Google Authorship

[vernonblake]

I am attempting to setup Google Authorship with the Akita Theme. When using the “Structured Data Testing Tool”, I receive the following errors:

Error: Missing required field “updated”.
Error: Missing required hCard “author”.

Here is a link that I think will allow you to see the messages (and that Google Authorship has been properly verified):

http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets?q=www.bizeeo.com

Any help is much appreciated!

Topic

[Jason Bobich]

Hello,

If you’re looking to setup your own custom markup for the meta to abide by this, you can actually use this plugin:

http://wordpress.org/plugins/theme-blvd-string-swap/

When you install the plugin, go to Tools > TB String Swap, and the very last option on the page gives you a chance to write out the meta info that displays below each post however you want.

[vernonblake]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for your quick response. I’m not sure if I made myself clear. Specifically, what I am attempting to do is have my profile photo (head shot) displayed in Google’s search results page. I have been successful with other wordpress themes without delving into code or using a plugin. Here is an example:

https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=141e0338eb537d93&hl=en&q=electrolysis+hair+removal+in+montgomery+alabama&safe=off

I have researched the above-mentioned error messages and found this suggestion:

“find the “time” tag and add an additional CSS class called ‘updated'”

from here:

http://www.technosultants.com/blog/warning-missing-required-field-updated-wordpress

I realize this is a fix for a different theme. I’m not a coder, so if the plugin you suggested is how I go about fixing the problem, I’m not really sure how to approach it.

This issue may fall outside the scope of your support services, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask. 🙂

Thanks in advance!

[Jason Bobich]

This will be a customization you’ll need to make to the theme. So you may have to dig in and do a little research to accomplish what you want.

If you’re looking for the similar code to modify in the theme that is in that article, it can be found in the function “akita_blog_meta” found here within the theme:

/includes/theme-functions.php

This is a pluggable function, which means it can be copied to your your Child theme’s functions.php to be edited. Here’s how that works:

http://dev.themeblvd.com/tutorial/editing-framework-functions/

This would be an alternate approach to what I suggested previously. However, the previous suggestion could all be done through the plugin’s interface if you understand basic HTML.

[vernonblake]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I’ll give it a shot and report back how it turns out. Thanks again!

[awebber]

vernonblake,

Did you ever find a solution to this issue? I am encountering the same problem.

Thanks!

[vernonblake]

The good news is “Yes, I did!”

The bad news is I tried so many things over a span of a couple of months that I’m not sure what I did to make it work. Making it even more frustrating is that Google is slow and unpredictable about publishing Authorship rich snippets, which keeps you guessing whether you have set it up properly. I tried modifying the code as suggested by Jason, but that didn’t seem to work (I am NOT a programmer). Also, I added the “rel=author” link via the WordPress visual editor. I’m sure I tried a few more things, as well.

I know I was receiving error messages with Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool before AND after my Authorship photo appeared, but it appears most, if not all of the errors have disappeared. I must add, I have been able to implement Authorship with other themes on the first try.

I’ll take a look and see what I can determine. Sorry I’m not much help, but at least you know it’s doable.

Here is a link to my website, maybe you can view the page source and see what worked for me:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=internet+marketing+in+montgomery+al

[Author]

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