Last week, Scoop.it announced its integration with Google+ Pages and Google Authorship. As CEO Guillaume Decugis explained, “we actually believe curation is a form of creation. So just as Google introduced Google Authorship as a way for publishers to be more visible in search results and benefit from a natural SEO method, we felt it was also important to add Google+ to the platform. So from now on, you will be able to link your Google+ profile to Scoop.it and not only be recognized in search results for your curated content but derive higher traffic from Google Search through the improved visibility authored results enjoy.”
As professional content curators, creators, and promoters, we’ve all heard about the importance of Google Authorship, and know that, somehow, it does have more benefits than just causing our beautiful faces to show up in search results next to content we’ve published.
To combat this confusion, I first turned to Scoopiteer Cendrine Marrouat, who has a simple explanation of what Authorship does and how to implement it:
Google Authorship allows you to claim ownership of what you publish on the Internet by linking it to your G+ profile. So, if Google Search surfaces your content in search results, those results will also sport your mugshot, plus basic info about your G+ profile. See the screenshot below for my website.
Note that I’m not logged into my Google+ account.
For a reminder on how to set up Authorship on your Scoop.it topic, read this post.
When you are done, use http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets to check if Authorship has been validated.
Now that we know how to do it, I’ve also collected a bunch of other resources on Google Authorship to help you further understand its potential benefits and get started using it on Scoop.it today:
Takeaways from The Marketing Technology Alert, by Scoopiteer Joe Rizzo
-When a lower ranked result had Authorship attached and the top result didn’t, more than half of searchers skipped the top result and went to lower ones.
-Almost 75 percent of authors with a Google+ account had linked their content to their profile and their authorship appeared in search engine results.
-Google prioritizes pages using Authorship when selecting domains for its new in-depth articles section.
Takeaways from Leo Widrich‘s Why Google Authorship Is So Important for the Content You Create and How to Set It Up
-The tie-in with Google+ profiles creates verified connections between content on the web and the creators of the content. This gives Google the ability to identify quality, human-created content and distinguish it from content that isn’t quite up to par. Google favors content with authorship attached because they know it’s coming from a real human being.
-Rich snippets that come with Google Authorship attract lots of traction, per this heat map.
-Rich snippets added by Google Authorship also result in a 150% increase in click through rates.
Takeaways from Jayson DeMers‘s Complete Guide to Google Authorship
-If a user returns to the search results after reading an author-tagged search result for a certain period of time, Google will add three additional links to similar articles from the same author below the originally clicked link (Matt McGee).
-Authorship can help reduce piracy, as well as reduce spam, as content linked via Google Authorship will be shown higher in search results.
Takeaways from a jam-packed conversation between Martin Shervington and Mark Traphagen discussing Google Authorship, Author Rank and Social SEO
-If you are an expert on a topic and you have your name linked to articles on that topic, you are given more credit when you engage with related content on that specific topic. Relatedly, you can use this knowledge to figure out who is influential on certain topics, therefore having a higher authority on them, and encourage them to engage with your content and lead to a higher ranking in search.
-Google treats Google+ content and Google+ profiles and Google+ Pages in many ways it’s much like regular Web pages on the Web. They carry an authority or a score on them similar to the one that a page on your website might carry.
* I would highly recommend watching this video in its entirety – it’s full of great Google authorship and SEO tips and information. *
To watch:
-This video of Google’s Matt Cutts and Othar Hansson discussing Google Authorship Markup.
Do you have any tips or resources on Google Authorship? Please share them in the comments!
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Thank you SO much for mentioning me! I’m honored!
Google Authorship is revolutionary, IMHO. You did a fantastic job curating info from experts on the topic, Ally (I’m not talking about me obviously). This is succinct and yet full of valuable takeaways!
I’ll never contradict with that. Google plus had been a big help in boosting online presence through google authorship. I’m one of the beneficiary. 🙂
Thanks for including me +Ally Greer A couple of comments: 1. I am very skeptical about the value of Authorship for Scoop.It because it is primarily a curation site. Google wants authorship to lead to original content by the author. I’m not sure they will look favorably on it being connected to curation. 2. The “more results for the author when you return to the SERPs” feature was an experiment by Google that they discontinued a long time ago. It no longer works. 3. Google’s John Mueller confirmed that Authorship is _not_ yet a ranking factor and therefore does _not_… Read more »
Thanks for the comments @trappermark:disqus : great discussion! I think on #1, a number of us would argue that good curation deserves authorship. And good curation is definitely something Google wants as Matt Cutts explains here: http://sco.lt/9KuGP3 Good point on #3, the “except for sometimes in personalized results for people who have you in their Google network” is a very strong exception though: getting both better click rates from unconnected users + higher ranking from your followers is a great combo for any business. The later is a bit similar to retargeting imho: you engage people who already decided to… Read more »