Should you ditch rel=author for Schema.org on your content?

Why did Google abandon rel=author?

The rel=author tag allowed linking content to a Google+ author profile. Google would display the author's photo and name directly in search results, creating a visual connection between creator and content.

The problem? This system never functioned at scale. Most publishers never implemented it correctly, and Google+ never reached the critical mass needed. Mueller confirms that Google had already stopped utilizing this tag long before the official closure of the social network.

What's the difference between rel=author and Schema.org?

Unlike rel=author, which relied on a proprietary Google infrastructure, Schema.org is an open standard maintained by a consortium (Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Yandex). It allows structuring author information directly in the HTML code through JSON-LD, microdata, or RDFa.

Schema.org offers a much higher granularity. You can specify the type of author (Person or Organization), add properties like sameAs to link to social networks, indicate jobTitle, or connect multiple co-authors through an array. None of this was possible with rel=author.

Does Google really use this data for ranking?

Mueller doesn’t say this explicitly, and Google remains deliberately vague on this point. Several patents mention 'author authority' as a potential signal, but no official confirmation has ever been provided regarding its active use in the ranking algorithm.

What is certain: structured author data contributes to rich snippets (displaying the author's name in the SERPs), the Knowledge Graph, and likely the content understanding systems related to E-E-A-T. Ignoring Schema.org author means missing out on these enhanced displays that impact CTR.

• rel=author is dead: any implementation still active is of no use and can be safely removed
• Schema.org Article + author property: this is the currently recommended standard by Google for structuring author information
• JSON-LD preferred: Google recommends this format for its maintainability and separation from the content HTML
• Link with E-E-A-T probable but not confirmed: structured author data may influence the perception of expertise and authority of a site
• Measurable impact on CTR: displaying the author's name in the SERPs changes the click-through rate, especially in YMYL niches

Does this statement hide gray areas?

Mueller remains cautious on one crucial point: no precise indication of the actual weight of Schema.org author in the ranking algorithm. He confirms that Google wants this data, but never explicitly states whether it directly influences ranking or is only used for SERP display.

Our field observations suggest that the impact is indirect but measurable. For YMYL queries (health, finance, legal), sites with well-structured Schema.org authors linked to credible external profiles (LinkedIn, Twitter, institutional sites) tend to perform better. Correlation does not mean causation, but the pattern is recurring. [To be verified]: does Schema.org author directly feed E-E-A-T evaluation systems or just rich snippets?

Are all sites affected in the same way?

Let’s be honest: a pure e-commerce site has no need to mark authors on its product sheets. Schema.org Product is sufficient. However, an editorial site (blog, media, UGC content platform) that ignores author markup misses out on display opportunities and likely E-E-A-T signals.

The nuance lies in hybrid sites: marketplaces with integrated blogs, SaaS with resource centers, etc. Here, segmentation is necessary. In-depth articles and guides require rigorous author markup. Transactional commercial pages do not. Unfortunately, many CMS apply Schema.org Article blindly to all pages, diluting the relevance of the signal.

What are the risks of leaving rel=author in place?

Technically, no penalty risk. Google simply ignores the tag. But maintaining dead code in your templates is unnecessary technical debt. Worse, some CMS or WordPress plugins continue generating these obsolete tags automatically, creating noise in the source code.

The real issue: the confusion between old and new standards. We often see sites implementing both rel=author AND Schema.org author, but with contradictory information (different names, mismatched profile URLs). Google must then arbitrate, and there’s no guarantee it will choose the correct source. Clean up your implementations.

How to migrate from rel=author to Schema.org?

The first step: audit the existing setup. Scan your templates to identify all occurrences of rel=author and rel=me (used to link Google+ to the site). Remove them entirely. Also, check your WordPress plugins (Yoast, Rank Math, All in One SEO): some older versions still generate these tags by default.

Next, implement Schema.org Article in JSON-LD on every page of editorial content. The author property should point to a Person object with at least a name and url (link to the site's author page). Add sameAs to link to credible social profiles (LinkedIn, Twitter) if the author has them. Test with Google's Rich Results Test to identify errors and warnings.

What mistakes lead to failure in author markup?

Mistake #1: using an empty or generic author object. We often see sites putting 'Admin' or 'Editorial Team' as the author name. Google will never value this. If the author is anonymous or collective, it's better to omit the property than fill it with a placeholder.

Mistake #2: inconsistency between Schema.org and visible display. If the name displayed in the article differs from the name in JSON-LD, Google may ignore the markup. The same applies to the URL: the url property of the Person object must point to a real indexable author page, not an external social profile as the primary choice.

Should dedicated author pages be created even for small sites?

Yes, if you have multiple regular contributors and are focusing on editorial expertise. A well-constructed author page (bio, list of articles, links to external profiles, possibly a photo) enhances E-E-A-T credibility. It also provides an indexable target for the Schema.org url property.

For a single-author blog or a corporate site with 2-3 articles a year, it’s probably overkill. In that case, use the 'About' page as the author URL and ensure it contains a substantial bio and links to credibility proofs (LinkedIn, external publications, certifications).

• Remove all occurrences of rel=author and rel=me from templates and plugins
• Implement Schema.org Article with the author property (type Person) on editorial pages
• Create dedicated indexable author pages with bio and list of publications
• Link author.sameAs to credible social profiles (LinkedIn prioritized)
• Check the consistency of name/URL between JSON-LD and visible display in the article
• Test each implementation with Rich Results Test and correct any detected errors