Make Your Law Blog Stand Out – Google Authorship in Search

By Ryan Bowers On November 16, 2012 · Leave a Comment

Google recently enhanced their search results with an element called authorship in search. It is a cool feature that can really make your blog posts stand out in search results, yet it is underutilized by the majority of law bloggers out there. Essentially, it links your content to your Google profile. I know what you are thinking – no one uses Google+. Yes, that may be true, but this feature goes beyond Google+ (in my opinion). The addition of your name and picture to your content in the search engine results page (SERPs) alone justifies using this feature.

Here is an example borrowed from Google.

If you want to see it in action, click here and see how my picture appears for the content I have created.

Adding your headshot is very easy – two simple steps:

First, create a Google+ Profile. (you need to upload a high quality headshot and fill out some basic profile information).

Second, go to plus.google.com/authorship, sign up with your email and click on the verification link they send you. The only potential issue here is that you must use an email with a domain name that matches the domain name for your content (for example, for content on blog.rfpattorney.com, I must use an email such as name@rfpattorney.com). Since a lot of law blogs are hosted outside of firm websites, and thus, don’t have matching domain names, I foresee this as a problem for many law bloggers. However, you can also link your content by adding a tiny bit of code to your website. See here for more info (option #2). Don’t worry if you don’t have tech expertise, WordPress offers some plug-ins (search plugins for Google authorship).

Once you get it up and running, your picture will soon appear along with your content. Benefits include:

Makes your content stand out from the rest in search results – I always gravitate to images over text. Plus it serves to validate your content.
Get more followers on Google+ and it can increase engagement on the platform (engagement is always good)
The author link that appears can lead your readers to discover your other content.
You can see analytics for your content in search (see here for more info).

Ryan Bowers

Founder of RFPattorney.com and author of the RFPattorney Blog. Over 8 years of experience practicing law, including past experience at an international law firm, a national law firm, and a small firm. Currently GC and VP Operations for large mechanical construction company. Midwesterner, home renovator, golden retriever wrangler, new dad, Wolverine, & avid hockey fan.