If you are maintaining a solid content stream on your blog there are many ways to maximize your content’s potential to get in front of your target market and convert them to customers.    Today, I am focusing on utilizing authors for your content.

1.  Use real people: Your web site is a place to showcase your customer facing staff.  While the urge may be to use a standardized byline for your company, there are several reasons we suggest setting your contributors up with their own accounts on your site.

• Potential customers connect with people, not organizations
• Using people shows that you are trying to help your target market, not just sell to them
• Quality control – The simple action of placing content under specific authorship induces better quality content
• Simplifies the approval process

2.  Add a photo: Including an author photo in your updates adds to the overall appeal of your blog content, creates authenticity and helps to create a connection with the reader.  With WordPress sites you can easily incorporate your photo through Gravatar – Learn more

3.  Add author bio: A bio is a great place to re-emphasize your corporate messaging and include a way to connect.  This is especially important with your sales and customer service staff.

4.  Google + Authorship:  Google produces author ranking by compiling the content you have been producing.  If you are adding lots of content to your site it is well worth it to start getting credit within Google.  This process claims the content you produce under your name and is quickly becoming a part of how content is indexed at Google.

Additionally, your photo will be included in search engine listings of your posts, increasing your credibility and the click-through rate.  ‘

Setting up Google Authorship varies with your site build, but the first step is to have a personal Google Plus account for each author. Once accounts are in place, you will need to set-up authorship with Google. Start here.  There are usually some adjustments necessary in your blog and it takes some time for listings to show up. Use this Google structured data test to assure all the connections are in place.

If you would like any of these features added to your site, contact us about our support plans – email or (612)587-SITE.

These tips are possible on other content management systems, but we eat, sleep and breath WordPress and bending it to our clients business strategies.  (Why WordPress?)