Should you still worry about author markup for SEO?

Why did Google abandon rel author?

The rel author tag historically allowed linking content to its author via a Google+ profile. The initial idea was to clearly identify content creators to better evaluate their expertise and credibility.

With Google+ gone, the technical system lost its reference infrastructure. Beyond this technical aspect, Google found that the markup was heavily misused: websites attributed any content to fake profiles or to experts lending their names without actual contribution. The signal became too noisy to be reliable.

How does Google assess expertise today?

The algorithm now relies on behavioral and reputational signals rather than declarative markers. Specifically, Google analyzes mentions of the author on third-party sites, citations, backlinks to their social or professional profiles, and the recurrence of their name in expertise contexts.

E-E-A-T signals (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) are built through overall web recognition. An author frequently cited in specialized media, invited on podcasts, speaking at conferences generates a digital footprint that Google captures without needing a specific tag.

Is schema.org “author” still useful?

The nuance is important: Mueller talks about the rel author tag, not the schema.org structured data of type “author”. The latter remains used for display in rich snippets, particularly for news articles.

They do not directly influence ranking but improve result readability and can indirectly boost CTR. Thus, schema.org markup is still recommended for display reasons, not for direct ranking.

• Google no longer reads the rel author tag to evaluate an author's expertise.
• Expertise is measured through external signals: citations, mentions, backlinks, online reputation.
• Schema.org “author” remains relevant for SERP display, not for ranking.
• SEO efforts should focus on building the real reputation of authors.
• E-E-A-T signals rely on collective recognition, not unilateral declarations.

Is this statement consistent with field observations?

Absolutely. Correlation tests conducted on thousands of pages show that the presence of the rel author tag has no measurable impact on ranking for several years. Sites that removed this markup recorded no variation in organic traffic.

On the other hand, sites whose authors benefit from strong external visibility — active LinkedIn profiles, media appearances, citations in third-party articles — experience better performance on YMYL (Your Money Your Life) queries. Google captures these signals via the knowledge graph and semantic co-occurrences.

What uncertainties remain around this statement?

Mueller remains deliberately vague about the specific metrics that Google uses to measure “user recognition.” We know that mentions, backlinks to author profiles, and behavioral signals come into play, but their respective weighting remains opaque. [To be verified]

Similarly, the distinction between individual author and brand editorial is not clarified. In some sectors (traditional media, business press), the reputation of the media takes precedence over that of the individual author. Google seems to adapt its analysis based on context, but the switching criteria are undocumented.

When do these rules apply differently?

For YMYL sites (health, finance, legal), the author's identity and their verifiable qualifications remain crucial. Google cross-references the biographical information displayed on the site with external sources: professional registers, official directories, academic profiles.

A physician signing a health article must be traceable and verifiable through the Order of Physicians or academic publications. In these cases, simply displaying the name is insufficient: the author must have a coherent and verifiable digital footprint. This is where the difference lies between a declarative tag and real recognition.

What concrete steps should be taken to enhance authors' expertise recognition?

Forget technical declarative tags. Focus on building a verifiable digital footprint for each strategic author on the site. This involves creating detailed author profiles on the site, including full bios, professional photos, links to social media and external publications.

Next, work on external visibility: encourage authors to publish op-eds in third-party media, speak at conferences, be cited as sources in reference articles. Each external mention with a backlink to the author profile strengthens the E-E-A-T signal captured by Google.

What mistakes should be absolutely avoided?

Do not create fictional author profiles or generic signatures (“The editorial team”, “Editorial staff”). Google detects a lack of consistency between the displayed name and external traces. On sensitive topics, this can lead to downgrading.

Avoid also multiplying authors without strategy: it's better to have three recognized authors with a real digital footprint than fifteen ghost signatures. Dispersion dilutes the signal. Focus efforts on experts who can truly build sector authority.

How to audit and optimize the recognition of authors on an existing site?

Run Google searches on each author's name: how many relevant results appear? Are there mentions in specialized media, active social profiles, public appearances? If an author is invisible outside the site, their E-E-A-T contribution is zero.

Use tools like Brand24 or Mention to track authors' citations on the web. Measure the evolution of their external visibility and correlate it with the SEO performance of the pages they contribute to. The most cited authors should be highlighted in strategic content.

• Create complete author pages with bios, photos, social links, and external publications
• Encourage authors to publish in third-party media for mentions and backlinks
• Remove generic or fictional signatures on sensitive content
• Regularly audit authors' external visibility via Google searches and monitoring tools
• Concentrate efforts on 3-5 strategic authors rather than spreading across dozens of profiles
• Link author profiles to verifiable sources (LinkedIn, professional directories, universities)