Author and Publisher Entities: How The Google Leak Confirmed Their Significance

Content dominates marketing. Think about it: someone types a query into Google, and it brings up relevant results. Whether blog posts, long-form content or even videos, consumers have on-demand information at their fingertips.

The recent Google leaks clarified how search engines evaluate content and decide where to rank it.

We knew value mattered, and we did everything possible to ensure original perspectives—now, content marketers and brands everywhere need to align the who with the what.

The leaks confirmed that the search engine can identify website owners and authors and highlighted that algorithms evaluate their trustworthiness.

While brands would previously focus on the content itself, the leaks now mean author and publisher entities play significant roles in your content’s ranking potential.

A new approach to SEO

The traditional approach to SEO relies on optimizing both the website and content, which remains integral. However, the leaks confirmed that author and publisher entities are essential for securing better rankings and cementing authority.

Google assesses:

1. The Publisher (website owner)
2. The Author (content creator)

Both entities define whether the search engine trusts in your content and give it a place in theKnowledge Graph, cementing your brand as credible.

So, if Google can detect which websites are credible, it presents a huge opportunity for brands that want to improve their SEO.

However, you’ll need to adopt a three-tiered approach.

Tier 1: Focus on traditional SEO

Traditional SEO is still essential for online growth. Optimizing your website, focusing on creating helpful content, and buildingbacklinks are the cornerstones of organic success.

Maintaining your website’stechnical SEO gives users a seamless experience, resulting in more conversions.

While the cornerstones of SEO remain important, understanding how author and publisher entities work enables you to create a holistic strategy with clear KPIs in place.

Tier 2: Publisher optimization

The Google Leaks documents highlight the importance of the “isPublisher” variable, which enables the search engine to identify the website owner.

Google’sSearch Quality Rater Guidelines previously listed “website mentions”, but the owner variable seems to have replaced this.

Now, the publisher demonstrates whether the content offers authority within its industry. In three steps, you can optimize for the publisher entity.

Step 1: Understandability

Google needs to understand your publisher entity, which means educating the search engine about your website’s content.

Your key goal here is to obtain a kgmid (Knowledge Graph mid), which will demonstrate that your website has foundational trust and understanding levels.

You can obtain a Knowledge Graph by ensuring consistency across all platforms and pages, which helps Google understand what your brand is about.

Step 2: Credibility

You’ve probably heard of E-E-A-T, but what about N-E-E-A-T-T? Entity optimization requires unquestionable credibility, and the following components of N-E-E-A-T-T- enable you to communicate your reputability to Google:

• Notability: Is your company recognised as an industry authority? Does it have placements in nationally or internationally recognised publications?
• Experience: Your company should have a visible and historical involvement in the topic.
• Expertise: Do you offer your target audience value? Your content should align with industry facts and serve as an audience resource.
• Authoritativeness: Your website should have high-quality websites from credible publications. Having historical and recent relationships with influential people and companies within your industry is also beneficial.
• Trustworthiness: Do people trust your company? Positive reviews and mentions in industry-recognised publications demonstrate that your brand is trustworthy.
• Transparency: Are your company information and products always up to date?

Step 3: Deliverability

Deliverability is a key part of your far-reaching marketing strategy. It ensures that target audiences can find your content on a range of platforms. Some audiences use search engines, while others look for solutions on social media.

If audiences can find your content across any channel, it highlights you’re always able to solve problems.

Tier 3: Author/content creator optimization

As with publisher entities, the isAuthor entity identifies who’s creating the content and whether they’re credible. The Search Quality Rater Guidelines mentioned content creators 140 times, showing the importance of establishing credibility.

For example, if you have a finance website and a random writer with no clear experience within the industry is listed as the author, Google won’t be able to establish whether the content is accurate and trustworthy.

Here’s how to optimize for the author entity.

Step 1: Understandability

Authors find it much easier to obtain a Knowledge Graph, as it’s all about personal entities. Google wants to know that listed authors have experience in the topic and are credible sources.

