Setting up Google authorship for Blogger has many benefits, which I mentioned in a previous article. If you’re not familiar with Google Authorship, I recommend that you read that blog post before you proceed.

Above is a screenshot of how my blog post from my other blog would look like if it appeared on Google search because I’ve successfully set up authorship. If you’re ready to set up Google authorship for a Blogger or Blogspot blog, then here are easy steps for you to follow.

Google Authorship for Blogger: Easy Setup

Establishing your Google authorship for Blogger blogs is easy. I’ve been scouring online sources for easy guides but I had to struggle with each one. I then decided to make my own. Before we start, make sure you’re logged on to your Blogger and Google Plus profiles. It helps if you’re using the same email address to log on to both accounts.

If you don’t use the same email address for both, you can always open a new Blogger account using the email you use for Google Plus, authorize that Blogger account as an administrator for your blog by clicking on Settings > Permissions > Add Author. Add the email address of the new Blogger account you just registered. Approve the authorship offer which you shall receive via email. Then, using your original Blogger account, convert the Author status to Admin status.

Once that’s taken cared of, proceed with the steps below. (Don’t forget to backup your template before you attempt any changes, just to ensure that you have something to revert back to in case you don’t follow instructions correctly.)

1. First, you need to install an author box on all your blog posts. To do that, go to your Blogger account > Template > Edit HTML > Proceed. Click on “Expand Widgets”. Then, search for the following code:

]]></b:skin>

and paste the following code right above it:

/***Author Box by www.stefdelacruz.com***/ .author-box { background: #F7F7F7; margin: 20px 0 40px 0; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #E6E6E6; overflow: auto; } .author-box p { margin: 0; padding: 0; } .author-box img { background: #FFFFFF; float: left; margin: 0 10px 0 0; padding: 4px; border: 1px solid #E6E6E6; }

Next, find any of the following codes on your blog:

<data:post.body/>

or

<div class='post-footer'>

or

<div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'>

and after any of the above, paste the code which I shall specify later.

I say choose ANY of the above, because the position of the author box on your code will depend on what widgets and other code you have already installed on your blog. Pasting the author box right after the first option above will place your author box right after the body of your blog post. Pasting the author box right after the second or third options above will place your author box as part of the footer. You can even paste the code after other codes found below the post footer if you need the author box located at a lower portion.

This is the code to be pasted below any of the above codes:

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == &quot;item&quot;'> <div class='author-box'> <p><img alt='YOUR NAME' class='avatar avatar-70 photo' height='70' src='URL OF YOUR PHOTO' width='70'/><b>About Me</b><br/>TYPE SHORT AUTHOR DESCRIPTION HERE. Please add my <a href='URL OF YOUR GOOGLE PLUS PROFILE' rel='author'>Google profile</a> to your circles.<br/></p> </div> </b:if>

Make sure to type in your name, author description, and Google Plus URL above in the areas indicated in bold letters. That should take care of your author box.

2. Next, let’s modify your About page. Your About page should include your Google Profile URL and should contain a rel=“me” tag. If you don’t have an about page for your Blogspot blog yet, go to Pages > Blank Page > New Page. If you already have one, simply edit it and click on the HTML button. Copy the following code somewhere within your About page to place your Google Plus profile URL:

Please add my <a href="URL OF YOUR GOOGLE PLUS PROFILE" rel="me" target="_blank">Google profile</a> to your circles!

Don’t forget to type in the URL of your Google Plus profile as indicated by the bold letters. Click on “Update” and you’re done.

3. Lastly, it’s time to show your blog on your Google Plus profile. Go to your Google Plus profile > Edit Profile > Contributor To. Then, type in the name of your blog and the URL of your blog. Save your progress.

To check if you’ve successfully established Google authorship on your Blogger blog, visit Google Rich Snippets Testing Tool and type in the URL of any of your blog posts. After clicking on the Preview button, scroll down and you will see a sample search result snippet of your blog post if it does appear in Google’s search results. If you did it correctly, you shall see your name and your photo right beside the snippet.

In terms of SEO, you should also get rid of link exchanges you’ve participated in. Read about how link exchanges hurt blogs.

Congratulations, you’ve successfully set up Google authorship for your Blogger blog! It will take a few weeks before your photo thumbnail and author name appear in search results. If you encounter any problems, leave a comment and I’ll try my best to help you out. You can also follow me on Facebook or Twitter. Oh, and feel free to visit my official website – that’s where I installed the author box and successfully set up my Google authorship, in case you’re wondering.