9 Practical Tips for Building Your Website Authority

For businesses that are aiming to build a website that achieves long-term success by being the face of the business, making sales, or promoting services, one of the primary goals should be to develop a website that becomes recognized as an authority in its industry.

Building an authority site takes time and work, but the result can yield a website that is truly a valuable asset for the business.

What is an Authority Site?

Before we get into the details of how you can go about gaining authority for your site, let’s first define what we are referring to. There are a few different aspects to a website that has authority. First, it can be considered a trusted source that people turn to when they need something. Basically, one of the first websites that people think of when they want to find a specific topic or thing. The second aspect is being trusted by search engines. Google (and other search engines) prefers to send searchers to sites that they trust because it will typically produce more reliable and more valuable information for those who are searching. So, an authority site has achieved an elevated position in the eyes of human visitors as well as search engines.

As you look at how we are defining an authority site, you can see that it is something that will not happen overnight. Building an authority site takes a long-term focus because it takes time to earn the trust of visitors and search engines. As visitors keep coming back to your site through search engine results, links from other sites, bookmarks, or however they may arrive, each time they have a positive experience on your site you will be that much closer towards establishing authority.

Search engine rankings and traffic generally increase over time, in part because search engines tend to trust sites that have been around for a while. New websites need to prove themselves to search engines before they will start to see significant rankings and traffic.

Why Work to Establish an Authority Site?

There are a lot of approaches for making money online or for gaining exposure for a business online, some can have an impact quickly while others (like building authority) are more focused on the long term. With other possibilities that could produce a return in a shorter period of time, why should you be concerned with building authority?

1. Stability

While no traffic source is guaranteed to keep sending visitors to your site, search engine traffic is much more stable than others, such as social media. If your site is not doing anything to irritate Google and if you are consistently working to improve your site and add new content, search engine traffic should at least be holding steady, if not increasing. Any website owner who wants to achieve stability and consistency (as much consistency as can be expected) should be focused on developing diverse traffic sources, including search engines.

An authority site will always have some stability in terms of traffic because the search engines will continue to send visitors, other sites will be sending visitors through links, and repeat visitors will be coming directly to the site because they know it is a trusted resource.

2. Quality Traffic

Search engine traffic is generally of higher quality than many other sources because people who find your site through searches are looking for something that you offer or for information that can be found on your site. Likewise, links from other sites that are recommending your business or the information on your site will also produce quality traffic. Repeat visitors who keep coming back to your site when they need something will be very high quality, because they already have proven that they turn to your site before going to others.

3. Unlimited Possibilities

Because stability and quality of traffic is high, authority sites really have unlimited opportunities at their disposal. For example, SEOmoz built up its authority as a go-to source for SEO information, and now they make money by selling membership access to premium SEO tools that can help website owners and marketers to promote their own sites. Trying to sell this type of membership to SEO tools would be substantially less successful from a company that has not established itself as an authority in the industry.

Another example is Freelance Folder, a blog that covers all kinds of topics relevant to freelancers. After Freelance Folder had established a large audience and considerable authority, Mason Hipp and James Chartrand released The Unlimited Freelancer, an e-book that was aimed at its target audience. At the time the e-book was available for purchase, Freelance Folder already had a large audience to market to, and they had already earned the trust of that audience.

These are just two examples, the list could go on and on. But the point is that, with authority and an established audience, you can find ways to monetize your website and provide customers with something that is very valuable to them, and you will already have the audience waiting for you.

4. Increased Influence

An authority website has a great deal of influence within its industry. People tend to pay more attention to what someone is saying if they have earned their trust in the past. If you want to be one of the titans of your industry, working towards building an authority website is a good start.

Tips for Establishing Authority:

Now that we have looked at some of the benefits of having an authority website, you may be wondering what you need to do to accomplish this for yourself. Here we’ll take a look at a number of recommendations that can all help towards this goal.

