Author Rank! The MOST IMPORTANT SEO Tip for Small Businesses in 2013

Do you have a face that only a mother could love? Well… allow us to introduce you to your new mommy dearest — Google.

Consider the new wave of charming head shots in Google searches, the images that appear alongside the results at the very top of the page. You should come to know this trend by its more formal name: author rank.

Your favorite search engine, Google, is currently playing around with the idea of linking the creators of online content, or authors, directly with the content they publish, no matter where that content exists online.

Most websites currently enlist a roster of multiple authors to contribute to their content. But Google wants to decipher the quality between those authors. Who is more valuable to the end user? Whose content should have an edge over the material of others?

This, my friend, is a nutshell definition of author rank. But you may ask, “So what? What’s the purpose of it?” In two words: only a little, non-essential idea called Your Reputation.

The concept of author rank holds that your reputation as a content generator should have a say in how search results perform their ranking.

In order words: the better your reputation as a content creator — your authorship online — the more highly you will rank in relevant searches, and vice versa.

Your business must prioritize its author rank in order to build or maintain online relevance. In 2013, it’s highly likely that Google will give more weight to author rank than to page rank.

The search engine king will definitely monitor how online content from your business is shared, the influence of those sharing it (via Klout scores and, of course, author rank), and the quality of engagement with the sharing (the number of comments, +1’s, the diversity of commenters, the expertise of commenters, and more).

DCMMoguls specializes in the best-practices of author rank and can help your business completely master the concept for an empowered web presence.

But before you give us a shout, here are some tips you should implement immediately to begin constructing successful author rank.

Establish an outstanding Google+ profile. Yes, Facebook and Twitter maintain their reign as the go-to social media networks. But because these networks hide much of their data from Google, the search engine refuses to prioritize content shared there. This ain’t so, though, with Google’s own social media baby, Google+.

Google+ is the most important social network to establish a great relationship with Google’s search engine. Google+ is also where businesses must go to create the author profiles by which Google will assess author rank.

Head to Google+’s own very helpful starter page to kick-start the construction of your author profile. Always, always link your author profile to the content you create online — no excuses! It’s an incredibly simple yet effective way to distribute your authorship and sow the seeds of beneficial author rank.

Beeline immediately to a noted expert on progressive internet marketing. You now know how Google+ nurtures author rank. But do you know what nurtures your presence on Google+?

Everything does! A dynamic webpage that is a beautiful as it is beneficial to its target consumer. Strategically marketing your business with local maps enhancement, so that your dream customers in the relevant area will discover it and drop on by. Mastering YouTube (also, along with Google+, a teacher’s pet of Google search results) to create winning video marketing campaigns. And creating a blog that will generate a community of passionate readers who value both the products and the presence of your business.

You know, this is ALL relevant to Google+, Google search results, and author rank. This is also catnip for all of us here at DCM Moguls, obvious wink wink. But seriously, we thrive on helping small businesses navigate the choppy waters of web marketing.

Let us help you sail successfully with author rank. Ships, ahoy. Happy New Year!