As Web 2.0 becomes less of just a buzzword and more of a
reality, the types of sites webmasters need to publish will
increasingly become more important. In other words,
mini-sites are slowly dying and cookie-cutter article sites
are on the way out as well. Web surfers will become more
value-focused and web companies will become larger.
Over the next few years expect larger conglomerates to be
buying up profitable websites in their chosen markets.
Expect smaller sites to either be bought or driven out of
business. My intention is not to scare you, but this
outcome is inevitable.
Large businesses have always taken two approaches to their
desired markets. They either buy their competition or they
push them out of business. You want to be prepared when
this trend begins on the Internet.
Being a webmaster and online marketer, you should be
preparing for one of two scenarios. To position yourself
for a buyout to a larger company or to become the larger
company that dominates your chosen market.
Whichever route you choose is entirely up to you, but I
would suggest that it would be in your best interest to
begin focusing on authority sites. You can either start
building them or turning your current sites into them.
Whatever your approach may be, I assure you it will help
you sleep better at night.
What Is the Definition of an Authority Site?
A fairly comprehensible authority site definition was put
forward by Jason Dowdell of Global Promoter. Jason defined
it this way: …quot;Authority sites are sites that have
been linked to and referenced on other web sites covering
the same subject matter and they also will have hundreds if
not thousands of pages covering that subject matter and
nearly every facet of it….quot;
That definition is one man’s opinion, albeit a good one,
but let us go directly to the source. Many search engine
optimization and search engine marketing experts believe
Google has derived their primary algorithm from a document
titled, "Hilltop: A Search Engine based on Expert
Documents."
The PageRank formula as we know it today was derived from
this paper, and the authors, Bharat and Mihaila, define an
authority site in the text below:
"We believe a page is an authority on the query topic if
and only if some of the best experts on the query topic
point to it. Of course in practice some expert pages may be
experts on a broader or related topic. If so, only a subset
of the hyperlinks on the expert page may be relevant."
"In such cases the links being considered have to be
carefully chosen to ensure that their qualifying text
matches the query. By combining relevant out-links from
many experts on the query topic we can find the pages that
are most highly regarded by the community of pages related
to the query topic. This is the basis of the high relevance
that our algorithm delivers."
What we have reprinted above is the foundation of the
PageRank system and the determination for deciding which
sites will be authorities. I highly recommend you read and
re-read the full document until you understand every aspect
of it.
What Are the Components of an Authority Site?
Allow me to present you with a diagram at:
http://www.contentdesk.com/authoritymap that dissects your
typical authority site. As you can tell from the diagram, a
considerable number of components and systems must be in
place for the authority site to function profitably and
reap the benefits of the "Authority Site Formula."
The Authority Site Formula = Visitor Optimization (VO) +
Content Optimization (CO) * Creative Marketing (CM)
A simple question must be asked. What do 99.9% of authority
sites provide? In a sentence, an incredible amount of
original content and a superb visitor experience. The
search engines want you to succeed and they want you to
make money, but you have to play by their rules. In the
future, focus your efforts on visitor optimization and
content optimization instead of search engine optimization.
What Is the Anatomy of an Authority Site?
About.com is the definition and was the original authority
site. Their site has a generic domain name and hundreds of
subdomains on different topics.
Your authority site should take the same approach, but not
on such a general level. If you launch an authority site,
it should be geared towards a well-defined and large
market. After you launch the site and generate some
traffic, you should create subdomains that cover specific
areas inside that larger market.
For example, Diabetic-Resources.Com is not an active site;
but if it were, then a typical authority site setup would
be something like:
* http://supplies.diabetic-resoures.com *
http://diet.diabetic-resources.com *
http://insurance.diabetic-resources.com *
http://symptoms.diabetic-resources.com *
http://treatment.diabetic-resources.com
Using this approach, you are able to target your general
market while generating more targeted traffic pertaining to
related sub-markets.
As a rule of thumb, the index pages on your domains and
subdomains should be more focused on content, but the
article and commentary pages should be more focused on
advertising. Just do not ever lose sight of the most
important aspect of your site, which is visitor experience
otherwise known as visitor optimization.
What Does It Take to Create an Authority Site?
You want to create a site that generates thousands of
visitors a day mainly through the major search engines, and
would ultimately be the one-stop source for information in
that particular market.
Your site must employ three traits to become an authority
site. Let’s discuss all three necessary aspects:
Dynamic: You should have as many RSS feeds as you can
muster to incorporate throughout your site. Your visitors
need to be able to receive RSS feeds for any keyword,
category or archive as well as create their own. One feed
is no longer enough to satisfy your visitors.
Interactive: You should be engaging the minds of your
visitors at all times using surveys, commenting and
feedback. Make these features easy for your visitors and
your site will grow exponentially. Why? Because they feel
like you actually care about them. Interaction is a
powerful tool and creates a sense of community on your site.
Consistent: You should post to your blog often, and you
should always provide quality and original content. That
doesn’t mean you need to produce 800-word articles three
times a week. Your goal should be to become a news master.
You need to be an …quot;authority…quot; on the news
happening in your niche.
If you follow the steps and guidelines listed above, then
you will be on your way to being the owner of an authority
site.
To find out more about how you can develop an authority site, visit http://alan.authoritysiteprofits.com
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