What Are Authority Sites?

… are many of the sites you have bookmarked. They are trusted resources, regularly updated, and respected above most others in their niche by their visitors and peers.

They are high traffic, topical, unique content sites that provide information, products and services that their particular niche is searching for. Authority sites have a high percentage of regular visitors, not just one-time visitors. They build large lists of dedicated users and customers.

Authority sites by definition get much respect from search engines and from natural link partners. (Sites link to them without being asked and without asking for a link back.)

Authority sites are very active, dynamic places where information flows and visitors come back often to see what’s new.

Authority sites are profitable. Much more so than typical “content” sites thrown up to simply collect clicks on ads.

Authority sites monetize in diverse ways with products, services, affiliate links, and PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising such as Google and Yahoo offer. But PPC is not the sole focus or highlight of the typical authority site’s monetization profile. Authority sites follow the three tenets of success outlined in this manual to a tee:

Authority sites are extremely well researched before ever being built.

They are extremely well built for visitor experience and search engine optimization up to, but not including, anything that detracts from the user experience and monetization strategy.

They are marketed with professional, current strategies and care than the typical amateur website. Using all of the major tools available to Web 2.0 marketers, authority sites stretch into every corner of their niche so that no prospective target visitor can fail to notice and visit.

Although each authority site is unique, they all share certain essential components which set them apart from other sites:

• Content – the three ‘R’s - Relevant, Readable and Regularly updated content extending to hundreds and possibly thousands of pages on all aspects of the topic
  

• Authority “voice” – this is the place visitors come to find answers
  

• Visitor interaction – opt-in forms, comments, trackbacks, forums, surveys, print and share facility
  

• Ease of use through navigational clarity
  

• Professional look and feel which is consistent throughout the site
  

• Seamless integration of advertising and content
  

• Backlinks – vast range of in-bound links including high ranking sites
  

Every single one of these essential components is based on visitor optimization (VO), not search engine optimization (SEO). Authority sites exist to attract and retain the visitor. The great thing is that in optimizing for the visitor, authority sites deliver just what the search engines want.

It’s no longer a battle between the web publisher and the search engines or even a game of cat and mouse – the relationship between the authority site publisher and the search engines is a PARTNERSHIP.