The Key to Creating Authority Sites
by: Liane Bate
I have been having fun lately making a few changes here and there to my website. Change is good in the online world because it makes your site a dynamic one rather than giving your visitors the same, unchanging information that won't make them come back for more. It is more than just change that brings your visitors back to your site though – you also want to provide quality, useful content that gives the visitor something they can sink their teeth into – something of real value. That is what an authority site is – one that provides valuable, changing content in an easy-to-use, interactive way that will keep your visitors interested and anxious for the next updates.
There are websites out there that are just slapped up quickly to earn an extra buck – for example, Adsense sites that are nothing more than a one-page ad. The problem is that they provide no dynamic content and are not sites that other sites would want to link to. If you have sites wanting to link to yours, then you probably have some quality content that makes people and other authority sites want to link to your site, which in turn gives your site more authority.
One of the main features of an authority site is that while it will be focused on a specific niche, or market, it will also have a general domain, and many sub-domains on a variety of topics. For example, a site on how to make money online could have a general domain like "Making Money Online", and sub-domains within that such as "Advertising", "Marketing", "Website Promotion", "Website Design", "Prospecting", and so on. The reason this is a good way to setup your site is because it drives traffic to you general domain, as well as driving traffic to each sub-domain.
Next, you want to make sure your site is easy to use and makes the user experience and access as simplified and interactive as possible. One way to do this is by creating articles, posting them on your site, and creating a section for comments whereby visitors can interact with you, ask questions, and get more information if they want it. You can provide online assistance, a forum, update your blog at least weekly, and make your site easy to navigate between pages so visitors can quickly get from one point to another and back again. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is important in creating an authority site, but ease-of-use and interaction for visitors, and creating something that is pleasing for them that will make them return to your site should be of greater importance.
Last but not least, advertisements should not be the main focus of your website – your content should be. Of course we want some advertising on our sites, and many people use Adsense and make decent money from it. But the placement and even the design of your ads can make a huge difference in how many clicks those ads get. If your ads blend in with your site, in both color of text, and placement within the content, you can expect more clicks than if the ads stand out on their own, are in a different color then the rest of the text, and are placed off to the side where no one is interested in clicking because they know it's just an ad.
If you remember that an authority site is mainly about creating a positive user experience and good content within a specific niche by having sub-domains, writing good articles, blogs, making the site easy to navigate, and blending the ads in with the content, then you are on your way to owning an authority site that other authority sites will want to link to.
About The Author
Liane Bate owns a Plugin Profit Site web business, is a member of Success University, and the IAHBE.
Visit:
http://www.HonestMoneyMaking.com,
http://www.HonestMoneyMaking.com/pips.html, and
http://www.LBate1.successuniversity.com/slim.aspx
