Insights · Checklist
Author profile completeness checklist
Engines weight content by whether they can verify the author. A byline with nothing behind it attributes nothing. This checklist completes each author’s profile so that engines, buyers and regulators can confirm who stands behind the page.
How to use it
Before the first step.
- Run once per author, then on any change of role, credential or affiliation.
- Keep headshots, credentials and permissions in a single author file.
Steps
Each one owned and evidenced.
| # | Step | Owner | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Confirm the author’s consent to be published and the name form to use. | Editorial lead | Written consent |
| 02 | Verify credentials, licenses, registrations and affiliations against the issuing bodies. | Editorial lead | Verification record with sources |
| 03 | Write the profile: role, areas of expertise, experience, publications, speaking, affiliations. | Editorial lead with author | Approved profile text |
| 04 | Obtain a current headshot with publication rights and declared dimensions. | Editorial lead | Image file and rights note |
| 05 | Publish the profile page at a stable URL with Person schema: name, jobTitle, worksFor, knowsAbout, sameAs. | Technical owner | Page URL and validated schema |
| 06 | Align the author’s external profiles (LinkedIn, professional registers, associations) to the same name, role and facts. | Author with editorial lead | Profile consistency table |
| 07 | Add sameAs links from the profile to each verified external profile. | Technical owner | Schema export |
| 08 | Add author (and reviewer where applicable) markup and a visible byline to every page the author signs. | Technical owner | Sample page markup |
| 09 | Link each signed page to the profile and list the author’s signed pages on the profile. | Technical owner | Crawl report of author links |
| 10 | Record the approval date and the review interval for the profile. | Editorial lead | Profile record |
| 11 | Define what happens when the author leaves: reassignment, revision or archiving with history preserved. | Editorial lead | Succession note |
By David Selakovic · Published 2026-10-16 · Revised 2026-10-16 · Reviewed every 180 days