UPDATE: we’ve made the plugin theme agnostic. Scroll down to get a non-Genesis version of the plugin.
There were many comments on the recent post Google Proves Not Being On Social Media Will Kill Your SEO and on Twitter about how to implement the rel=”author” link tag on a blog. I followed the tutorial from Yoast which you can find here. But we’ve taken it a step further – we got our WordPress team at 9Seeds to create a little plugin for everyone.
If you’re using the Genesis WordPress theme then you can download our free Author Box Rel plugin. What this plugin does is:
- Add a field to your WordPress user profile for your Google+ profile URL
- Turns your name in the author box into a link to your Google+ profile
- Adds the rel=”author” tag to the link
Download the Author Box Rel plugin for the Genesis here >>
If you don’t use the Genesis theme we have you covered. Download the Author Box Rel plugin for non-Genesis themes here >>
Here’s what your author box will look like once you install and activate the plugin, and add your Google+ profile URL:
Rel="author" author box
What This Means For You
First off to ensure you get full credit for authorship you need to do the following:
- Have a Google+ profile (here’s an invite if you aren’t already there)
- Link to your blog in your Google+ profile
- Use this plugin and link back to your Google+ profile
Doing those three steps creates a circular reference between Google+ and your blog, and indicates to Google that you are the author of the content. How do they know for sure? I think the (thousands) of Google engineers are smarter than the ****ing spammers that try to steal your original content by scraping your site.
Whether you have a single author or a multi-author blog you can install this plugin and ensure that you and all of your fellow authors get credit in Google’s eyes for authoring the content.
Step-By-Step Install Instructions
Here’s how to do all of this:
Step 1: Add A Link To Your Blog on Google+
- Go to your Google+ profile
- Click “Edit Profile”
- Click on the Links section on the right hand side
- Click “Add custom link” if your blog isn’t already there
- Add the name and the URL of the link (to your blog)
- Hit the enter key to save it
Step 2: Install The Rel=”Author” Plugin (Genesis Users Only)
- Download and install the rel=”author” plugin we’ve created for you
- Edit your WordPress user profile
- Add the link to your Google+ profile
- Save your profile
Note: the plugin automatically adds the author box below your blog post and above the comment section so you don’t have to worry about selecting the author box to show in your profile.
And that’s it!
Hammering Home The Point
I can’t stress enough for the security of your content and keeping up with the merge of social media and SEO how important it is for you to do this. The integration is underway and will only get tighter as time goes on. Be ahead of the curve and your competition and implement this today.
Hi Robert… first off… Thanks so much for the awesome plug in.
Mine is installed and working well but I have a couple questions…
1. In one of the comments you mentioned the plug in isnt supposed to show up on blog pages.. could you please explain why a person wouldn’t want authorship attached to their blog pages as well?
2. Is there a way to enable the plug in to work on pages?
3. The top level part of my site is html and I was wondering the best way to use rel=author on the html portion of my site…
Thanks again for the great plug in
Mark
You’ve done a great job of getting ranked for rel=author Robert. Congratulations. I always check plug-in ratings on WordPress and download from there. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find your plug-in from the “add new” plugin page in WordPress admin searching rel=author nor rel=author Dempsey. Any reason you haven’t listed it there? I am a Genesis user so I was especially pleased to see you had addressed Genesis. I also checked plug-ins within the StudioPress resources page, although I realize it may be more challenging to get it listed there. From your Twitter bio looks like you are living in Thailand. Cool. I lived in Japan for 20+ years. We considered buying in Thailand and ended up on Kauai.
@LindaSherman Thanks Linda. Keeping the plugin here was the easiest to do and I can update it super easy. That and I left subversion behind many years ago.
Living in Thailand for close to two years has been quite an experience. We’ve been to Japan and we love it. I also went about 18 years ago when there were still few foreigners. Every trip was fantastic.
How is Kauai?
Got a problem too… Author box is added to all pages as well as posts…
Is it possible to add the author box only on posts?
Thanks
@Anders Vinther hi Anders – the author box shouldn’t show up on pages. What theme are you using? Is there an option to show authorship on pages and posts?
@RobertDempsey Hi Robert – thanks for the quick reply.
I got it figured out… I think it’s added to pages as well because I have commenting enabled on pages…
So I had to modify the code to test if is on a singluar post page before adding the box…
It works now – thanks for your help
@ayorofrance ah that makes sense and is good to know. Hacking code FTW!
Hi. Thanks for the plugin. I seem to be having some problems with it though (probably my fault!).
I’ve followed the instructions (I’ve got a “Google Profile URL” section in my WordPress profile section) and the author box is turning up but no link is present. Have I done something wrong?
Any help appreciated.
@Ben Johnston hi Ben this is odd. It sounds like everything is correct. Please email me at support at dempseymarketing dot com and we can get this handled for you. I’ll need an account that can be deleted but I want to be sure the plugin is working right on your install. Thanks.
@RobertDempsey Hi Robert. Thanks very much, I’ll set up a login for you shortly and send it over by email. Like I say, I’ve probably done something stupid!
