Google: Author Is Not A Ranking Factor

Due to the E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) standards, it seems logical for Google to respect author reputation as a search criterion. However, it turns out that author reputation isn’t a ranking factor.

There are, however, Google patents that can assist them in identifying authors for specific websites. Google’s rank material depends on reputational rankings using “digital signatures.” A few years ago, Google certified that they supported authorship markup.

Google’s Implementation Of Authorship Markup 

Google stated that they’ve started to implement authorship markup, a technique to link authors to their online work. Google was using this information to assist users in finding exceptional writers’ work in their results pages. 

They supported markup that allowed web pages to create public links from articles to writer profiles within their domain.

The author’s website gives away the writer’s profile, headshot, publications, and other hyperlinks. These characterize and acknowledge the writer.

Google recommended that those managing a page containing authored material check out their Help Center to discover more about authorship markup. They intended to ensure that the markup was as simple as feasible to use. To that aim, Google had collaborated with various websites to help them markup their content.

Removal Of Authorship Markup

Research on authorship implementation found that writers were late to acquire authorship. A recent discovery says that seventy percent of writers did not link their authorship to their articles. Authorship markup was ultimately eliminated shortly in 2014. 

Google’s Gary Illyes stated at the SMX conference that the company no longer uses authorship, although they can identify the writer. As an aspect of a reconciliation process, Google checks various variables such as hyperlinks to author profile sites, data formats, and other accessible material on a website. 

Individual perception determines the author’s image. Google evaluates the author based on their experience and reliability.

Claim: Authors Not A Ranking Factor

A question regarding authors was put up in a recent video conference. Google’s John Mueller says that the author of an article made no difference in SEO.

He stated that the author of a piece is not a primary ranking element. 

John was questioned if having a known and respected doctor author or evaluate your clinical material counts. He explained that when it comes to Google’s E-A-T suggestions, the author of any content doesn’t matter much. 

John exclaims that it does not matter if you hire a top dermatologist for a website about acne. He was asked if a dermatologist’s knowledge base, and good standing in society matter for SEO. Or even if you go to a general physician to create your content, it’s the same?

Regarding SEO or rankings, John claims that there is no noticeable distinction between choosing a well-known doctor against one who isn’t. A popular or lesser-known doctor could write and review the material, but it would not affect SEO. Therefore an author is not a ranking factor and causes no prominent SEO rank variation.

According to Google, doctors should examine your medical information, and you should hire a professional to write it. However, Google dismissed the idea of hiring specialists’ names for this objective, although Google has already stated that it tries to recognize author data.

Thereby, the author is not a ranking factor and it may not directly affect natural search engine rankings. Following Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines to boost your site’s effectiveness is still a good idea.