What does author mean?
The author of this content or rating. Please note that author is special in that HTML 5 provides a special mechanism for indicating authorship via the rel tag. That is equivalent to this and may be used interchangeably.
Used on types (domainIncludes)
Expected value types (rangeIncludes)
Schema.org domainIncludes and rangeIncludes are descriptive guidance, not strict validation prohibitions. Check the official reference for updates.
How to use author correctly
Identifies a creator of a work such as an Article or CreativeWork. An author can be a Person or Organization when appropriate.
Common mistake to avoid
Use a verified author; do not assign a developer or publisher as author solely because their name appears in the footer.
Applied example and verification
The author of an Article is the creator of the written work, not automatically the person who owns the website, maintains its code or appears in the global footer. Editorial teams should maintain a reliable attribution record and review it before generating structured data. A byline visible to readers may help establish the author, but a template credit cannot prove authorship of every article. If the article is still a draft or has no confirmed author, do not invent a person or reuse a developer profile to make the markup look complete. Where an Organization genuinely authors a work, that relationship can be described appropriately. Keep authorship, editorial review and publication dates as separate facts. The example is only a structural illustration.
Example property value
This snippet is illustrative and may not be sufficient markup on its own. Replace placeholders with real values.
"author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Verified author name — placeholder" }Read the official Schema.org author definition. Google feature requirements, when relevant, must be checked separately against the official Search Gallery.
Related reference
Browse all Schema.org types and properties · Google feature support status