Authority website advice need

14 replies
I am planning to build an authority website on dog health issues. I wish to know which theme is best to use and the best structure for an authority site. What topics can we include? Do you suggest collecting emails through a squeeze page and building a list and also start a small newsletter or something on the topic? What monetization options can we use. This will be a long term project for me, may be 2-3 years. How often do we need to update content. Sorry lots of questions.
#advice #authority #website
  • Profile picture of the author peewhy
    Look at Theme Rabbit (Google it) it's easy to customise and make your own, very flexible and cheap.

    Avoid buying cheap PLR unless you are using the material for inspiration and prepared to re-write, update and improve.

    Try not to monetize too much with everything that promises to pay. Find one like Amazon and invest in your own eBooks but don't oversaturate.

    I hope this helps
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    • Profile picture of the author Zarathushtra
      Everything depends on your budget. Once you decide this, you can start making a real project.

      If I were you, I would use Wordpress to build a website. If you don't want to create a generic site with free theme, there are hundreds of companies ready to design a custom theme. Prices here may be different from company to company.

      Secondly, you need content. Top level content of course. Write it yourself if you can, or outsource it. Fifteen articles are fine, just for the beginning. Then you have to add content (at least) once a week, so that your site is steadily kept updated.

      You need to do a lot of SEO, and to rank for long tail keywords (dog niche is quite competitive).
      e.g. dog health issues niche
      A good scheme to follow could be
      "dog - name of the disease - remedies/treatments/and so forth".

      To monetize your site, you could promote products related to dog's health. Do some researches through Amazon, or Clickbank marketplace. Promote them through banners, or reviews.
      You can also use AdSense, if you wish.
      Newsletter is option, but I highly recommend it. Add an optin on the menu, or create a popover. Create an autoresponder series and provide subscribers with useful informations. Then insert some hardsell mails.

      Just my 2 cents.

      Attilio.
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      • Profile picture of the author androcon
        Great post, had done about half of it and the other half was very useful thanks.
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      • Profile picture of the author androcon
        Sorry, above was meant for Zarathushtra. Plenty of other great ideas on here too, though. As a complete new-comer to all this, has given me plenty to go investigate. Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ross Petal
    I would strongly recommend a course on building Authority websites. It would be a good investment. There are some excellent warriors in here who have courses on the subject. Just do an advanced search on 'Authority sites'.

    The problem is that if you get something wrong with your Authority site like the wrong plugins, using plr articles instead of unique content, you would have wasted a lot of time and money.

    So my advice is learn from the best people on the subject then apply those teachings and keep learning as change is inevitable like the Google updates. plugins etc
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  • Profile picture of the author BIG Mike
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    • Profile picture of the author Lucian Lada
      Originally Posted by BIG Mike View Post

      As far as the site itself goes, I think I'd invest in a custom theme, or more practically, a custom site rather than using WordPress. I say this only because I suspect in the not so distant future, using WP for business may become a liability.

      I don't understand why. Is it because it becomes increasingly popular, and the trust levels go down when visitors see another WP theme? - I've just heard this theory, but I don't buy it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Henri Lind
    I suggest outsourcing the web design. Then add content weekly, or even more often. Adsense or some related products on sidebar would be great. And collecting emails on every page, top right corner maybe?
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  • Profile picture of the author Lucian Lada
    I now see your point, thank you. However, if one's not dependent on G for its traffic, and if they make some tweaks, it could work out OK. I edited the theme by cutting out the publication date of the posts, the author of the posts, and also the "Article filled under: Category" field, so now it looks more like a static website rather than a blog.

    And the footer as well. So no more visible WordPress clues on my blog...

    Just sayin'... :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author seoace
    Follow me on my LIVE case study on building both MNS & Authority sites from scratch.
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    Let your clients monitor their SEO campaigns (Rankings, Backlinks and Work Done)
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  • Profile picture of the author curtisrk34
    YES! Build that list. Its your most important asset besides the website itself. I would make the top part of your site into a mini squeeze page. That way, anyone who comes to your site will have the option to optin.

    Content is king. So the more fresh new content you can create the better. Use sites like iwriter and fiverr to help with content creation.
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  • Profile picture of the author nasuryono
    Do your research. Google "Best wordpress theme for dog site" to find a theme that suits your needs.

    Also, you need to talk to people (your customers) regarding what they would want to know from your expertise.

    Don't skip the market research step by asking many questions relating to your niche in this forum. Ask your customer directly!
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  • Profile picture of the author tylercartys
    I suggest using GoDaddy auctions ($5 a year membership) to locate an aged domain related to "dog health". If you purchase a new domain do not expect to see any substantial rankings for at least 6-9 months! I prefer WordPress because the sites are really easy to structure and optimize. The template that you choose will not effect your rankings, but I do suggest purchasing a newer template because of the modern functionality that the newer themes offer. I dont advise using a squeeze page for the main page. You can collect email addresses by offering a free eBook on your home page or something along those lines to get people to sign up to your newsletter. Once the site is built up I would create a blog on it and write 3-5 new blog articles a week to blast to your dog health Facebook page. Essentially, a Facebook page can also be used to build up a following, just like you would with traditional list building. To build some authority I would syndicate articles to build backlinks to your blog posts. Then, with each subsequent article syndication I would build links to the other articles that you have syndicated before. The goal is to build a gigantic web of pertinent articles and links that interconnect. Size is everything, but other variables have to be considered, such as the domain authority that the articles are syndicated to, the uniqueness of the articles and thousands of other algorithmic variables have to be considered.
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  • Profile picture of the author fedor50
    Originally Posted by macmani View Post

    I am planning to build an authority website on dog health issues. I wish to know which theme is best to use and the best structure for an authority site. What topics can we include? Do you suggest collecting emails through a squeeze page and building a list and also start a small newsletter or something on the topic? What monetization options can we use. This will be a long term project for me, may be 2-3 years. How often do we need to update content. Sorry lots of questions.
    You should definitely begin building a list as soon as possible. You should update your site with content at least twice a week in the beginning being that you're just starting out and it's an authority blog
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