Building a future proof Authority Site

19 replies
Hey All

After most of my sites got hit, I am thinking maybe the smallish niche sites are not the way to go especially no with EMDs or close EMDs

Many people are talking about building quality authority sites and have only a 1-2 that you really enjoy and proud of.

This would be the route that I would like to follow, however it might mean different things to different people what quality is and what they deem authority.

I would welcome anybody to join in this discussion to tell us what quality and authority means to you and what you personally would like to see on such sites.

My thinking so far:

  • Choose a subject (I am not going to call that niche although it is) big enough so your options for writing content is not limited.
  • Choose a brandable domain, sweet and short. I kinda like the idea that your domain gives a bit of clue what your sites is about. example: bicyclemad.com for bicycle maniacs.
  • Write about various topics that your audience would be interested in. info articles, news articles, video content, product reviews etc
  • Make sure content is well researched and engaging. I am not even mentioning good grammar here.
  • Promote the sites everywhere possible for traffic, not for backlinks
  • Consider paid traffic as well to spread the word.
  • Consider adding a forum to it too.
  • Avoid building spammy backlinks, or any backlinks
  • Etc......
So what else would YOU do?
#authority #building #future #proof #site
  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    You forgot a biggie...

    BE different.

    If everyone else in your chosen niche is worrying about the "best bicycle theme" for example, you choose an clean, simple and functional theme and let your in-post images do the graphic heavy lifting.

    If everyone else is plugging the same handful of Clickbank products, find something different to offer.

    I could go on, but you're obviously bright enough to see my point...
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    • Profile picture of the author valvarga
      Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

      You forgot a biggie...

      BE different.

      If everyone else in your chosen niche is worrying about the "best bicycle theme" for example, you choose an clean, simple and functional theme and let your in-post images do the graphic heavy lifting.

      If everyone else is plugging the same handful of Clickbank products, find something different to offer.

      I could go on, but you're obviously bright enough to see my point...
      I totally agree John being different in a positive way should really help differentiate yourself from all the other websites targeting similar subject. By being different and maybe give more, hopefully over time people will recognize the site as a true authority.
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      • Profile picture of the author fin
        Just start a site in an evergreen topic and add a blog post every week until you die.

        Sort out the rest as you go along.
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    • Profile picture of the author Caylie
      Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

      You forgot a biggie...

      BE different.

      If everyone else in your chosen niche is worrying about the "best bicycle theme" for example, you choose an clean, simple and functional theme and let your in-post images do the graphic heavy lifting.

      If everyone else is plugging the same handful of Clickbank products, find something different to offer.

      I could go on, but you're obviously bright enough to see my point...
      This. It's so incredibly important. Stand out, don't be afraid to be different but understand that doesn't alway mean 'controversial' - just different. Create a character if you aren't an outgoing social person because with most authority sites - the authority is what drives people to return. It's you and your message/content, and they can't survive independently.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ten
    I would keep it white-hat and try to post lots of quality content, and then also share it all on social media.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve L
    Yea, small niches are hard because Google wants constantly updated content, and it's easier to find great topics to blog about in a larger niche, on a regular basis.
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  • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
    You said make a brandable domain and then the first thing you did was put a keyword in it. It's tough to snap out of the mentality.

    Secondly, this idea of 'not building backlinks.' Where will your links come from? You better have a very strategic plan if you aren't going to engage in backlink building.
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    • Profile picture of the author ajbarnes777
      The thought process I have is very simple: Focus on the people visiting my site and reading content... that's it. If they're satisfied, then everything else pretty much falls right into place.
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      • Profile picture of the author Steve L
        Originally Posted by ajbarnes777 View Post

        The thought process I have is very simple: Focus on the people visiting my site and reading content... that's it. If they're satisfied, then everything else pretty much falls right into place.
        It really is this simple IMHO. The only thing to add to this is to make it easy for your visitors to share your content.
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      • Profile picture of the author valvarga
        Originally Posted by ajbarnes777 View Post

        The thought process I have is very simple: Focus on the people visiting my site and reading content... that's it. If they're satisfied, then everything else pretty much falls right into place.

        Great advice and it surely sound simple enough for anyone just starting out. As long as we have our visitors in mind and we try to give them as much as they want in terms of content, then the rest should form itself over time. Thanks again.
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    • Profile picture of the author valvarga
      Originally Posted by PerformanceMan View Post

      You said make a brandable domain and then the first thing you did was put a keyword in it. It's tough to snap out of the mentality.

      Secondly, this idea of 'not building backlinks.' Where will your links come from? You better have a very strategic plan if you aren't going to engage in backlink building.
      In the UK there is a huge retail chain called Argos. If i did not know what it is, just based on the name I would not have a clue.

      There is also a huge computer retailer. PC world. Now I dont have to know much about this as the name suggest what they do.

      That is why for me it sound more appealing if the domain tells a little bit about the site. Maybe I am wrong but it just sound better to my ears. Not talking about trying to squeeze a kw into the domain at all cost by the way here.

      Yeah I can see your point about backlinks. Maybe over time, people will link back to me because of the awesome content? Or at least that is what G would like to see I believe.
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  • Profile picture of the author pweb10
    Banned
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    • Profile picture of the author valvarga
      Originally Posted by pweb10 View Post

      To advise the solution follow this post warriorforum.com/newreply.php?do=postreply&t=692787
      this doesn't return anything for me, but thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author Abul-Hussain
    It goes back to really the age old adage of NOT being the jack of all trades and master of none.

