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Yesterday the Linkdex ThinkTank came to Leeds as we co-hosted an event looking at Content Marketing, Google+ and Author Rank.

Matt Roberts, VP of Product and Co-founder at Linkdex; David Harling, Head of SEO at Razorfish; and Paul Spreadbury, Account Director at MEC; joined Blueclaw’s Head of Search Mike McDougall and SEO Consultant Matt Hall to lend their thoughts on how Google Authorship is impacting approaches to content marketing, and its potential to transform search marketing as a whole.

Matt Roberts kicked proceedings off, discussing why the company has introduced its Social Circles and Linking Authors tools in recent weeks. He discussed the nature of influence and how we should focus on forming relationships with those closest to us, as well as the role online marketers can play in making their contacts more influential by helping them to build their online profiles.

David Harling talked through the transformation he has brought about since joining Razorfish; moving the company towards an approach that focuses entirely on content marketing led by blogger outreach and engagement. He highlighted the changes search marketing has undergone in recent years, and the way in which the focus has shifted away from webmasters as social media has become more prominent and authors and influencers are increasingly prioritised.

He explained how his team now focuses on finding the best writers and building lasting relationships by offering them unique brand experiences.

Our very own Mike McDougall then gave his thoughts on Author Rank and its potential. He talked about the reputational and legacy issues that should be considered when linking individual’s Google+ accounts to branded content such as blogs. He also considered how Author Rank could potentially be abused and the possibility of ‘Publisher Rank’ being introduced - which could recognise the collective publishing powers of brands.

Matt Hall then gave a short presentation on implementing Authorship, a topic he will expand on in a post tomorrow.

Paul Spreadbury was up last and discussed MEC’s experiences of implementing Google Authorship. He highlighted that a number of factors mean rich snippets may take up to a month to appear in search engine results following the implementation of Authorship.

He went on to highlight the importance of high quality content and the prominence of ‘Power Authors’, those who are well-known and connected within their industry. Overall he considered that all search marketers should ensure their clients implement Authorship as soon as possible.