For a long time websites could get away with anonymous content. No name, no face, just text. That is changing. Search engines and AI systems place increasing value on the question: who wrote this, and is that person credible on this subject? That is author authority.
What is author authority?
Author authority is the degree to which the author of content is recognised as a credible, expert source. It is about a recognisable person with demonstrable expertise, rather than anonymous or generic text.
Why is this becoming more important?
In an age where AI can generate endless amounts of text, human expertise becomes a distinguishing signal. An article written by a recognisable professional with experience carries more weight than an anonymous piece. It is connected to E-E-A-T, where the first E stands for experience.
A practical example
Two articles about foundation repair. One is anonymous. The other is written by a structural engineer with a name, photo, a short biography and links to their other work. AI systems and search engines have good reason to trust the second more, because the source is recognisable and verifiable.
How do you build author authority?
By giving authors a name and a face, adding a biography with relevant expertise, linking authors to their publications through structured data, and keeping consistency between your website and external profiles. This way the author becomes a recognisable entity, just like the business itself.
