There are many ways to build a successful On-line business. Mini-sites that target a very limited amount of keywords can still be a viable strategy. But the current evolution of Google indicates that authority websites are the better alternative for the future.
We’ve all heard the cliche that Google ranks “pages” not “domains.” This old one liner is still true and can be good advice. But the difference is that domain level authority is starting to have a much more significant impact on the success of individual pages. So although pages are being ranked, the authority of your domain will play a large role on EACH pages ranking.
What is an Authority Site and Where Do I Start?
The common misconception is that the size of a website is the main factor in determining authority. Although size does matter, there are a number of more important facets to building an authority site.
1. Quality of Content
– A visitor should receive “exactly” what they’re looking for. Not all authority sites are alike. Some are designed to provide detailed information, while others are built to amuse a visitor for a sustained period of time. The important thing is that visitors DO NOT immediately hit the “back” button after reaching your site.
2. Integration of LSI Keywords
– The term “LSI Keyword” is a real dorky way of saying that the content on your site is all closely related to a particular topic.
For example, if your website is on “dog training,” then you’re content should all revolve around that root topic. Possible keywords include:
- How to train your dog
- dog training guide
- dog training leashes
- How to Discipline a Young Puppy
LSI keywords tell Google that your website has ample information on your niche. If you’re website isn’t focussed to a particular topic, then Google won’t reward it for an particular niche.
For example, if your dog training site also talks about “making money online” or “how to find a girlfriend” then Google is not going to give it credit for being an authority on dog training. This just makes sense. Why would you talk to a relationship advisor about how to train your dog???? You wouldn’t. So keep your content all on topic.
3. Rational Content Structure (ie. Good Use of Categories and Internal Linking)
– Authority sites do a good job of categorizing content in a user friendly structure. This keeps visitors on your site and also leads to excellent on-site SEO. You want link juice to enter your site and bounce all the link juice internally throughout your website.
Wikipedia is a prime example of internal link building that works. Wikipedia doesn’t need any external for thousands of page 1 rankings, simply because of the internal linking structure they’ve developed.
—-> What I Recommend <——
Grouping all your pages of content into separate categories and then using link juice to power the traffic and authority throughout your website.
Link juice flows through my site as follows.
- Home page —–> links to Category Pages
- Category Pages ——-> Links to Internal Posts
- Internal Posts ——–> Links to Category Pages/ Other Internal Posts
This strategy works incredibly well.
For example, If I create or naturally attract a few High PageRank links to my website, I will receive value throughout my entire site. A Pr 4 link that hits my Home Page will send link juice to my Categories. The Categories will then send Link juice to my internal pages. And finally, my internal pages will all send link juice back up the ladder.
As a result, each link provides exponentially more power to an authority site, then it would to a one page mini-site.
A mini-site receives a backlink to a page and that’s it. The link juice is transferred and the process is complete. An authority site will take that link and pour value to MANY pages on your site.
Here’s My STEP-BY-STEP Process For Creating a Large Content-Driven Authority Site
1. Keyword Research
– This is the most important step in the process. I will research thousands of niche related keywords until I find at LEAST 100 article topics to publish on my site.
How the Heck Do I find that Many Viable Article Topics???
Take a look at my Keyword Research Tutorial <— There’s no need to purchase any fancy tools or gadgets. I use the Google Adwords Keyword Tool Exclusively, and can generate a list of 30,000+ keywords in about 10-15 minutes worth of time.
The key is to take a large list of data, and sift through to find the golden nugget keywords to publish on your site.
2. Using LSI Keyword on Category Pages
After you’ve successfully found a decent number of article topics, it’s time to logically divide them into separate categories. I’ll do this by going through my list of keywords and simply create a new category when appropriate.
By the end of this step, I will have successfully themed all of my pages into appropriate groupings. The LSI keyword category will also benefit my site’s SEO and will be more user intuitive for incoming visitors.
3. Creating a SILO Structure
This step is relatively easy. Home —-> Categories —–> Posts ——> Home/Categories.
I also Use the YARP Plugin to create a related posts resource for each of my articles. This continues to pass on link juice and also provides additional relevance for the search engines.
4. Using High Page Rank Links to Supercharge My Entire Website
If you followed step 3 properly, then a high quality backlink will provide a ton of value to your authority site. A PR 4 backlink to your home page can have a tremendous impact on your category and internal pages as well. Instead of trying to rank one page, you can effectively start ranking dozens of pages all at once.
Sending high page rank links to your site will start bringing in a heap search engine traffic to all corners of your website.
Think about the power of a hundred web pages that are all ranked on the first page of google. That’s the power of an authority site. Instead of ranking a page at a time, you are going for the whole shebang all at once.
Your Thoughts
The “authority site” strategy is something that I’ll continue to pursue further in the future. Google has been on a rampage in the last couple years, the thin affiliate site is becoming obsolete. Even mini-sites need a little revamping to remain in the game.
I’d like to hear your thoughts, expectations or experience with creating an authority site. Do you consider it more viable than a micro niche? Let me know in the comments below!
