A byline is the short attribution, such as "By Maya Chen, Product Lead," usually placed under the headline. It is the simplest way to show who is accountable for a piece of content. Google's guidance encourages bylines where readers would expect them, linked to more information about the author, and supports author details in Article structured data.
Making bylines useful
- Use a real person's name, not "Admin" or "Team"
- Link the name to an author page
- Add a role or credential that is relevant to the topic
- Credit reviewers or contributors when they shaped the piece
- Mark up the author in Article structured data with a name and URL
When a company byline is fine
Product announcements, policy pages and documentation are often better attributed to the company, because the company is accountable for them. For opinion, guides and analysis, a named person is usually more credible.
Bylines and AI-assisted content
Google's guidance suggests being transparent about how content was created, including whether automation was used, where readers would reasonably expect to know. A byline should name the person who is accountable for the accuracy of the piece. If a draft was produced with AI help, the named author or reviewer should have checked and edited it, and some teams add a short note explaining their process.
Example
From "Admin" to named experts
Hypothetical billing platform Thistlebay's blog showed "Posted by admin" on every article, a WordPress default. The team assigned each post to its real writer, created author pages, and added the author's name and page URL to its Article markup.
Common mistakes
Attributing AI-drafted content to an expert who did not review it
A byline is a claim of authorship or accountability. Only put a name on content that person actually wrote or reviewed.
Questions
No. Pages where readers expect an author, such as articles and guides, benefit. Product pages and legal pages typically do not need one.
