Wordpress Blog, Schema and Authorship Settings

[Smileworks_Liverpool]

Hi Everyone,

What is the best practice for authorship in 2018 and going forward?

I am moving my entire blog over to a new wordpress theme so it's easier to read and navigate in an attempt to make it look better on the mobile and give better UX / CRO and implicit user feedback signals to google.

On the old blog I would say who the author is in the URL, H1 and in the content.  This includes an image of the author with an image alt with their name, qualifications and blurb.

I've now set up each author as a 'user' for the new blog and their image and name comes up because I've marked those blogs as authored by that particular user in Wordpress.

What should I do as far as the SEO elements are concerned? I have read Eric Enge's blog about authorship being dead here and also that authorship should be marked up in schema correctly - which I've done.  Also I've read around how it provides indirect signals even though it's no longer a direct ranking factor.

Should I tell wordpress to ignore the authorship SEO element by unticking the boxes relating to publishing authorship or let wordpress just do it's thing?  Should I keep the images and alt tags and H1 in there or take them out and let the wordpress system take over the authorship SEO elements? It's going to look funny to have author (in wordpress theme) and then author details again just below?

So what is the best practice for authorship in 2018 and going forward?

Am I making too big a deal of it and can just let wordpress sort it out.  Something it seems to do very well?

Thanks in advance,

Ed.

[EGOL]

I was excited when "Authorship" was announced and really disappointed when I heard that Google wasn't supporting it anymore.

However, an even better thing has surfaced..... E-A-T...  Expertise, Authority and Trust.   Google says a lot about it in their Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines.

I am working on this by adding credentials in an obvious location to anything important that I write, and linking my name to a profile page that explains my professional experience and credentials.  If you have any type of degrees, certifications, registrations, diplomas, licenses, professional experience, etc. I think that it is important to present them and get your name associated with them.  In the past couple of years I've gone back to school to add another one to my qualifications, and I keep my professional license up-to-date.

There are so many people out there writing fake content, writing uninformed content, stealing content, spinning content, etc.... I believe that Google is looking for ways to defend the integrity of their SERPs from all of the people who "know not that they know not".  So, anyone who has formally-earned credentials and presents them might gain some advantage.

Beyond the credentials mentioned about,

-- if you can get a Google Scholar profile you should get it; it will help you bring offline authorship online,

-- if you offer a service or produce a product that can quality for a trademark, you should apply for one;

-- if you are active in a professional organization, you should make it visible;

-- if you have expertise that enables you to write about a high profile topic in the news, you should get writing;

... the above are just a few of the many things.  Think about what you do that demonstrates your EAT and associate it with your name in a visible way, and link your by-lines to it.

[Smileworks_Liverpool]

Thanks EGOL this is precisely what I need.  We're all dentists so have all the things you're talking about.  Apart from me - I'm a lawyer - and I figure it's like court.  You can't just say you're something or someone - they want a certain standard of proof.

I'm busy getting all the professional bodies and associations pointing at the right people and pages and trying to get my people (who've all been to uni a few times) to write for their universities and members associations so we can get links from them too.

This is how they appear in the SERPS - but I'm working on making it like that for everyone.

Dr MJ Rowland-Warmann BSc BDS MSc Aes.Med. MJDF RCS (Eng)

<cite class="iUh30">https://www.smileworksliverpool.co.uk/team/mj-rowland-warmann/</cite> Rating: 4.9 - ‎230 reviewsDr MJ BSc BDS (Manc) MSc Aes.Med. (Lond) MJDF RCS (Eng) is our captain and co-founder She's loved by all and practices with formidable talent.

I will look into google scholar.  I publish all their papers and studies in an 'academic resources' section too - I want to get google scholar to link to that or get them published. It's only university essays though and not peer reviewed stuff so might be a struggle.

I've noticed a bump in search when we use headlines like 'unbiased medical insights into x, y and z' or really play up the qualifications.  'Our orthodontists discuss the best braces treatments' is so much better than just 'buy this and that'

Thanks for your help with this. I'm on the right track but will now double down on your suggestions.  Smart people will inherit the SERPS.  Eventually...