What is Author Rank and What Will it Add to Your Credibility?

By Robbi Drake

Author rank seems to be a big deal lately and in fact, the doomsayers are reporting that the Author Rank could cause more upheaval around the internet than all of the Panda updates combined. What is the truth about AuthorRank, how important is it, and do you need it?

While those in the know say that it could cause a vast internet upheaval and others say that it’s a nonessential part of your blog or website, much like anything else, the truth about AuthorRank probably lies somewhere in the middle of the two.

What is Author Rank?

AuthorRank is a way in which search results will be ranked, factoring in your reputation as a writer of quality content, or conversely, factoring in your lack of reputation.

Google says that the writer who has a high score and a high reputation(based of course on their taking part in the questionably private Google network), will find their content ranking more highly than other content which is unsigned or comes from those who are less reputable (read–won’t take part in placing their full name and information and leaving a huge connecting footprint between all of the sites they own in the Google network)

Realistically, if your reputation as a writer is dependent upon the connection with Google’s Plus network and author ranking, those who are less apt to connect to social network-like venues online, will find that their content is less often viewed and lower in ranking than others who are more willing to compromise their privacy.

While attribution of your work and the building of your reputation does seem like a great idea, we see it being both positive and negative, as anything else might be.

On the down side, it will of course encourage dishonesty in those who are already prone to that kind of behavior, since Google provides for a list of blogs and sites for which you have written or are attached to that isn’t verified or verifiable in many cases.

Those who wish to maintain their privacy and still take part in AuthorRank will simply manufacture a pen name and an address to point to the blogs for which they write.

On the up side, if you’re a quality writer who has always produced a high quality content, you’re going to get noticed more, provided that you connect it to your author profile and  to your online content to build a reputation, and provided that you are willing that your  privacy online be compromised to some extent.

Some other aspects of Author Rank that bear looking at are these:

Those companies who use writers for their blog content will want to ensure that the content is very well written prior to putting their name on it and claiming it as their own since content that you buy and post anywhere can affect your AuthorRank and your credibility in your niche.

Companies who offer writing services will need to ensure that at least some of their writers are well known and well documented in Google to assure their own credibility.

All that being said, is it really going to matter?Will Author Rank change the way in which your site is ranked? For my own opinion, I’d say yes, it will affect your SERPs and your site rankings.

Probably Author Rank will influence search in several ways.
If your blog and your writers have a high level of credibility in their area of expertise, Google will lend more credence, and of course, more rank to their content. That means your website may stay or go in search, dependent upon the content which you provide. Ensuring the quality of your content and that you are using credible guest bloggers as well as those who have built a solid AuthorRank will be important

Ensuring that you’re crafting quality content will become more important in the long haul, keeping your website toward the top of SERPS for your niche.

For those who have not yet begun to make themselves known in Google’s Author Rank arena, now would seem like the perfect time.

Google Author Profile