Micro Niche Sites Vs. Authority Sites... what's better?

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...iche-site.html

http://www.warriorforum.com/search-e...che-sites.html

To answer your question, micro niche sites can be authority sites as well but for the sake of argument, I'll choose authority.

I have often wondered what the difference is between the two. Does quantity outweigh quality? Just because a site has 600 pages is it automatically an authority?

I like to think my sites although on specific topics are also quality and have authority. So perhaps the answer is the best site has original content meaning words, pics, images etc that is good to read. Or is that too idealistic?

I'm going to go with Authority Sites - simply because of the gradual progress search engines have made that make the work of ranking niche sites more and more difficult.

Spending all your time on a single site - backlinks to a single site - writing articles for a single site - much easier in my opinion.

On the other hand, you'd better be right... The Parento Principle would suggest that the niche site builder has a greater chance to hit a homerun.

But, as several others have already pointed out, the difference is narrowing between the two... your Authority Site could, for example, be set up in a silo format with 'niche' sites being simply a part of your overall website.

I think that the real difference between the two is more a matter of mindset... are you jumping from one niche to another ... building websites as you go? Or are you spending all your time on a single site, which will get bigger and bigger as times goes on?

I've build niche sites in the past, but now I'm spending all my time on just a single site.

Personally, I think that micro niche sites can be very profitable in the long run, because you can cough out so many of them and also use pre-made templates to speed up the process.

Authority sites are better for longevity and branding yourself, and are good game plan if you don't like the grunt work of making 5-10 sites each month trying to turn profit.

With beginners, you should use micro niche, with less competitors, you can reach the goal faster.
After that, you can develop this site to authority site. So you must choose the domain name suit for authority site.

Robert X,

There is no valid comparison between the two because they are totally different animals. They serve different purposes.

What's better, a fork or a spoon?

Both can make money. Both have a place in the market.

Typically, those who choose to focus on micro niche sites subscribe to the philosophy that many small streams of income is a way to diversify your profit and protect your monthly revenue in case one or more sites stop earning. So they create lots of very focused sites but don't typically care to put a lot of continuing effort into each one.

A contrasting philosophy is to put all your effort into one site and make it a powerhouse that draws monthly income from multiple products and services in one specific niche. It has the power and credentials to become a portal or hub for enthusiasts in the niche.

Folks here at the WForum may have a personal preference in one model or the other, but there is no "one is better than the other" answer.

Good luck with whichever you choose.

Steve

I personally prefer micro niche sites.
It doesn't need much efforts.
However the main purpose of sites are to make money from it
whichever of them (authority or micro niche) makes you money is better.

it depends on your goals and what your niche is. Authority is good if you are looking to brand yourself as a leader in your niche.

I just had a similar discussion with one of my list subscribers today about niche site versus authority site.

I explained to her that a niche site can ALSO be an authority site. An authority site in it's niche.

Anyway I think I understand what you are asking and I prefer sites that are not too limited these days, i.e. no sites based around reviewing 1 product, as these small sites have limited scope and are tough to expand and often far too reliant on SEO traffic.

A site that covers a wider range of topics (but not too wide) has more potential, more income streams, more traffic sources, a bigger audience IME.

I don't agree with your point about Google but I do agree that page size or volume of content isn't what determines an authority site.

Google doesn't decide anything.

Just because a site isn't ranking at the top of Google doesn't mean it's not an authority site.

Some people mistakenly think any site with "more than 15 pages" however instantly makes it an authority when of course it does not.

Great Discussion ...

I agree that authority site is by far a better than micro sites but I will opt for micro sites. For me TIME is MONEY. In order to make an authority site you need time. You can not start stuffing multiple articles on a website in a day and think that it will rank faster.
In the micro niche sites you can do SEO in parallel and add quality stuff to different sites.
I think at the end of the day, it takes the same time to rank a single site and a multiple sites

Search engines do NOT decide that. Your audience and those in the wider niche decide if your site is an authority site or not.

I think authority sites are the way to go but I would like to learn more about how to use micro-niche sites to boost juice to an authority site.

Will you get penalized for linking to and from your micro-niche sites?

Authority sites for me if you've the money and patience. That's because Google is changing algorithms like anything and you never know when your site would get attacked by one of those fierce animals (I mean the cute Panda or penguin or hummingbird or ...anteater ). But, authority sites are risk free IMHO.

I have both. The micro niche sites are for short term money and the authority sites are more of a long term investment that I hope will feed me in my old age days. But, micro site have become risky nowadays and ranking/earnings are always changing vastly.