Easy rel=author WordPress plugin

Get the Easy rel=author WordPress Plugin here.

Latest version is 0.7b includes a fix for multiuser sites.  If a specific user doesn’t fill out their G+ profile, it won’t display the footer.

Easy Rel Author Blog Plugin Purpose
The purpose of this plugin is to add the rel=”author” link from blog posts to Google Plus profiles. Doing so will allow the author’s picture to show up in in Google search results next to the blog post description.

Creating a Google Plus Profile:

Before you even modify your site or add the Rel=”Author” Plugin, you need to set up a Google Plus profile for yourself. You then need to add profile links FROM your Google Profile to any sites that you blog on. These go on your About page on the right side.

Install the Plugin:

The Easy Rel Author Plugin is very simple. Install it and then choose whether you want your Author Byline to link to your Google Profile or whether you would like an additional line added to your footer. The default is your Author Byline. If your theme does not allow for a linked Author Byline, you will need to use the Footer option.  Also, if your theme does not support linked bylines on pages, use the footer option.  I am using it on my site with the footer option.

If you choose the additional line added to your footer, you will also need to choose whether you want a small Google Plus image or your name for the link. You’ll see that for this blog, If you want to use it as a footer, check the first option in the settings. If you want it as a footer but your name rather than the Google+ image, check both of these boxes.

Add Your Google+ URL to Your Profile:

For each user on your blog, go into their User Profile and add their Google+ URL to the Contact Info section.

Adding a Google plus profile link

Testing and Waiting:
Although it can take a week or two to see your picture in the search results, you can use Google’s Rich Snippets Testing Tool to test your individual posts to see if they are working. New posts take a couple of weeks but older posts can take even longer depending upon how frequently your posts are crawled.

Also, be sure to fill out the Authorship Request form.

-Kevin