Those who keep themselves updated with everything related to search optimization, are well aware of the fact that the tag “rel=author” is critical towards establishing their authority when it comes to search results in Google. Authorship declaration presents articles written by a person within search results along with his/her photo positioned right beside it. This helps in making the content of the article stand out offering it with a strong authority and identity. Apart from making the articles distinct, it also assists in a way that that when visitors click on byline, the full article list is presented to them.

Apart from the basic information about this search optimization aspect, people might have questions regarding how this tag works.

What happens when a person does not photo to show up within search results and wants some logo instead?

The thing is, there nothing much which can be done about this. When it comes to authorship, it is essential that photos of real person should feature alongside articles. The profile photo is pulled by Google from Google+ which is the reason why photos of real people are required and not logos. It is not possible to attribute authorship to Google+ page at least now which leaves with the only option of providing photo of real person.

Is it possible to attribute ownership to any page?

Yes, it is possible. When a person places the tag “rel=author” on some page, it shows up within search results along with the photo right beside it. But, it is necessary to feature it within pages that have only been written by the person containing clear byline. Authorship does not work for forum post search optimization as attributing it is a bit difficult.

What happens when the article has contribution from more than 1 person?

Presently, authorship attribution can take place from 1 person only. But, updates in future are more likely to take place where searchers will get to see different authors when it is required.

What happens when authorship is not required?

Those who do not require their photos to appear right beside articles should not add markup to page so that Google+ profile cannot be discovered within search results.

What is the difference between rel=author and rel=publisher?

Rel=author tag allows people to connect a particular page they wrote to Google+ profile irrespective of websites they appear on. On the other hand, businesses can connect websites with Google+ through rel=publisher. Both of them are vital for search optimization.