FAQ

Is there a preview available?

Unfortunately there is no preview available because the plugin does only include a link into WordPress’s frontend. So, there is not a lot to see. By the way: you can include HTML Code into the link-field in the backend. So it’s up to you how the frontend-link should look like.

Does it work with two or more authors?

Yes, it does. The plugin will add a special field in the authors profile page on your WordPress blog. Every author can include their own Google+ Profile URL . You can find a detailed description in the documentation delivered with the plugin.

My picture doesn’t really show up. Why?

For this please read the webmaster tools support website.
For example: Google wrote that “Your Google+ profile picture should be a good, recognisable head-shot.”. When you browse the web via Google’s search engine you probably see a lot of images which do not show “good, recognisable head-shots”. So we think it belongs to Google whether the picture shows up or not. Another thing which we’ve tested is that Google Authorship does not work when you link to a Google+ business page. It seems that Google only do link back to real authors in their search results. A good tip is just to wait some days and give your picture a try. When it does not show up you should test another picture.

Does it work with WordPress Multisite/Network installation?

We’ve tested the plugin within a multisite installation. And it worked!

Can I add my G+ PAGE (!) instead of the profile link?

You can add your Google+ Page URL as the Author URL but it seems that Google does not show the Page-Profile-Picture in actual search results because they want the authors to appear there, not pages. In version 2.0 it’s possible to add the URL to your Google+ page separately. The Rich Snippet Testing Tool then shows the profile picture (logo) of your Google+ Page but it seems that it does not get attached in actual search results. It seems that the rule is as follows: First show the author!

I am getting this error: hatom-feed hatom-entry: published: 2012-10-04T10:11:08-0400 author: fn: JP nickname: JP Warning: Missing required field “entry-title”. Warning: Missing required field “updated”.

This errors does not belong to the plugin. You should check your sourcecode instead. In most cases there is something wrong with the code of your theme.

Should I show or hide the link?

You have to display the link anywhere in the post to make sure that your profile picture will be shown in Googles search results. Google doesn’t really like sourcecode that is hidden with CSS. So it can be that your profile picture does not show up in your search results. In version 2.0 there is a new option where you can add the link to the header (not visible to the user) which works in most cases.

I want to display the link anywhere else on my theme but not in the content area. How can I achieve this?

In order to put the link in your theme you can

a) Replace the Author Link in your theme with the Google+ link (that setting can be changed throughout the plugins setting page). But please make sure your theme uses one of the following functions to include the the author link:

  • get_author_posts_url
  • wp_list_authors
  • get_author_posts_url
  • the_author_posts_link

This is because the plugin hooks into the “author_link” filter. When your theme doesn’t use one of the function I mentioned above, the setting may not work.

b) You can include it manually in your theme by calling the author_link_in_content-function. For this you can use the following PHP code:

<?php if( class_exists('GoogleAuthor') ) GoogleAuthor::author_link_in_content( '' ); ?>

What’s the difference between the extended version and the free version?

Of course there are several features in the extended version: You can include the link not only in the content area on “every” single post or page but:

  • You can also check on witch post types (posts, pages, custom post type) you want to display the snippet.
  • You can choose where to display the link: Before the content, after the content, in the widget area (yes there is a widget which is now included in the plugin), or in the header of the webpage (as a meta tag and not visible to the user).
  • You can check “on the fly” whether the link was installed correctly on your posts, pages or custom post types
  • You can add the link to your Google+ Page (sometimes called “Publishership”).
  • You can set the author(s) to set for category pages.
  • You can set the author(s) to set for tag pages.
  • You can set the author(s) to set for the home or front page.
  • The authorship is set for author archive pages.
  • You get support if you need any help.

How can I link my Google+ profile page with my website? (Publisher-ship)

Yes, it’s possible to link your Google+ profile page with your website. But it’s no possible to show the profile picture. To link your Google+ page with your website you can use the “Google+ Page URL” field on the Plugins settings page.