@Ben Johnston sounds good Ben. And don’t be too hasty with that stupid thing. We’re dealing with software here. It’s never perfect. We’ll get it figured out for ya.
@RobertDempsey Did you manage to track down the issue with the no link ?
@George Rushby hi George – I helped Ben by logging in to his site and checking thins out. Be sure to grab the latest version of the plugin -> http://dempseymarketing.com/products/relauthor-plugin-for-wordpress/
Works fine except one thing it is not grabbling the author image. I only show a generic gravetar. How can I fix this?
Hi Paul – it’s using the standard WordPress image pull which I believe uses Gravatar. If the email address has a gravatar image associated it should work.
Basically the plugin alters the WordPress author box, so if the gravatar image was working before it should still work.
Thanks Robert! I do have a Gravetar however, it seems with a skinned out Thesis theme it was pulling in the default avatar.
It’s okay I found a solution…found a wp plugin that did the job! The Avatars plugin by Peter Sterling. A plugin to manage public and private avatars. I use this alongside of Roberts plugin.
Now, I would like to have the box appear at the end of the post (just like your Robert) not at the beginning anyone know how to do this?
You need to make a slight change to the code in the plugin. The lines to change and what to change them to are in the install.txt file.
Thanks for the speedy reply however looking at the install.txt file I don’t see the work-around
Hi Paul I sent you the file via email just in case.
How long ago did you download the file from here? I want to be sure I have the updated version behind the link.
Thanks.
Robert,
Thanks for the email your support is exemplary jaja!
Changing this: return $html.$the_content;
to this: return $the_content.$html;
Worked like a charm. Hope I have the updated plugin
Hi Robert,
Does this plugin only work for single author sites?
I’m using the Mocha child theme with multiple authors and I’ve installed the plugin and followed your instructions.
I still get;
Google search preview
The following errors were found during preview generation:
* This page does not contain authorship or rich snippet markup.
Extracted Author for this page
Page does not contain authorship information (learn more)
Amongst other errors.
I hope I haven’t missed a step. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Sebastian.
Hi Sebastian – it’s for both single author and multi-author blogs. I haven’t used your theme before so I’m not sure if there’s a theme specific issue. Regardless, ensure that for each of your authors you put the link to their Google+ profile page in their profile. There will be an additional field for it.
If you still have trouble please let me know. I’ve helped a few people get it working but will need admin level access to your blog (and a number of days lead time) to check it out. So far the issues have been theme specific.
Hi Robert,
I’ve had another look to ensure that my Google+ profile is pointing to the domain and that the Author plugin on the site is pointing at the Google + profile.
I also reviewed this link Yoast
Still no luck.
I noticed that you asked Tracey Keefer to setup an admin logon of support@dempseymarketing.com and email you the password.
I hope you don’t mind but I’ve created an admin account with the same name and would be keen for you to have a look.
If you’re able to, where should I send the password to?
Cheers,
Seb.
I can help you out with it later on in the week. Please send the credentials to support@dempseymarketing.com.
Thanks Seb.
Robert I love this plugin but am in need for your help, the bio shows up both on the top and the bottom of the post. I learned about this plugin from Kimberly Castleberry and she suggested I contact you as she has never seen this happen before. It is also happening on a friends site and we both use the same theme a twist of ten. Any suggestions as we would like to have it at the bottom of the post only.
Thanks for this great plugin and I look forward to hearing back from you!
Hi Tracey – I can help you out. As it sounds like a theme specific issue I’ll need to get into your site to troubleshoot.
Please set up an admin account for support@dempseymarketing.com and send me a password (when you create the user) and I can check it out.
Robert,
I did whatever is instructed in the tutorial. But its not working at all for me. Immediate help is appreciated!
Regards
Mike Webb
Hi Mike – I’ll need a few pieces of information to help you out. First up – what theme are you using, which version of the plugin did you install and how did you install it?
It worked …
Thanks a ton!!
Rock on thanks Mike. Good luck with it. Let me know if you need any other help.
Robert,
I did the setup as instructed. BUT…
In Google Search results the profile and image is not visible.
I am running my site on Genesis theme framework..I have downloaded and installed the plugin yesterday. So it must be the latest one.
Can you please check it..
Regards
Mike Webb
Hi Mike – from what I can tell the plugin isn’t picking up on your Google profile. After you installed and activated the plugin did you enter your Google+ profile on the user profile screen? That will create the author link between your blog and your Google+ profile.
Yes, I did entered the profile url…
Then after that I’ll need an admin account on your blog along with FTP access to see what’s going on. Please email me at robert at dempseymarketing dot com and I can help you out on Friday Mike.
Is there any limitation with Genesis theme? Do I need to turn-off gravatar support?
Nope. I have a very standard Genesis install for myself and all my clients and it’s working.
Thanks so much for this. Was wrestling with where to put the code, considering setting up an author page, and all the rest of it then a lightbulb went off in my head to search for “rel author genesis” and lo and behold there’s a plugin! Thanks for saving a lot of time!
That’s why we created it Ross please let me know if you have any questions about it.
