Guest post by Kevin Phelps
In the ever changing world of online marketing, it’s no surprise to hear that Google is thinking of shifting towards a new algorithm factor: AuthorRank. What AuthorRank would do, as explained by SEOMoz, is measure the overall authority level of individual authors and use their findings to “boost” that author’s content in the rankings.
Since it hasn’t been rolled out yet, there are many different opinions on how Google will execute this. However, if we learned anything from Google’s Panda and Penguin updates, it’s that Google is trying to cut down on spammy sites who are only out for a link, so it is increasingly important to stop focusing on just content and start focusing on building yourself as a brand. Here are our tips to avoid future penalties and start preparing for AuthorRank:
Stick to your niche
Because the purpose of AuthorRank is to give bloggers a chance to be ranked as the authority in their niche, it’s now more important than ever that you stick to a niche that you know and that you are comfortable blogging about. The AuthorRank update will probably do the same thing to bloggers as Penguin and Panda did to article sites, by demoting or not favoring those who discuss ranges of topics. They’re trying to weed out the “anything” blogs and bloggers and focus on those who are providing true quality content on the web.
Not Just About the Backlink
Google’s spiders are getting smarter and smarter at evaluating quality content. If your only intention on writing is to get a backlink, chances are you’re hurting your ability to write great content, because you’re only focused on getting your target phrase to fit into the body of the text. Google has gone to great lengths to devalue keyword links that look unnatural. One of the most important links to include is your Google+ profile, where you can now append an author tag to give you what is called a “rich snippet.” A rich snippet will show your author image in Google SERPs wherever your posts show up. Here is a tutorial for how to create a rich snippet.
Round out your social profiles
Get to work building out your online profiles, especially Google+. Join circles of your favorite bloggers and make sure you are publishing on your profile at least a few times a day. The more active you can be, the better.
Also, create a posting schedule and stick to it. The above SEOMoz article states you should be posting at least 5-7 times a day on your Google+ Profile. Consider it the next Facebook, if you will. Google will be using this data along with other metrics to evaluate your personal Google+ page when they’re looking to give you AuthorRank.
Engage readers
Become an active participant in the comment section of not only your posts, but also on posts on other blogs. Use social sharing sites such as your Twitter, Facebook and Google+ profile to find new posts and share them within your pools of followers. And keep a close eye on how much your posts are getting shared. This will be another factor for AuthorRank.
About the Author
Kevin Phelps is the owner of GuestBlogPoster.com, a leading provider of guest posting services. He has over six years of experience in the SEO industry and loves being an active participant in online marketing discussions.
