If you have recently audited your site's SEO, you might be wondering how to fix a value for the author field is required error for Blogger.
This common structured data issue can prevent your content from appearing as "Rich Results" in Google Search, potentially hurting your click-through rates.
Structured data helps search engines understand the content of your page.
When Google's robots crawl your Blogger site, they look for specific "Schema" markers.
If the "Author" property is missing, Google cannot verify who wrote the content, leading to validation errors.
As I mentioned in my previous posts, I encountered two specific errors when checking my blog with the Rich Results Test tool:
- a value for the publisher field is required
- a value for the author field is required
I have already shared a tutorial on fixing the publisher field error.
Today, we will focus exclusively on solving the missing author data once and for all.
This is another post from the DiGiztal Blogspot Blogger Tips series.
How to fix the author field is required error for Blogger
Here are two methods to fix this schema markup error i for those using Blogger platform.
Depending on your Blogger theme, one of these two methods will resolve the issue.
Method 1 is the easiest for beginners, while Method 2 is a more permanent fix via the template code.
Method 1: Enable the suthor profile in Layout settings
Sometimes the error occurs simply because the author name is hidden in your blog's layout settings.
Here is how to fix it:
1. Log into your Blogger Dashboard.
2. Select "Layout" from the left-hand menu.
3. Locate the "Blog Posts gadget" in the main section and click the "Edit".
4. In the pop-up window, make sure "Show author" option is toggled (green color). Type in author name in the space provide.
5. Then click "SAVE".
Wait a few minutes and check your URL with the Rich Results Test tool.
If the error persists, then you need to manually add the schema markup using the second method.
Method 2: Manually adding author schema to Blogger HTML
If Method 1 fails, it means your theme's code isn't correctly identifying the author name for search engines.
This manual fix ensures the "author" field is explicitly defined.
- Navigate to "Theme" and click the three dots next to "Customize" to select "Edit HTML".
- Click inside the code editor and press Ctrl + F (or Cmd + F) to search for this line:
<div class='post hentry' itemprop='blogPost' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='https://schema.org;Note: If your theme is older, search for
uncustomized-post-templateinstead. - Copy the following snippet and paste it immediately below the line you just found:
<span class='fn' itemprop='author' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org expr:content='data:post.author' itemprop='name'/></span>
- Click the "Save" (floppy disk) icon at the top right.
Verify author schema markup error is fixed
After applying these changes, again use the Rich Results Test tool to verify that Google can now read your author information correctly.
Simply enter your blog post URL into the tool to check for any remaining structured data issues.
A positive result means the Rich Results Test confirms the setup is working, with the "Author" field now successfully detected.
Validating this field is a key step in improving your blog's E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).
This can help you rank higher in search results.
Take your Blogger SEO further:
Now that you've fixed the author field, you can dominate search results by adding more advanced features.
Advanced SEO Tip: Validating your author and publisher fields is just the beginning.
To really stand out in search results, you should add more advanced structured data to your posts.
👉 Check out my comprehensive guide on how to add FAQ schema markup for Blogger.
Adding an FAQ section can significantly increase your screen real estate on Google, leading to more traffic!
More tips how to fix schema markup errors for Blogger:
- How to fix hCard author and missing required field name (fn) error for Blogger
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- How to fix missing author in Blogger template
- How to fix image field required error
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- How to fix image missing and required error
