Author Rank
Author Rank is the idea that an online author can have topical authority within Google Search Results. Author Rank is the name given to the idea by search specialist and not by Google itself. Google has yet to confirm or deny the use of an author's authority but they have indicated that it is a possibility. If author rank is used it is likely to be in conjunction with other factors in Google's algorithm.
Description
The basic concept is that an author can become an authority on a topic that they specialize in. The underlying principle is that an author can be given a reputational score as outlined in Google's agent Rank Patent.[1] The agent rank patent allows for an author to have a digital signature. Google now has an authorship program in which an author can digitally sign their material by linking their content to their Google+ profile.[2]
Eric Schmidt says in his book, *The New Digital Age*, "Within search results, information tied to verified online profiles will be ranked higher than content without such verification, which will result in most users naturally clicking on the top (verified) results. The true cost of remaining anonymous, then, might be irrelevance."
Technological Support
After the Google Hummingbird update, Google has the technology to analyze entities and their relationship with other entities. Google can understand the relationship between an author and the subjects they write about.
References
This article "Author Rank" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Author Rank. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
