SEOs around the world are always looking for the next best thing to get ahead of their competitors. A recent update from Google about author bylines may leave many SEOs underwhelmed. Well, at least not the ones who focus on quality content. Keyword stuffing is no longer recommended or appreciated by the readers. Nowadays the algorithms are advanced enough to realise when someone is trying to pull a quick one. Our recommendation has always been and will always be to optimise for better legibility. Write for people, not bots. Talking about author bylines, you'd often see blogs with a long section of keyword stuffed author section at the bottom. Not anymore. Google Search Liaison confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) recently that Google neither uses author bylines as a direct ranking signal, nor considers them to be written for Google. It's something you do to enhance your blog's reading experience. Furthermore, Google Search Liaison confirmed that just adding a byline will NOT give you a ranking boost. Saying you're an expert in your byline doesn't automatically make you an expert. Author bylines aren't something you do for Google, and they don't help you rank better. They're something you do for your readers -- and publications doing them may exhibit the type of other characteristics our ranking systems find align with useful content. That's something I've… pic.twitter.com/vjYTTDW0kK — Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) January 8, 2024 Given this, what should you include as your Author Bylines? We recommend you be honest & focus on building a relationship. Write what your users can connect to, get to know you better & benefit from. Most often users will read more about the authors after they come across an article they find interesting. So use this opportunity to enhance your reader's overall time and experience on the blog. So what does this mean for you if you run a business or head the marketing department of an organisation? Well, this update does not necessarily apply to all businesses or websites. Just the ones who still believe that stuffing keyphrases all over your blog or website will magically rank it. And here is our plug: Get your SEO Audit here if you're not sure whether all aspects of your website's SEO are checked and are up to date.
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