How are the Yellow pages going?

Not too well from reports I see. The physical yellow pages have been pretty-much replaced by smart-phone and desktop searches. And Yellow pages listings don't provide nearly as much info. Even online, directories like Hotfrog will tell you far more about the businesses you find.

Search engines have fast become the new Yellow pages, saving people a lot of time and energy looking for the location of businesses and the products and services they provide.

What should you do?

We know that masses of consumers are searching online for solutions to their problems, so marketing online is a different technique to marketing offline. Rather than sending out a message indiscriminately using fliers, billboards or radio and TV commercials, the game has become getting found by people who are specifically searching for what you provide. So you need to make sure you can be found in the places they're looking...

These are the examples of places which you can input your ads for your business

1) Local search engine results. you need to claim a places page with each search engine. 2) Local business directories 3) Review websites 4) Online Press release website 5) Online trade magazines that your type of customer may read

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Benefits of Local SEO, or Search Engine Optimization

This article focuses on the benefits of local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and compares it to SEO on a larger scale, perhaps like what big brand names have to engage in.

Search Optimization is effective, but it is more so effective for a local business because of the limitation in the area of service.

With local SEO, you can ensure that your business targets a very specific group of customers that are within the vicinity of your local business.

Search Engine Optimization Definition

Search Engine Optimization, also referred to as SEO, search optimization and website optimization is the practice of "optimizing" a website property so that it is found on search engine search results when individuals type in keywords and phrases that are relevant to the web property's subject matter.

In other words, it is how websites attract targeted and relevant traffic from all those who are searching for it.

Application of SEO Strategies - On Page and Off Page SEO

SEO is executed in two ways, on page and off page. On page SEO refers to edits made to a web property's physical features such as the website's title, description, keyword, body content, sub headings, links as well as the code (meta tags) that is not visible to the naked human eye.

Off page SEO strategies involve link building, social bookmarking, social sharing, video marketing, blogging, commenting on forums, and pretty much anything else that does not impact the physical website itself.

The internet works on the basis of keyword uses. When someone searches for particular keywords, search engines do their best to provide an exact match that would satisfy the search query. The better and more targeted this exchange becomes, the more a search engine's credibility increases and the more users continue to use it.

Keyword Research - Critical Pillar of SEO - Gauging Supply and and Demand Measures

Keyword research is critical to SEO, and is the first step that needs to be executed to engage in effective SEO. Without proper on page SEO, all off page SEO efforts are temporary and short term in nature. In other words, before going out there and investing in internet marketing, one has to make sure their website is sound fundamentally.

Get your house in order before you start marketing it and bringing guests in. Without a properly structured website using the relevant and appropriate keywords, marketing efforts will not be as effective, and will completely die off if one was to stop investing in them on an ongoing basis.

Because the internet works on the basis of keywords, it is important to understand what keywords people are searching for in your industry or niche. The amount of searches conducted on the internet for a particular keyword is referred to as the keyword's demand. The supply on the other hand measures all the outstanding websites on the internet that are competing for that keyword.

As you can imagine, a healthy balance of high demand and low supply is what you want when selecting the keywords to target in your business. It does not make sense targeting search terms that no one is searching for. At the same time, it is not smart trying to outrank websites that are ranking for super competitive keywords. It is possible and we have done it repeatedly, however it takes more time and resources.

Benefits of Local SEO - Separate Yourself from the Rest

Given keyword research is critical and the basis of effective SEO and thus website performance, local SEO narrows your playing field significantly. For example, if a local state based SEO firm was to cater to the entire Nation or world, then a State specific name wouldn't be appropriate. But because the firm mainly operates in the State itself, then a name that reflects its locality makes most sense for the business.

Why? Remember I talked about supply and demand above. Do you think there is more or less supply of SEO firms in the State relative to the entire country? By targeting a narrow or small geographical area, the business is inherently limiting the competitive landscape and giving itself the best opportunity to shine as the best internet marketing company in the State in which it operates. This is increasing the odds of ranking high above the competition on search engines when people in the local area are searching for a local SEO firm within the State itself.

Local SEO has several other advantages. For example, I know for a fact that not every small local business in your area is leveraging the power of SEO, therefore you have a high likelihood of outranking them and therefore attracting more business through your online marketing initiatives.

Can there be a conflict of interest on the business' part? There can, and that's why the business should only take up one client in one industry in one city. For example, the firm should not perform SEO work for two dentists who are both located in Irving, Texas unless of course they want to be found for different key terms. There are sub specialties within dentistry. One might be a general dentist while the other may be a specialist in dental cosmetic surgery. You can just see how local SEO will come into play here.

What I always say is "What Good is your Good Looking & Expensive website when No One can see It?" Therefore, it is best to apply local SEO to get more visibility and attract more business.

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