Missing Google Authorship Information? 7 Quick Things to Check - Free Traffic Tips

You probably already understand the case for Google Authorship, right?

Here’s a quick refresher anyway. Google authorship, in a nutshell, is
a way for you to associate content you’ve created on and off your web
properties, with your name. In a web search it pops out a picture of you
with your content as well, like so:



Since no normal mortal could resist such awesomeness, the advantages
of having your attractive mug next to search results is clear:

• It draws the eye, making it more likely to draw a click,
• Pictures stick better in the memory than text.
• It looks more professional and compelling
• Google favors content linked to Google+ (regardless of what your boy Eric says – Google+ results are listed first when you’re logged in – so technically? Yeah.)
• Google favors content that has an author.
• Google might promote your authorship links.
• Author stats. Come on, man, that’s niiice.

I could go on, but you get the point. Authorship = good for you. (Though there may be cons as well as pros, if you aren’t the one doing the writing in your business.)

Recently I realized that my authorship picture was only showing up
for one of the many sites I had listed. This was quickly rectified by verifying my email address
at the other sites I own, via Google Plus, and changing my picture from
a more subtle, side shot of my head and shoulders, to one that had a
tight frame of my face, smiling.

So those are two things to check (three if you count being on Google+, without which authorship doesn’t work). Here are 5 more.

1.  Slow your roll. If you just hooked up all the elements, publish
   some new content and wait a while. This isn’t like uploading a sitemap,
   so it may take a few days.
2. Is the “Contributor to” section of your profile public? It needs to be.
3. Make sure your email matches the domain you’re claiming if you own the site
4. If you’re using on-page mark-up to verify authorship on a site you
   don’t own, check that Google can extract the needed information in
   question using their structured data tool.
5. Do you have a byline? If so, make sure it matches your first and last name.

I found most of these tips on the Google help page for Missing Authorship information. If you’re relying on a cool WordPress plugin like Yoast’s WordPress SEO,
make sure you’ve followed the authorship instructions – they’ve evolved
over time so be sure to go back and see if you missed anything new,
There’s also a few neat tutorials out there, including one that goes with the recent Google Hangout below, featuring Chris Lang and Jack Humphrey.

Image courtesy of Yahoo! Blog, funnily enough.