Authority Sites On The Rise

By Nelson Tan (c) 2009

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: "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."

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
(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-resources.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 3 traits to become an authority site.
Let's discuss all 3 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 3 times a week. Your goal
should be to become a news master. You need to be an "authority"
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.

Article printed from SiteProNews: http://www.sitepronews.com