Adding the Author’s Face to Google Search Results

May 8, 2012

For those who want to add the author snippet to any WordPress theme (including Genesis), try this thorough tutorial by Yoast. For those who want to simply install a plugin and let it do all the work, read on!

1.  Add the Google Authorship Plugin for Multiple Authors by Keyword Strategy (search for Google Authorship from within your Dashboard – Plugins – Add New screen).  Don’t forget to “activate” it.

2.  This will add a new field in your Profile page.  It looks like this:

Sample Google Plus Field in Your Profile

3.  Add your Google+ Profile URL.  An example Google+ url is provided.  The “Location” and “Width” is referring to the Google+ badge that is automatically added to your site.  On The Vacation Gals, it looks like this:

   I recommend changing the “Location” box to “hidden” because its really not that pretty, is it?

4.  You *must* update your Google Plus profile to link to your website.  Go to https://plus.google.com/, click on “Profile” on the left hand menu. Click on the top “Edit Profile” blue button. Scroll down to the “Contributor to” box. Click anywhere on the box to edit it.  Complete the screen with your website name and link:
5.  Once the website is indexed again, the authorship information will show in searches.  This can take a few hours to a few weeks depending on the size and popularity of your website.  In the meantime, you can test that it is working by using the Rich Snippet Tool.
Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share Share to StumbleUpon

0 Comments Blog, Plugins, WordPress Basics