    When you focus on one niche, you can build a huge brand around it over the years. It's a lot more work building a large following working in multiple niches.

    When you develop 'guru' status in a niche, you can practically command any prices. It's difficult to charge the $$,$$$ prices when focusing in multiple niches.

    When you become a guru in certain niches, you can often create authority websites in others.

    Let's take a case in point.

    David DeAngelo [real name Eban Pagan] built a huge following just in the dating advice niche. His frontend ebook was doing $20+ million a year at one point. He created and nurtured a community that viewed him as a demigod.

    To make his millions, Eban had to learn about Internet Marketing. So what did Eban do next? He started teaching people how he used the power of the Internet to market his products.

    Practically overnight he was able to move in as a heavy-hitter in the IM niche.

    So what would I do to build an authority website [which is what I'm doing at the moment].

    I'd create CONTENT that people want and DISTRIBUTE it using the appropriate channels. That's all it comes down to. Create the content your markets want and find out how they like to digest the content.

    Talking about blogs, videos, etc. is superficial, if that is not what your market wants.

    My 2 cents.

    Abul

    P.S. I'm in London Val, what about you?
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    • Profile picture of the author valvarga
      Great advice Abul and also very simple. Focusing on what the target audience want and than giving it to them is very important. And doing it long enough to see results.

      Yes I am in London too.
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  • Profile picture of the author pdrs
    It's simple - DON'T RELY ON GOOGLE FOR YOUR TRAFFIC - if you think just making a bigger site is going to save you you're just setting yourself up for more disappointment down the road.

    One of my authority sites is built around FB/Twitter/Youtube traffic, we do interviews with some of the best in my profession, as well as offer personal insights and tips via video and posts and we've never built a link or done anything other than above board. 100+ posts etc... etc...

    I also had some nice long-tail rankings from Google, EMD update came around and boom they knocked everyone of them out of the running, sure we lost some traffic, but the bulk of it is still there because we're shared, we have good referals, we have our facebook/youtube/twitter followers, and we're the real deal. Just because you're building an "authority" site doesn't mean a damn thing - Google is constantly changing/updating and if you're trying to chase that dream you are in for a lot of disappointment.
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    RemoteControlHelicopterReviews.(com/net) - Up for sale! No reasonable offer refused. Great branding for a super hot niche!
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    • Profile picture of the author valvarga
      Originally Posted by pdrs View Post

      It's simple - DON'T RELY ON GOOGLE FOR YOUR TRAFFIC - if you think just making a bigger site is going to save you you're just setting yourself up for more disappointment down the road.

      One of my authority sites is built around FB/Twitter/Youtube traffic, we do interviews with some of the best in my profession, as well as offer personal insights and tips via video and posts and we've never built a link or done anything other than above board. 100+ posts etc... etc...

      I also had some nice long-tail rankings from Google, EMD update came around and boom they knocked everyone of them out of the running, sure we lost some traffic, but the bulk of it is still there because we're shared, we have good referals, we have our facebook/youtube/twitter followers, and we're the real deal. Just because you're building an "authority" site doesn't mean a damn thing - Google is constantly changing/updating and if you're trying to chase that dream you are in for a lot of disappointment.
      Sorry to hear that. I know exactly where you are coming from and in order to avoid being slapped by G again I think it is essential that you get traffic from as many different sources as you can. And yes that includes paid traffic. At least till the word gets out.
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  • Profile picture of the author KaplanT4
    "Consider paid traffic as well to spread the word."

    Rather than considering it I'd say do it. Penetrate every single site in your chosen topic, buy media wherever you can and drill down further and further. It's one of the quickest way to get targeted bucketloads of traffic.

    Research every single site that you can in your market. What are they doing, what sort of content attracts the most people, which ones don't perform well, what do the best ones "look" like, any commonalities between the top sites in the chosen market etc.

    Gather all the data you can, more than you need. From there chip down. Think of a sculptor. They start with a big slab of stone, then chip away. It's what you want to do with all the initial research until you have the "essence" of the data, and from there formulate how you would go about it. For example, if I'm going to enter the gardening market, and want to get my advert in a magazine, I'd gather all the magazines I can on the topic and observe all the ads. I'd get years of back issues, and analyse the ads. What stayed, what didn't, the trends of the ads, the common messages that worked and so on, then chip down from there and cut away all the fat and get my core message that I want to put in front of the market. Yes, it's a work laden task, but it's what most people don't do which is why most people get average results.

    Remember that just pure information will bore people. Most people that stick around as long term readers "read the writer", not what's written.

    There are ways to give your site (or you more importantly) instant credibility. One way is to have your own radio show, or just a recording or two. Extremely simple, and something a lot of people don't do.

    Just look and you'll find many ways.
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  • Profile picture of the author Abul-Hussain
    People always over-complicate things in my opinion.

    All you need to do is find your market and nurture it - your market could be a group of Youtube users, Facebook users, Niche Forum users, etc.

    It's a general truth that people on Youtube would prefer valuable content in Video form, rather than to read it off a blog.

    The trick is to figure out what distribution channels are aligned with your niche market and to target them. Not rocket science!

    Abul
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  • Profile picture of the author AprilCT
    Guest Blog and share on social media, get people to join your list so you can email them, etc. Use all white hat tactics to become well known enough so that you are not utterly dependent on search engines.
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