The social media trends have been going strong and will continue to do so. However, the criteria used by search engines are going through radical transformations that are shaping online behavior. Marketers using SEO strategies in 2013 will have to pay greater attention to AuthorRank, because it has began to play a major role.

 AuthorRank Changing the Criteria

The Search Engine Journal has made statements about this matter, commenting that PageRank has been the standard for a long time in the high-level metric used for identifying a web page’s relative quality. Although PageRank isn’t totally obsolete or limited as a quality metric, it is still considered meaningful when combined with other metrics such as page authority, domain authority and so on. AuthorRank or Agent Rank is going to earn the spotlight in 2013, being a new quality metric that is about to reshape the SEO tactics.

When search engines measure the content quality, these no longer base it just on the web page or the domain authority. Now, what also matters is the reputation of the individual as author of the content in cause. There is a reputation score expressed in various grades, which determined the order of search engine results.

To get credited by Google means now to use a standard author method. Simply tie the pages you write to your account on Google Plus. You can do this through rich snippets. If an author produces engaging content, his ranking is influenced by this aspect. Among the engagement factors there are: shares, ‘tweets’, ‘likes’ from the social sites, comments on the various social networks, and the influence of those who generate those comments.

How to Make Improvements 

Brands are advised to acquire authors with a reputation. If you can find authors who already have an AuthorRank, then it is in your best interest to hire these to provide quality content. This will help build up your own AuthorRank. To identify authors, you have to use the old keyword-related strategies. Firstly, it is essential to identify those keywords which are relevant to the niche you are (or want to be) in. Then you can use these to look up the authors that have been writing on compatible topics and approach them. This is a winning method to source your content. The links are still important. The more quality links you can point to your content, the better.

A High-Ranking Author 

So what exactly does it take to rank high as an author and score better in search engines? Fist of all, it matters to write extensively on your topic of choice. You can’t be considered an ‘expert’ unless you actually publish enough in the chosen field. Secondly, it matters much the user engagement you can inspire. This is up to the content you post, as well as to how your site or page is being managed. When you have these two factors combined – engaging content ad many posts – you will achieve a higher ranking as an author.