Google+ has really grown into an all-encompassing platform since its launch in 2011, and among its most useful functions is its role in Google Authorship. Authorship is Google’s effort to display author information alongside content in its results pages, thus helping users discover more great content published by the related author. Authorship information shown in search results include the author’s Google+ profile picture, a byline linked to the author’s Google+ account, the Google+ account contacts (e.g. “in 3,000 Google+ Circles”), and a link leading to more articles written by said author.

Why Sign Up for Google Authorship

While the accompanying author information in search results is pretty neat, linking your Google+ profiles to the search results listing their content has some other very important benefits. Among the numerous, reasons to use Google Authorship, some of the most significant are:

• It improves SEO – The connection between your Google+ profile and your published lets Google index your content better. It insures that you get credit for the content that you write. The improved search result listings also work as both an enticing call to action and an indicator of professional quality that users can trust.
• It builds your brand and authority – Regardless if you’re a local business owner, a marketer, writer or an entrepreneur, you need to get your name out in the public and build your own brand and authority in your niche. Your reputation can become your calling card, and when users see that you’re the author of something listed in search results, they’re more likely to read it.
• It helps your audience find more of your content – As mentioned earlier, aside from authorship information, the improved search result listing also shows a link to more of your published articles, giving a greater audience instant access to more of your content.
• It prevents content piracy – Aside from Google Alerts and other anti-piracy for content, Google Authorship is a very reliable way to ensure that your authentic content does not get stolen and used elsewhere in the web without attribution to you.

It also doesn’t hurt that your authorship can help promote your Google+ account and thus assist in your social networking efforts. You can use Google Authorship by using markup code to link your content to your Google+ page or verifying an email address in the domain where you publish your content. You can start here.

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