I recently stumbled upon a post about Google Authorship Markup, which made me wonder if this can affect freelance writers – web content writers and bloggers alike.
We all know that there’s a big difference between writing on web pages and papers.
If you create content in the digital world – whether you’re a freelance writer, journalist, or consultant – you should know how Google Authorship Markup works so you can start building your authorship and expertise on various niches.
Google will definitely roll out this new update in the not-so-distant future. The question is: are you ready?
“We’re beginning to support authorship markup—a way to connect authors with their content on the web. We’re experimenting with using this data to help people find content from great authors in our search results,” said Othar Hansson, Software Engineer, Google Inc.
It’s time to stand out among the crowd and establish your name as an expert in your niche. This update will work seamlessly with SERPS, and most likely, it’ll give you a boost on rankings.
This is great news for CONTENT CREATORS, and that excludes spinners, re-writers, and copycats out there.
Quality of Content
Rewriting articles and blog posts of other Web content writers greatly affects the quality of the content. Even if clients pay a large amount of money in bulk orders, I suggest you stay away from them. Freelance writing is not just about the money. Quality and integrity must be your priority.
Make sure you produce high-quality content to get yourself recognized. If you have your own byline to WordPress blogs where you work, make sure you give it your best shot. Glean all the articles you have written from the past, and set up your Google Authorship in your blog. (I assume you have one.)
“In Google’s never-ending mission to surface high quality, trustworthy content for their searchers, AuthorRank is really the next big step,” said Mike Arnesen of SEOMOZ.
Be a Google author, and that does not mean you’re going to write for search engines rather than humans. What I mean is, continue writing killer content – with quality and authority.
Be prepared because according to Rick DeJarnette of Internet Marketing Ninjas, Google Authorship Markup works like this:
With authorship markup, your Google Profile is your digital identity base. You’ll use your profile to both link out to your online content and create links back from that online content. That closed loop, when done right, is intended to ensure you and only you are identified as the content’s author. And once that circuit is established, Google will likely use that data to help establish a form of author rank for your content.
The quality of your past content will affect your author reputation ranking, and your author reputation ranking will affect the ranking of your published online content – including future posts.
Authority on Your Niche, Traffic, Visibility, and Ranking
I’m not an SEO expert, but I know the basic technicalities (keywords, density, prominence, etc.) of SEO articles on web pages – the do’s and don’ts of SEO articles. When I heard this upcoming update of Google, I kept wondering if there’s a possibility of getting more projects with Google Authorship Markup.
Clients usually use Google or search engines for potential freelance writers to partner with, and it is very important that you blog about your expertise on your Web site. It’ll serve as a proof that you know what you are talking about and your industry.
Let’s say a client wants to hire a freelance writer from the Philippines; let’s use the keywords “Freelance writer Philippines.”
You’ll see my profile on the second page of Google out of 1, 010, 000 search results. Most likely, clients would visit my site and check my blog posts. That’s why content is very crucial. Currently, this is actually based on PageRank.
Again, going back to what Mr. DeJarnette said. This new algorithm is your digital identity base. It will show how competent and established your name is.
But here’s the thing, according to Mr. Arnesen,
AuthorRank, of course, wouldn’t be a replacement for PageRank, but would be used to inform PageRank, therefore enabling Google to rank high-quality content more appropriately.
I hope you’re learning from this. Will this affect the demand of SEO-friendly articles – in 2.5% keywords density, tags, and whatnots?
As Mr. Arnesen mentioned, this will not replace PageRank. Most likely, writers must still apply the technicalities of web content.
Ghostwriting vs. Byline Blog Post
I’m wondering if this will also affect ghostwriting projects of freelance writers. For sure, clients will be much more keen in choosing skilled writers to be part of their team. Most likely, if they need ghostwriter, they will be strict in choosing the best writer who is able to mimic his voice in writing.
This update will roll out soon. Although the date is uncertain, let’s not waste our time writing regurgitating thoughts on Web pages, and let’s start challenging ourselves to be better freelance writers.
You represent your country as a freelance writer, and I believe that you want to raise the standard too.
What are your thoughts regarding this?
