In recent months Google has made some significant updates to their search algorithm including the Google Panda and Penguin updates that affected millions of websites. If you are busy with a digital marketing campaign, you will know that these updates can get you quite frustrated because every time they update their algorithm, we have to figure out new ways to play by their rules.

The search engine giant recently changed their algorithm again and it’s taken the digital marketing community quite a while to figure out the new game plan, but most will agree that if you want to move forward with your SEO strategy, you have to work on your author reputation online and this is called AuthorRank by Google.

With AuthorRank it doesn’t mean that you should forget about your content marketing and link building campaign, just find a way to include AuthorRank as well. Google’s AuthorRank is built into Google’s social platform and how they are moving forward with Google+.

If you are not using Google+, now is the right time to start using this social media channel. In the future, AuthorRank will determine whether your content is valuable and if it will rank for certain keyword phrases that you are associated with. This makes it so much more than a just a basic digital reputation management tool, it’s now a SEO management tool and platform.

How does Google Author Rank work?

When someone searches for your name on Google, if you have a Google+ account, your profile will show up in the search engine result pages. Even if you share your name with a few people, the chance that your name will display first, especially if someone has crossed your path before, is much higher. What if you are into real estate and someone searches for “real estate Pretoria” or “properties for sale in Pretoria”? What will happen then?

What gets displayed will be based on AuthorRank and that means that if you publish quality and relevant content regarding those keywords and topics on a consistent basis, you are much more likely to rank for those keywords. AuthorRank is Google’s new way of fighting spam. In my opinion, this will be very effective and it puts a different spin on your digital marketing efforts. If you are not interested in AuthorRank and what it means to your business, good luck on getting any results on Google in the future.

	About: Anton Koekemoer I’m a digital marketing specialist and I’m very passionate about online marketing. My main goal with marketing on the web focuses on designing strategic plans and business solutions around digital technologies to get good results. I’m also a blogger, dad, and I like golf, photography, and music.