If you've been involved in Internet marketing the last year, then you have heard how authority sites are taking the place of spam sites for an online business model. The search engines are happy about that. They didn't like sending visitors to sites that were merely a few pages of scraped content and no real information. So what is an authority site, and why should you care? One definition says authority sites are "sites that have been linked to and referenced on other web sites covering the same subject matter." This definition also states that authority sites have hundreds or thousands of pages covering that subject. When you are looking for information on a certain subject, where do you go? You probably have a favorites folder filled with bookmarks for authority sites where you have found great information in the past. This is what you are aiming for when creating your own authority site. You have seen sites that are just put up to get you to click on an AdSense ad. These sites do not offer any deep thoughts about the topic. You probably clicked away from them seconds after you arrived. What an Authority Site Looks Like Visitors know when they have found an authority site because the site looks like an authority. It shows in how the content, what is written, and in what is included on the site. The site has pages and pages of quality, relevant content, and the author keeps the visitors current on what is happening in that field. Visitors will spend a great deal of time looking at the content, gathering information and finding answers to their questions. The site offers links to other sites that complement and add to the visitor's experience. For example, an authority site focused on cats could have a page filled with links that go to Web sites that each focus on a different cat breed. That benefits the visitor by providing links to sites that would give in-depth information about a certain breed of cat. Those outgoing links are not going to hurt the authority site. Rather, it will make the site look like more of an authority and which results in more traffic. Forming a Relationship with Your Visitors Becoming an authority site requires forming an ongoing relationship with your readers. Put your personality into what you write. Think of the reader, and not your keywords or how you are going to optimize the post for the search engines. Write focused posts on a certain topic, but write so that the post flows well. Write as if you were having a conversation with your visitors. Include your own personality into what you write so your visitors feel like they know you. At first you might not be an authority on the site's niche. You might only be familiar with it. But after a few months of writing content, researching the niche, and keeping current in new trends, you will become an authority. How to Create an Authority Site Find a niche that you know something about. It will be helpful to choose a niche that you know something about. Set up the blog and start posting to it. Sign up for RSS feeds and Google Alerts that are focused on your niche. There are many free resources available to educate you and keep you current in just about any niche. When your site is up put visitors first. Keep in mind that you are creating a site that answers questions, gives plenty of valuable information, is filled with good content, and is credible. Create a site that you can be proud of and that you would want to visit over and over again, and you will create an authority site.
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