  1. Go to your WordPress Admin panel.
  2. Click on “Settings” > “Google+ Author Information” to open the settings page
  3. Search for the field “Google+ Page URL” in the Settings-Area
  4. Copy and paste your Google+ Page URL into this field and save your changes.
  5. Optional: Clear your cache if you’re using a caching-plugin.

Then:

  1. Make sure you’re on the Google+ page you’d like to edit.
  2. Click the profile icon Profile button
  3. Click Edit Profile.
  4. Click Website. You’ll know it’s editable when the color of the section changes to blue.
  5. Type your homepage URL.
  6. Click Save.

You can check “publisher-ship” with Google’s Rich Snippet Testing Tool.

I‘m using the Rich Snippet Testing Tool but Google cannot extract my profile picture on certain posts or pages, what can I do?

  • Possibility 1: You did not add a reciprocal link back from your profile.
    If so, please follow step 3 from the Quick Start Guide. Test your site again by using the Rich Snippet Testing Tool.
  • Possibility 2: Your theme does not show author infos to the public. Therefore no Author-Link could be found in the sourcecode of your website.
    If so, please go to your WordPress Admin Panel and click Settings » Google + Author Information. Then click “Show it in the content-area” or “Put it into the header” and save your changes. Test your site again by using the Rich Snippet Testing Tool. Don’t forget to clear your cache if you’re using a caching-plugin.
  • Possibility 3: An author has not yet set his Google+ profile link.
    If so, please follow steps in the Help-Section on the settings-page. Then test your site again by using the Rich Snippet Testing Tool.
  • Possibility 4: You have chosen the settings so that the link will be displayed in the widget area but that page does not have any widget areas.
    If so, please add the widget-area to your theme-template or go to your WordPress Admin Panel and click “Settings” » “Google+ Author Information”. Then Click „No. Show it in the content-area instead“ or “Put it into the header” and save your changes. Test your site again by using the Rich Snippet Testing Tool.
  • Possibility 5: Your Google+ Profile link was found inside your site`s sourcecode but was hidden by CSS.
    If so, please go to your WordPress Admin Panel and click “Settings” » “Google+ Author Information”. Check if „No. Show it in the content-area instead“ was selected and select „Show“ where it says „Show or hide the link?“. Save your changes. Test your site again by using the Rich Snippet Testing Tool.
  • Possibility 6: Your Google+ profile does not have a profile picture.
    If so, please add a good, recognisable headshot.
  • Possibility 7: You are using a Caching-Plugin.
    If so, please clear your cache before testing your site with the Rich Snippet Testing Tool.
  • Possibility 8: Your theme does not add the tag rel=“author“ to author-links.
    If so, please add this snippet in every author link in your theme. If you don‘t know how to do this please do the following:? Go to your WordPress Admin Panel and click “Settings” » “Google+ Author Information”). Check „No. Show it in the content-area instead“, „No. Show it in the widget-area instead“ or “Put it into the header”. Save your changes and add the widget if needed. Then test your site again by using the Rich Snippet Testing Tool.
  • Possibility 9: A “post_type” was inadvertently omitted.
    To solve this go to your WordPress Admin Panel and click “Settings” »”Google+ Author Information”. Please make sure that „Posts“ and „Pages“ are selected where it says „Choose the post types to use with the plugin“.
  • Possibility 10: Google just does not want to display the data.
    Google says that there is no guarantee that a Rich Snippet will be shown for your page on actual search results.
  • More Reasons: Please read my answer on Stackoverflow.

Google does not show a profile picture for the start page. Why?

Some themes do not include an author link on its homepages. If this is the case you should include your Google+ Profile link manually on the homepage (maybe by using a text-widget in your sidebar). Therefore please follow „Option 2“ on this Google Help page.

There is no widget which I can drag&drop to a sidebar. Why?

Go to your WordPress Admin Panel and click Settings » Google+ Author Information. Check „Show the link in the widget-area.“ and save your settings.? After this, the widget will be shown to you on the „Appearance“ » „Widgets” page.

How long does it take until my picture shows up in the search results?

Unfortunately, there is no official statement. But it is obvious that Google has to crawl your site first. When the Rich Snippet Testing Tool shows your picture it will also appear in the search results after a few days.