1. Have a Blog on Your Domain

As I have already mentioned, building an authority website takes time and effort. One of the best ways to stay in front of your target audience and prove to them that you have valuable knowledge and information is to blog. A blog is great for encouraging people to keep coming back to your site, which is critical for building authority. With a blog, you will be able to show readers that you are an expert in your field. Over time your blog archives will develop into a valuable library of content that attracts search engine visitors.

Blogs are great for building links from other websites because bloggers tend to link to other blogs, and interesting, helpful articles will be shared by your readers via links, e-mail, and social media. If your business has a simple website with only a few pages about your company, your services, and your staff, it’s unlikely that a lot of other websites and blogs will be linking to you because there is just not that much that will be of interest to their visitors. Having a blog drastically increases the amount of content on your site, which means more opportunities for inbound links.

An increase in content and inbound links will likely lead to an increase in search engine traffic. From my own experience with my sites and those of my clients, I have found blogs to be an incredible opportunity for increasing search engine traffic.

Probably even more important than the links or increased traffic, blogging gives you the opportunity to connect with your visitors and customers in a way that is not possible with just a static website. The personal nature of blogging is great for helping others to see what you have to offer, but also for building trust, which is critical for gaining authority.

Yes, there are some downsides to blogging. Maintaining a blog that is updated regularly will take some time and the results will not usually come right away, but if you can put in the effort and be patient for the results, I think you will see that it is well worth the effort.

2. Know Your Audience

Blogging to build your authority is more than just posting personal information, or the same content that can be found at many other blogs. In order to work your way into being an authority in your industry, you will need to first have a very clear idea of your target audience and what they need from you. Find ways to use your blog to give them information and resources that will be helpful to them and you will prove to be a valuable resource.

3. Go Above and Beyond

Becoming an authority website is not easy. Only a small percentage of sites in any given industry will ever achieve a status and reputation that could be considered authority, and naturally those will be the sites that go above and beyond the others in the industry to become the most valuable resources for visitors. If your goal is to establish a high level of authority, then take a look at the other websites and blogs in your field and see what they are doing. Think about what you can do to make your website stand out as unique and more valuable. If you are doing the same things and publishing similar content as all the other sites, it will be difficult to ever separate yourself from the pack.

4. Publish Content Consistently

If you’re blogging on your site, then it is important that you make an effort to publish posts on a consistent basis. This doesn’t mean that you need to publish something every day or that you have to publish on specific days of the week, but always be working on new content and avoid going long periods of time with no posts. Posting consistently will help to build momentum and to keep your subscribers and readers coming back. Building authority is much more difficult with sporadic and infrequent posting.

In my own work, I have found that it helps to set up a posting schedule for each week. I plan posts a week in advance so that I know what needs to be done. This also makes it easier for me to work ahead. This approach can also work for businesses that have several different people writing for the blog. For example, if you have three people doing the writing, rather than everyone just posting whenever they have something done, assign a specific day each week or a particular date of the month to each author. Planning will help make sure that the blog is not abandoned for long periods of time.

If there is no one at your business who has the time to write blog posts on a consistent basis , another option is to hire freelance writers. You can post a job listing at the ProBlogger job board or any other site that showcases freelance writing opportunities. Writers can be hired for reasonable prices and your site can benefit from the content that is consistently added.

5. Network with Others in Your Niche

Those who run authority websites are typically very well-connected in their industries. Likewise, every successful blogger has a strong network of other bloggers. If you want to build your site’s authority, make an effort to be active in the online community of your industry. Get to know other bloggers and business owners and you are likely to make some valuable connections.

Being well connected can lead to positive recommendations, collaboration and joint venture opportunities, increased in-bound links, and generally a higher profile and increased recognition within your industry.

6. Build Links

I talked earlier about how blogs can help to build links, but the subject of link building is of critical importance for improving the authority of your site. Links drive traffic to your site, both in terms of click-throughs  and search traffic, and therefore it should be a major point of emphasis in your marketing efforts.

