Google Authorship and Individual Branding

You might have noticed that Google search results today sometimes show the author's name in a blog post or article link (with a picture, in some cases). It looks something like this:

This is a Sample Search Result. This is the Title.

By John Smith – in 126 Google+ circles

June 24, 2014 – This is where the description or gist of the article goes. While short, it should provide a summary on the article's topic.

This was the result of Google Authorship Markup project, resulting in more impressive-looking snippets in search results. This is possible by simply creating a Google+ account and filling the basic details (along with your picture, if you like). Without a Google+ account, the snippet will only show the meta description tag; something like this:

This is a Sample Search Result. This is the Title.

www.samplewebsite.com/this-is-a-sample-search-result-this-is-the-title

This is where the description or gist of the article goes. While short, it should provide a summary on the article's topic.

For online marketing experts, this is a fresh take at brand exposure in SEO. With the common customer growing weary of traditional advertising techniques, SEO columnist Jayson DeMers writes, the shift to a more individual strategy becomes apparent. People are now demanding useful content because they're more careful than ever about what they're buying.