Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not only about keywords and links—it’s also about trust and authority.
In the era of generative AI, highlighting the authorship adds a personal touch to the content you published. It helps build credibility and trust to your reader (and probably also search engine), as it showcases the background and expertise of the writer.
Let’s delve into the practical steps of implementing the Author schema markup and fully leverage its potential to amplify your SEO efforts.
What is Author Schema?
Author Schema is a type of structured data markup language that helps search engines identify the author of a webpage.
The Author Schema can include information such as the author’s name, job title, qualifications, image, social media profiles, and more. This information helps search engines understand who the author is and what their credentials are, which can potentially improve the website’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness) in the eyes of search engines.
Author Schema markup is typically nested within the broader context of the webpage’s content and metadata. If you have an article written by the author, the Author Schema markup can be nested within the Article schema. This allows search engines to understand the relationship between the author and the specific article they’ve written.
Here is an example:
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "28 Google Sheets Formula for SEO",
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Aubrey Yung",
"url": "https://aubreyyung.com/about/",
"image": "https://aubreyyung.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Aubrey-Yung.jpg",
"sameAs": [
"https://instagram.com/aubreyyung/",
"https://www.linkedin.com/in/aubreyyung"
]
}
}
</script>What should I include in the Author Schema?
The Author Schema includes the following properties:
- @id: A unique identifier for the author for easier referencing and linking between the author’s profile and their contributions across your website.
- @type: Specifies the type of entity being described, in this case, a Person.
- name: The name of the author.
- url: The URL of the author’s profile page.
- image: A link to an image of the author.
- sameAs: Includes links to the author’s social media profiles or other authoritative websites, helping to establish the author’s identity and expertise.
- worksFor: The organization the author is associated with.
- jobTitle: The author’s job title or position.
- worksPublished: A list of the articles, blog posts, or other content published by the author on your website.
🔖 Read more: How to Choose @id for Schema
Is author authority a ranking factor?
No, author authority and E-E-A-T is NOT a direct ranking factor, but it is still useful to establish the trustworthiness of your pages.
As search engines aim to deliver the most trustworthy and relevant content to users, authors with demonstrated expertise and authority in their field are more likely to produce trustworthy content that meets user needs, which can indirectly improve search rankings.
How to Implement Author Schema
1. Gather author information
Collect the relevant information about the author that you want to include in the schema markup. This typically includes the author’s name, bio, profile picture URL, and links to their social media profiles or other relevant websites.
2. Create your Person Schema
When implementing Author Schema markup, you would typically use the Person schema as the base type and specify the “@type” property as “Person”, indicating that the author being described is a person. (Because technically you can use “Organization” as author as well)
There are many Person schema generators online, such as Kalicube or Schemantra, that help you create the structured data for the author at ease. Simply input the information on the form and you will have
Depending on the content and industry, there may be additional fields that can be included in the author schema markup such as awards, certifications, or publications.
3. Nest the author schema within Article Schema
Nest the author’s URL within your Article schema along with other relevant information about the article, such as published date, headline (article title).
If multiple authors contributed to an article, you can use a JSON array to list all authors and links to their bio pages. The main author should be listed first, followed by additional authors based on their level of contribution.
An example code of an Article schema with multiple authors:
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Example Article Title",
"datePublished": "2024-02-09",
"author": [
{
"@type": "Person",
"name": "John Doe",
"url": "https://www.example.com/john-doe",
"image": "https://www.example.com/john-doe.jpg",
"sameAs": [
"https://twitter.com/johndoe",
"https://www.linkedin.com/in/johndoe"
]
},
{
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Jane Smith",
"url": "https://www.example.com/jane-smith",
"image": "https://www.example.com/jane-smith.jpg",
"sameAs": [
"https://twitter.com/janesmith",
"https://www.linkedin.com/in/janesmith"
]
}
]
}
</script>4. Validate your code
Before publishing your author schema markup, use structured data testing tools to ensure your schema markup is correctly implemented.
These tools can help identify any errors or missing elements that could affect the appearance of your rich snippets in search results.
5. Insert the code
Finally, insert the JSON-LD script into the HTML of the webpage, typically within the <head> section or just before the closing </body> tag.
Best Practices for Author Schema Markup
To reap the full benefits of author schema, it’s essential to follow best practices when implementing it on your website.
Use a Profile Picture
Seeing a real person behind the words can make readers feel more confident in your expertise and authenticity as an author.
A distinct profile picture helps readers recognize your author brand across different platforms and websites.
Create a Author bio page
Google recommends linking to an author’s bio page to help disambiguate the correct author.
This page should include more detailed information about you, such as your qualifications, experience, and any relevant accomplishments.
On your author bio page, implement ProfilePage schema markup.
Keep Your Information Updated
If you change your name, profile picture, or website URL, make sure to update your author schema markup accordingly. Keeping this information current will help maintain the credibility and trust established with your audience.
Use the additional field and appropriate Type in properties
In addition to the basic author properties, there are additional fields and types that can be used in author schema markup. These include language, job title, organization, awards won, and more.
Utilizing these properties can provide search engines with a more comprehensive understanding of your background and expertise.
Consistency in Authorship Attribution
Consistency is key. Ensure that your authorship markup is uniform across all content pages to avoid confusion with search engines and readers.
Conclusion
The implementation of Author Schema is as much about SEO as it is about the connection and engagement with your audience.
In a content-saturated cyberspace, trust and authenticity are the differentiators.
Author Schema offers a direct vehicle to establish these elements and to stand out from the crowd.
As search engines continue to refine their algorithms, the influence of author authority and content relevancy are only set to rise.
Understanding and utilizing Author Schema is a forward-thinking move that positions you and your content in the vanguard of digital best practices.
