What does website “Authority” mean?
It means exactly what it sounds like, with a bit of explanation. If your website has authority, that means that you are known as an expert in your field among clients and peers alike. And what does that do? Lots! For one thing, it creates a snowball effect on your visibility. The more authority you are perceived to have, the more often your website will be cited and mentioned.
Google has a lot of respect for sites with authority. In fact, websites with authority are graded by SEO experts – DA10, DA50 etc. The higher the DA (Domain Authority), the more coveted a link back from that website will be.
The key to authority in any given niche is mastering the topic. That means putting in the time, effort, and hard work it takes to learn everything you can about your niche. It also means focusing on writing content that people care about and want to read. There are many factors that can lead to an individual or company having authority in a given niche. Let’s look at some “low hanging fruit” that you can do easily to start building your website authority.
Know Your Niche
The first step to building authority is to focus on one very specific topic area (niche) and making sure that you know everything you can about it. The next step would be to expand your knowledge about the potential audience for this topic, looking at other people’s opinions, and researching what keywords they rank for.
Write E-Books
Writing an Ebook is easy and fun if you are knowledgeable enough about your niche to establish your expertise. Writing the content is the first step – then you produce a document and make it available on your website and social media accounts. You will want to ask website visitors to exchange the fabulous information you’re providing for their name and email address…which leads into the next way to establish authority…
Build an E-Mail list
Maintaining a following, nurturing the growth of your list and taking good care of those who sign up with you will help to establish you as a professional in your field. Consistent emailing of insightful information will not drive followers away; in fact it will keep them reading your messages and coming to your website.
Start a Blog
You might be thinking there’s a lot to do here. In a way, yes, but since you will be working in the field that you love and helping people at the same time, it won’t seem laborious. Don’t forget to repurpose content so you’re not inventing the wheel every time you sit down to write a blog post. Use content from your e-book, from comments from visitors, from emails you receive and comments in social media as fodder for blog topics.
Guest Posting & Commenting
Being visible on other blogs (especially high domain authority ones) is one of the most important ways to gain authority yourself. Hanging out on topical forums and commenting with helpful information will also do wonders to build your authority.
Host Webinars & Seminars
Informational webinars and seminars that deliver good value are powerful authority builders. First of all, you are reaching a group of people at the same time. Secondly, those folks will tell their friends about you and invite them to your next event.
Start a Podcast
If you’re not much of a writer and find the idea of hosting a webinar a bit daunting, another way to establish authority is to start a podcast. Pick specific topics within your niche to focus on. You only need to talk for a few minutes as long as you’re delivering value. Podcasts also give you the opportunity to take a break from hosting and interview a colleague, or someone in a complementary niche.
Provide real value and what matters
It is all about providing real value in your niche. Once you do that, you can create content and distribute it to your audience.
When you provide real value, you will start to gain authority in your niche. Stop thinking about what to write about: start writing about what matters to your audience.
Real value input for gaining authority is great for two reasons:
1. You will get more people reading your content
2. Your Google rankings will rise to new heights
The Bottom Line
It is not easy to build authority in your niche. It takes hard work and patience. So stay determined, keep practicing and expand your knowledge as much as possible.
Interested in learning more about SEO? Grab a copy of my “Ultimate SEO FAQ” here.