Google Authorship: Your Impressions

Updated March 1, 2025

Social Search Statistics Synopsis

Search is now very social. We’re seeing an uptick in Google authorship stats in Webmaster Tools. While Google+ adoption is relatively slow compared to other social media channels, the impact of an authorship profile to Google’s search algorithm is enormous. In the post I’ll explain where to find your Google Authorship stats.

What is Authorship?

Authorship is simply a way for you (the person) to connect to your content. It’s links a Google profile to articles, blog posts, web pages when it appears in search. Have you seen a person’s picture on a Search Engine Results Page? That’s Google Authorship. Since searchers are naturally drawn to human faces — especially people they recognize — they tend to click on content with images.

If you haven’t already set it up, it’s pretty easy. First you will need to create a Google+ Profile and upload a high-quality head shot. Then you’ll sign up for authorship and follow the verification process.

Where to Find Google Authorship Stats

Google Authorship stats are located in Webmaster Tools. Once you log in (using the same username as your Google+ profile) you’ll see you’ll see “Author Stats” under the Lab section on the left hand side. This section will show how many impressions and how many clicks your content received in Google search.

A side note: if you’re finding your content is getting a lot of impressions but few clicks, your meta descriptions may need work. Meta descriptions are the mini-ad (158 characters or so) that entices a human searcher to click on your link. It sets up a promise of what they’ll receive on the web page/blog post. If it’s not enticing or relevant… then no click.

What are your Google Authorship stats saying about you and your content?