Tips on How to Build Your Authority Site
Building a high ranking authority site is two-fold. Not only do you aim to make your domain rank well but you need to make sure that you also work on the individual pages of your website. This means that as you continue to add quality content to your site, in tandem with your SEO efforts, both your domain and page authority should be progressively increasing in both rank and authority.
There are a few things you need to make sure happens on your website as you slowly build your way up. Here are some tips on what you need to do:
Increase user time on site by:
- using strategically located video – video usually located in the middle of the post tend to make readers go through the whole post as opposed to one located at the top.
- placing related links in the middle of the content – notice how many of the mega websites have links to related articles sandwiched within the main post
- using scrolling galleries where the user does not have to leave the page – eg. Mashable
Post high quality content regularly. In Google’s eyes, high quality content = high quality site. What counts? Here are Google’s guidelines:
- Would you trust the information presented in this article?
- Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in nature?
- Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?
- Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?
- Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?
- Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?
- Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?
- Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
- How much quality control is done on content?
- Does the article describe both sides of a story?
- Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?
- Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
- Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
- For a health related query, would you trust information from this site?
- Would you recognize this site as an authoritative source when mentioned by name?
- Does this article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
- Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
- Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
- Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
- Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?
- Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?
- Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?
- Would users complain when they see pages from this site?
- (source: Google Webmaster Central)
Go social. Increase your website’s visibility by building and expanding your social network. Be creative in creating post/social network headlines and give people a reason to share your content. Target virality.
Try these tips and see how it works for you. We’d love to hear your stories on how these have helped. Do share.
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