Authorship redux -- We're halfway there

1. 78

   Greekgeekposted 12 years ago

   The main problem with Google authorship and Hubpages is that even if we do it right, there's no guarantees Google will deign to list our author info. It only does that for select authors.
   
   However, I've gotten the magic blessing from Google now...sort of...and can report on how authorship is and isn't working on Hubpages. 
   
   Here's what I mean by "halfway there":
   
   
   
   My profile gets the full monty authorship treatment, but my actual hubs do not. This is different from my own blogs or other article sites, where either Google refuses to give ANY authorship gravy, or it displays the same authorship info (name and "more by" and profile photo) on all my articles or posts, as well as my profile.
   
   So what's going on with Hubpages that full authorship is appearing for the profile, but not individual hubs?
   
   1. I had to use the ?rel=author method on my profile page (not valid HTML markup) as opposed to the correct rel="me" method.
   
   2. When I test any of my Hubs on Google's snippet validator, I get:
   
   
   
   
   So, even though Google is recognizing the authorship kludge I put in my profile, it's not correctly interpreting it for purposes of establishing authorship of individual hubs.
   
   Which means that what we need is an optional field on our profile settings where we can enter the link to our Google profile, and then Hubpages automatically adds the correct rel="me" (which is better, because it's standard markup recognized by mobile devices, other web browsers, and tools we don't even know exist.) Maybe this could be implemented as a link attached to a small G+ button displayed somewhere on our profile page.
   
   Of course, there's no guarantee Google will like us enough to display authorship info, but since I've gotten rel="me" to work elsewhere, I think it would be better if we tried to do it that way here.
   
   And yes, I remember some discussion that HQ was considering implementing this. Consider the above screenshot as an incentive to  try it. I believe there are many good Hubbers who would earn their authorship badges, which do help attract attention/clicks/traffic in search results.

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   1. 78

      Shadesbreathposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I was good right up until you went with, ?rel=author something something and... I don't know, the next thing I woke up on a cold table with aliens trying to touch me in my naughty places. I screamed, the lights got really bright...  and then, I was back here again.
      
      I'm afraid to keep reading now. No offense.

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         FloraBreenRobisonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         

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2. 74

   WriteAngledposted 12 years ago

   I tried putting this rel stuff on my profile. Then I got so confused because nobody could agree on how it had to be done, and Hubpages information was as confused as anything else.
   
   In the end I gave up trying to make it work.

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      Glenn Stokposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Krys, You put your reciprocal link under "Recommended links" in your Google Profile. That's why it's not working for you.

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         WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Where am I supposed to put them?
         
         I thought the problem was at the HP profile end!

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         1. 97

            Glenn Stokposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Greekgeek put the reciprocal link in the "Contributor to" list and I put it in the "Other Profiles" list. We both had success with Google placing our image icons in search listings.
            
            Take a look at Greekgeeks Hub on the subject, or read mine. Neither of us said to place the reciprocal link in the "Recommended links" list.
            
            There is no problem at the HP profile end. You just have to code it right. See Greekgeek's prior post, which is very insightful about all this.

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3. 93

   melbelposted 12 years ago

   I'm not having this problem. Here's what I see in rich snippets:
   
   

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      Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Can you tell us how you did it?

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         melbelposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         On Google+ under "Contributor to"
         I have a link to melbel.hubpages.com with the text "HubPages" (no quotes)
         On my HP profile I have anchor text Google+ (I remember hearing somewhere that you have to have the + in it.)
         with the link to my Google+ timeline (without the /posts at the end)
         So:
         https:// plus.google.com/111633725541752229957

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4. 97

   Glenn Stokposted 12 years ago

   The main problem with all of this is that Google kept changing the method to account for sites that don't allow HTML, such as is the case with HubPages.
   
   The Rich Snippets Test Tool does show that it is correct on HubPages when we do it right, even if our image doesn't show up in listings. The authorship is still recognized. I had to update my Hub on the topic a few times to add additional info each time Google changed it.
   
   
   
   Greekgeek also wrote a Hub with instructions. Her way of explaining things is easy to follow. I tried to cover all bases in mine. But see hers if you are having any trouble understanding this. I also found one of her Hubs shows up with her image in Google search (Congratulations Ellen).
   
   I assume someday soon HP will have that extra feature where we can enter our Google profile url in our HP profile and let HP use the rel="me" method that seems to work more often. Jason Menayan posted in one of the forums that they plan to roll out a new profile page with that capability. I guess that might be coming soon. 
   
   Until then, we need to continue to use the rel=author method on HP. When you use the Rich Snippets Test tool and you see that it passes, as is the case with melbel, then you know you did it right.

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   1. 78

      Greekgeekposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      AHhhhh. I see. Thanks, Glenn. It's confusing that some articles get the Google love and some don't.
      
      So what we're doing works, it's just that we have to wait for Google to decide each article is good enough to be filed under our name.
      
      Weird. Google's put my author icon and info on some of the dumbest articles I've posted elsewhere, but only on my best few on Hubpages. Which, really, is better for me, but I don't understaaaaaaaand.
      
      
      Apologies for speaking in gibberish, Shadesbreath! See Glenn's post.
      
      Basically, if we put the right magic codes on our profile, Google will gift us by sticking our author name and photo next to our hubs when they appear in search results. We want this, because the picture and professional-looking "by so-and-so" link make our work jump out from all the rest of the listings on the page, encouraging people to click it.
      
      We have to get the magic codes right, or Google won't put the shiny badge on our Google listings. And even if we do it right, Google may still sneer at us and refuse to do so.
      
      (Google, speak up. I can't hear you when you say "frog.")

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5. 74

   WriteAngledposted 12 years ago

   Hi Glenn,
   
   I've changed the link in Google+
   
   When I check on the snippet tester that Greekgeek mentioned, it is OK if I put my HP profile link in. However, if I put in a link for any of my hubs I get
   
   "author
   linked author profile = http://writeangled.hubpages.com/
   Error: Author profile page does not have a rel="me" link to a Google Profile"
   
   I've just look up the thread and see that Greekgeek thinks this doesn't matter.
   
   Oh well...

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   1. 97

      Glenn Stokposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      That's correct. I discussed the reason for that discrepancy in my Hub on Authorship. Easy to find the section... scroll down in my Hub until you see the "!" icon.
      
      
      
      Google Product Manager Sagar Kamgar has reported a bug with the Rich Snippets Testing Tool when using the alternate method that we need to use on HubPages until we get the new HP profile Jason had mentioned a while back.

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