Authority and SEO
A number of different factors in the analysis of a website reveal how and why a site ranks for a number of phrases. Site structure, internal and external links, how old the domain is, the amount of topical information on the subject, and the degree of authority the site has developed through momentum and search engine trust.
Trust builds trust. Trust is a powerful concept in terms of SEO. Trust builds authority and authority is an important factor enhancing search rankings. In terms of Search Engine Optimisation Authority means different things to different people. That said all interpretations of authority can be considered positive and have positive influences on search engine ranking.
A difficult concept to define Authority can mean any or all of the following:
- Authority is seen as a measure of the quality of a particular site, established through blend of size, age, importance and relevance. A link from an authority site can carry significant weight.
- A site that is regarded by search engines to be authoritative in it's chosen field of subject matter. Industry leaders, world-class education establishments and leading experts in particular fields seem to carry most authority. Dot org, dot ed and dot ac.uk sites for example.
- Websites that are hubs and authorities in the Internet community can be regarded as Authority sites.
- Many in the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) community regard Authority sites as those that dominate search results for a specific search word or phrase.
Whatever the absolute definition of Authority sites it's true to say that they are popular, receive links based on merit and/or are referred to as sites worthy of links and reference from other supportive Authority sites.
Benefits of Authority Sites
Authority Sites enjoy preferential spidering and indexing visits from search engines, meaning fresh content and amends can quickly the site score, consolidating and even enhancing authority
Rapid and Repeated Spidering means it can be easier to rank for keyword modifiers (which allow your pages to be found under a variety of additional searches) or additional keywords. Targeted copy can be deployed to gain even more tactical exposure proving a powerful and successful long-term SEO strategy.
Keywords and phrases that may have taken months to populate the search engines from sites that lack authority can be rapidly spidered and generate high listings extremely quickly.
Authority sites get linked to often from other authority sites. Good content gets noticed and is linked to. In this sense a link from an Authority site can almost be regarded as a form of celebrity referral, credible celebrity referrals are better, authoritative credible celebrity are best. They are A list links. They infer kudos and quality on the recipient site. Search engines scour the Internet for sites of kudos and quality and are more than happy to elevate these sites to the top of the search rankings.
Achieving Authority
Page Rank is not an essential prerequisite to be considered an authority in search engines. It is about achieving successful blend various on-page and Off Page Optimization and fresh, useful, popular content that help.
Other contributory factors include Domain Age - Typically Authority is closely related with domain age, in fact a website's age is one of the major factors used to rank it in the search engines.
The range quality and range of the content - Search engine traction is notably enhanced through content theming, for example by using a blog with keyword rich category names and evolving a solid base of content.Authority needs to be leaveraged through contextual keyword analysis and inclusion. Content for contents sake is pointless. Poorly written copy stuffed with keywords, dull and difficult to read not screams spamdexing but reflects your organisation in a poor light. Material must be developed and deployed that is link-worthy. Content needs to possess genuine worth. Developing an authority site is all about having influential friends in high search engine places. Other sites of quality want to enhance their reputations by being associated with quality. Deliver the quality that other Authority sites want and at least you have a chance of sharing some of their reputation by association and enhancing your own.
Knowing what content to add and when to add it, how to catch a wave and to create popular copy is key. Predicting fads, trends, and contextually powerful keywords then integrating them into interesting and informative content and pages to reflect these terms is a potent part of SEO strategy. Deploying high quality, relevant and popular content on a daily level will soon elevate your site above the competition reating a critical mass of Authority that in many ways becomes self fulfilling as other increasingly authoritative sites aspire to link in.
Other Authority development practices include using Social Media to develop links. High-ranking social media sites such as Digg, Stumble Upon, Deli.cio.uk and other social media sites and communities provide authority links to pages instantly. The more "strong links" your pages receive the higher your content can rank independently. Such links can produce relevant traffic as well as authority. A top 10 ranking can be created with the mention of only one keyword by an authority site.
Directory Submissions, relevant business blogs and articles are also proven ways to generate quality inbound links if you want to maximize your website placement in Google and other leading search engines naturally. As useful as internal links are the most important part of website optimisation happens off the page and finding the right balance for deep links (links leading to other pages other than your home page) and what the anchor text should be (the text in the link) is critical in developing long term link weight for site pages. Propagating content and links through a variety of channels we apply dedicated tools and technology that distributes press releases, hosts high resolution images as well as permanent redirects for URLs. Podcasts, RSS feeds and other devices are employed encouraging Authority sites to link through.
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