You can achieve this by ensuring consistent, corroborating information, which helps Google identify your expertise.

Step 2: Credibility

Google will consider authors who can demonstrate knowledge and authority within their niche credible. This means creating unique content, offering original perspectives, and becoming a vital resource for audiences.

You can build credibility by securing citations in industry-respected publications and receiving citations from other experts.

As you can see from this Google image below, once you build credibility, Google is more likely to view you as a valuable resource:

Step 3: Deliverability

As with publisher entities, content creators should ensure audiences can find them across numerous platforms, including blogs, guest posts, podcasts and expert panels; the author can establish their authority and serve as a resource for audiences.

How to integrate author and publisher optimization into your SEO strategy

What we’ve learned from the Google leak is that traditional SEO just won’t cut it anymore. While it remains intrinsic to organic growth, failing to focus on author and publisher entities can damage your brand’s ranking potential.

Following this step-by-step strategy can help you adapt to the entities and secure ongoing growth for your brand:

1. Website Optimization: Ensure that all elements of your website are optimized to offer a seamless experience. Building relevant backlinks, creating high-quality content, and regularly fixing technical errors form the basis of your holistic SEO strategy.
2. Publisher Optimization: Ensure your website publishes content relevant to its industry. Build consistency through online profiles and make your brand accessible to target audiences.
3. Author Optimization: Build your personal brand and set yourself apart as an industry authority. Engage with your audience across all platforms.

Examples of brands and authors that nail entities

So, now you know about author and publisher entities, it’s time to look at some examples.

Google will always favour websites with industry authority and credibility, and 16 companies dominate the search engine results pages, generating over three billion clicks monthly (Detailed).

The following brands have strong publisher entities and a consistent presence within Google’s Knowledge Graph:

• MayoClinic: The MayoClinic website establishes its authority within the medical industry, providing vital information for audiences. It regularly appears on the first page of Google results and cements its reputation by detailing a list ofmedical editors.
• Cosmopolitan: As one of the most famous women’s magazines, Cosmopolitan provides the latest news, fashion trends and tips for readers worldwide.
• Investopedia: When people search for financial information or want to explore different savings products, Investopedia regularly appears on SERPs. As you can see from theirAbout Us page, the website has a robust reputation, cementing its credibility.

Authors

Author entities depend on the industry, but many authorities establish themselves through blogging, podcasts, guest posting and social media. They include:

• Neil Patel: One of the best-known authorities within marketing, Patel has a huge online presence.
• Daniel Foley Carter: Daniel is one of the UK’s go-to SEO authorities, with thousands of followers onLinkedIn.
• Lisa Curtiss: Lisa is one of the most prominent fashion writers and editors. Her long-term reputation cements her as a vital resource.

Key takeaways:

1. Content Dominates: Whether blog posts, case studies, social media posts or videos, content still dominates the search engines. Consumers rely on content for advice, information and personal learning journeys, making it intrinsic to any SEO strategy.
2. Holistic SEO: While traditional SEO forms the foundation of your online strategy, Google leaks cements the need for holistic SEO, which is a factor in the importance of publisher and author entities.
3. Three-Tiered Approach: By implementing a three-tiered approach, you can gradually build authority within your industry and maximise your reach across platforms.
4. Be Patient: Building authority as a publisher or author takes time and effort. Consistency is vital to your success, and our examples of publishers and authors that nail entities show the investment is worth it.

The bottom line

If you want to stay ahead of the curve and ensure your brand’s ongoing success, author and publisher entities are something you can’t afford to ignore.

Securing SERP rankings is great, but Google cares about authority, credibility, and trustworthiness.

Implementing a holistic strategy incorporating entity optimization can be challenging. Our bespokeSEO services give you access to a team of experts who work on your behalf to turn the seemingly impossible into probable.

Please book a free proposal today and discover how we can help you move towards the future.