Campbe McArthur or Robert can you shoot me a copy of the solution you guys came up with? I’d love to implement this with a hard code vs. the plugin if you have instructions.
I’m using the plugin but I’m told (by the developers) that you can pull the code from the PHP file and integrate it into your functions.php file.
Thanks Robert, I’ll give it a shot. I guess I just prefer the code because sometimes plugin support falls by the wayside. Hopefully Genesis’ developers are paying attention and devising a solution…we’ll see.
Hey Robert, not sure whats with the behavior I’m seeing with the non-genesis version on the Twenty Eleven theme. A really raw installation (not much there except some sampler content and Yoast’s WP SEO plugin). Have a look: http://wpseo.just-ask-kim.com/an-ordered-list-post/
All posts are owned by the only user “Kimberly Castleberry” and my G+ url has been added to the profile. Also the author box is at the top of the post not the bottom. I’m sure you notice when you look at it that it isn’t even displaying my display name in the author box, much less the G+ link.
Thoughts?
Kim
Hi Kim – if you can give me an admin account temporarily on the site I can check it out. As for the positioning of the author box that’s up to the theme. On Genesis we can place it using hooks. I like it to be at the top for guest posters (and myself) but it could be placed elsewhere. Not sure on other themes though.
Hey Robert, would be happy to give you access to that little site. Just can’t poke at it Wednesday night as I’ll be using it for the second half of a wp seo 101 course I’m teaching. Why don’t you either DM or email me a email address to send credentials to, I dont think I have a direct email for you and your blog comment subscription emails are going through a no-reply address.
My problem with it at the top is that it’s really not necessary there for a single author blog. I’ve always ran mine at the bottom for that reason.
Kim
Done!
Hey, Robert
Just wanted to pop in and say hi and thanks once again fro your assisting me with the dilemma I was facing. Truly appreciate that bro!
Campbell
My pleasure Campbell glad you got it working. Have a great week.
Thanks for guide. It works just fine for me.
Great to hear thanks Wilson.
Excellent just the thing I was looking for and really glad that you provided one for non Genesis themes as well.
Glad it can help Nishadha. Please let me know if it works for you.
Thanks so much. Robert. I always learn something when I read your posts. You’re up on everything and a huge source of information and inspiration for me. I appreciate both. Thanks for the great post. I know everyone in my group will be eating this up.
My pleasure Lauri. And of course send me your Google+ profile and this plugin will magically appear on your site
I really can’t thank you enough. I’m very lucky. Thank you.
Hi Robert,
I thank you for your fine tutorial as well as the Google+ invite and plugin. My only problem is that it changes the position of my Author Box to below my genesis box which I do not want. Is there a way to do this via code directly vs using this plugin?
I have added the Google Profile in my User Info by adding this into my functions.php via the generous help of Cyndi on the Genesis Forums. My question is how do I create the hyperlink in my name in my Author Box pointing to my GOOGLE Profile without this Plugin Installed?
//add more user contact methods
add_filter(‘user_contactmethods’, ‘more_contactmethods’);
function more_contactmethods($contactmethods) {
$contactmethods['twitter'] = ‘Twitter username’;
$contactmethods['facebook'] = ‘Facebook URL’;
$contactmethods['linkedin'] = ‘LinkedIn URL’;
$contactmethods ['youtube'] = ‘YouTube URL’;
$contactmethods['google_profile'] = ‘Google Profile URL’;
return $contactmethods;
}
Thank you Robert
Campbell
Hi Campbell – yes you can change the position. The code you want to edit is the hook “add_action ( ‘genesis_before_comments’, ‘abr_author_box’, 10, 1)”
You can change the “genesis_before_comments” hook to use another location on your post or page.
As for how to add the link to the author box without the plugin you would need to create a custom author box like we did in the plugin and output it using the Genesis hooks. The code in the plugin should get you going with it.
Hey, Robert
I have tried editing that very line numerous times within the plugin and I don’t know what I am doing wrong but I cannot get it to appear above my Genesis-Box for the life of me!
Any help would be appreciated if you would not mind.
Thank you Robert
Campbell
If you have the code in the functions.php file AND you’re using the plugin you’ll want to delete the code from functions.php. Let’s connect on Skype and I can help you out. DM me on Twitter for that – http://twitter.com/rdempsey
Hey Robert,
Thank you for coming to my aid this evening I have been struggleing with the positioning of the Author Box via plugin assist until you helped me. Thank you so much for you time and willingness to be kind and generous to your fellow man. I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart!
Campbell
B.T.W ….I really like your site!
Personally speaking, I think GOOGLE + will become the new Facebook which is fine with me as I have never cared for Facebook to begin with and I would be pleased if Google put them in their place.
Facebook to me, never really signified the open source community.
Perfect timing! I have to put the finishing touches on my husband’s new site which is in Genesis. I just got the author code working on my Thesis, and now I don’t have to worry about having to research how to do it with Genesis as well. Thanks for sharing!
Great Kristi. Please let us know how it works out for you. So far it’s 100% here.