Building links is a subject that cannot be covered adequately in this post, but here some basic link building tactics that you can use for the purpose of improving authority.

Guest post at other blogs

Writing for other blogs is one of the most under-used marketing methods available. Most bloggers are always in need of good content and open to publishing articles from other bloggers. From your perspective, writing for other blogs will provide an excellent opportunity to get your name in front of a targeted audience and to get a link back to your website (most blogs include a brief author bio with a link on guest posts). While it will take some time to write the posts, the free exposure and link is more than worth the effort if you are choosing blogs in your industry that have a similar audience as yours.

If you are interested in guest posting but not sure where to start, first work on finding other blogs that cover similar topics as you and have a well established audience. Once you have some blogs in mind, put together some ideas for posts. Next, contact the blog owner through a contact form or via e-mail and simply ask if they are interested in receiving guest posts. I find it to be helpful to give them an idea or two for your post because it helps them to know if it would be a good fit. Also, provide a link to your own site or blog so they can get more familiar with you.

From my experience, you probably won’t see huge results in terms of visitors from any one guest post, but the cumulative effect of several quality guest posts on influential blogs in your industry can be great for your name recognition and reputation.

Market Your Blog with Social Media

One of the most common methods for link building is through the use of social media sites like Digg, Reddit, Delicious, and others. These sites can help you to get your content valuable exposure, which often leads to links from other bloggers who found you through the social media site. The effectiveness of link building through social media has died off a little bit in the last few years, but it still brings significant opportunity and should be a part of your overall marketing plan.

Social Media Marketing is another very big topic that can’t be covered in depth in this post, but to get started you should select a few social media sites (probably 2 – 4) that are a good fit for the content that you publish at your blog. Visit the various social media sites to get a feel for their audiences and what types of content they prefer. Also, don’t forget about niche social media sites which have smaller audiences but also have much more targeted traffic. Become an active user at your social media sites of choice rather than just submitting your own content and never voting for anything else. As you use the site regularly, you will learn more about the tendencies and you can start to craft blog content with the audience in mind.

As your content becomes popular at social media sites, users of those sites will see that other users have found your content to be valuable, and you will be able to establish some authority. Consistent success with social media can lead to a lot of traffic, links, exposure, and authority.

Focus on Quality Over Quantity

As bloggers publish new content and link to posts from other bloggers, they will link to the posts that are outstanding for one reason or another. Maybe it is an opinion piece that sheds new light on a topic. Maybe it is a tutorial that teaches something of interest to readers. Maybe it is a collection of resources that helps readers to find things that will make their lives easier. Whatever the case may be, this type of content cannot usually be written quickly. Make an effort to prioritize the quality of your blog’s content over the frequency of posts. If you have to make the choice between publishing one really good post per week or three average posts, go with one good post. Keeping exceptional content on the blog will allow you to be able to attract more links from other websites and blogs. This high level of quality in your content is needed in order to establish a high level of authority.

7. Get Around

Part of establishing an authority site is being in front of your target audience on a regular basis. Rather than focusing solely on the content of your blog, make an effort to be seen, and be active in other places within the industry.  This includes writing for other blogs, getting involved in the comments at other blogs, being an active member of social networks, using forums, or generally being involved wherever you may be able to interact with your target audience. All of these things can help to increase your exposure, and over time it will give you the opportunity to show that you have a lot to offer the industry.

8. Help Others Whenever Possible

Whether it be through your blog posts, comments on your blog, e-mail, Twitter, or any other method, any time you can help people you are working towards building more authority and respect. People remember those who have helped them in one way or another, and this is one way to prove that you are able to have a positive influence and that people should pay attention to you.

9. Be Different

Authority websites are not like every other website in their field. There is something unique about them that makes the site more valuable, more interesting, or more helpful to visitors. Make an effort to be different and offer something that others cannot.

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