Looking for a way to gain more website traffic, improve your search rankings, expand your customer base and increase sales? Building trust with consumers and becoming an authoritative voice in your industry can do just that. The best way to do this – focus on elevating your content authority.
Trust between a business and consumers is more important now than ever before. With so many options available to consumers these days, trust is a huge contributing factor when it comes to purchasing decisions.
In fact, 62% of consumers acknowledge that they are loyal to the brands that they trust.
Wondering how you can build authority and be seen as a trustworthy voice in your industry?
This article will discuss:
What is Content Authority?
The term content authority describes a source of information that is seen as reliable and trustworthy. Essentially, content authority is a badge of quality that signifies valuable information from a knowledgeable source.
Content authorities are trusted sources of information and are seen as experts in their field.
Content authority can’t be claimed but, rather, it must be earned by producing informative, quality content. Sources deemed to have content authority are often looked to as references when it comes to a topic in their industry.
How Content Authority Can Benefit Your Business
When your material is recognized as having authority you will experience many benefits. Most notably, having content authority means that you will be the go-to resource for anyone (or anything – including Google) looking for an answer to their question.
When it comes to topics in your industry, you will be looked to by others for trustworthy and informed content regarding that topic.
Content Authority Benefits
- Increased traffic – the more trusted your content is, the more people will seek it out. Trusted, high-quality information receives more attention, resulting in more clicks and more traffic to your website overall.
- Sustainable traffic – in addition to an increase in traffic, content authorities also build themselves a steady stream of sustainable traffic by becoming known as experts in their fields. Creating an intriguing one-off article might bring you a big spike in traffic for a short while but becoming an authoritative figure means that users will constantly look for your material and visit your site looking for information. This results in sustainable traffic for years to come.
- High-quality backlinks – high-quality information leads to high-quality backlinks. If you are considered an expert in your field then your content is much more likely to receive backlinks from top-tier, reputable and high-quality websites.
- Improved SEO – authority happens to be a ranking factor – meaning, if Google sees you as a leader in your field they will rank your material higher in their search engine. In addition, the sustainable and increased traffic and high-quality backlinks that result from building authority also lead to improved SEO.
- Trust – by becoming a leader in your field, and being recognized as such by search engines like Google, you can build trust with consumers. Consumers are more likely to purchase from companies that they trust and therefore this can translate into increased sales.
- More customers and increased sales – being a content authority means that more people will visit your website, that you will appear higher in search and that you’ll be known as a credible resource in your industry. As a result, you will gain more customers and clients and therefore see an increase in sales.
Building content authority and producing engaging, quality information will help your business in more ways than one, boosting your bottom line, overall. But the question is – how is content authority earned?
How to Build Content Authority
Building content authority is no easy task – it takes time, effort and consideration. While content authority can’t be built overnight, there are some things that you can focus on today that will help you build influence over time.
Here are 8 steps to help you build authority in your industry:
1. Identify your niche
Narrowing the focus of your information to a specific niche will help you to become an authority in that area. Creating material that is too broad may confuse readers and search engines so be sure to stay in your lane.
Be sure to focus on a topic that you are highly knowledgeable about – not only will this allow you to speak from experience, but your knowledge will come through as confident and informative.
2. Write engaging, quality content
Becoming an expert in your field requires the creation of material that is informative but also easy to consume. Try to answer common questions and provide information that is thorough, without being too repetitive or boring.
While SEO and content optimization are important for search engines, don’t forget that the ultimate goal is for viewers to consume, learn from and enjoy the information you have to offer. Paying attention to structure and grammar are also important. Make sure your material does not have any glaring spelling or grammatical errors – as this will be noted by readers.
White Papers are a great opportunity to showcase your industry expertise while simultaneously building backlinks at the same time. White papers are, by definition, authoritative pieces of content that are meant to inform, guide or support a particular issue or problem in an industry.
Writing White Papers are just one example of ever green content – content that’s able to stand the test of time. Learn more about this top performing category of content in “What is Evergreen Content.”
3. Background
You might not always have all the answers or know everything about a topic you’re trying to cover. In this case, you may need to do some research. When using information from other sources, be sure to site those sources using credible references. Refer to sites that already have authority – by doing so, users (and Google) will recognize that you are serious about providing reliable and accurate information.
4. Develop your information in different formats
Different users like to consume information in different ways.
If possible, provide your material in several different formats so that there is something for everyone. Text, video, audio and images are all common formats to consider.
For example, turn your educational blog post into an infographic or YouTube video. Viewers will be happy to see the various options and oftentimes formats like images and video are more share-worthy on social media sites.
5. Promote your content
When you’re just starting out, search engines and consumers might have a hard time finding you online – especially with the plethora of information available online today.
Cut through the noise with engaging, share-worthy social posts, educational guest articles on other authoritative sites and captivating emails that promote your material. Once you become an authority yourself, less promotion will be needed – consumers will share and promote your content for you once they trust what you have to say.
Social media platforms are more ubiquitous than ever and promoting your content 1 or 2 media channels could give your content the boost it needs. Promoting content is just one task of a Social Media Manager. Learn about 8 more in “Why Social Media Manager – 9 Reasons You Need One.
6. Stick to Google’s rules
If search engines like Google don’t approve of your material, or can’t find it to begin with, then you won’t get far when it comes to content authority.
Staying true to Google’s strict standards is difficult, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few tips and tricks you can employ to help get your stuff out there.
Stick to Google’s content guidelines and don’t forget to optimize your content using only white hat SEO techniques.
7. Create internal links
Creating internal links on your website can help in many ways. Internal links make your site more user friendly by guiding people through your site. If you have written an article that relates to another common question on the same topic, provide a link to that article. This will help users find the information they are looking for and will keep them on your website.
In addition, internal links help search engines to understand your site better and to get the full picture about where your knowledge lies.
When creating internal links, be sure to adhere to Google’s guidelines. Use natural links and stay away from black hat tactics like keyword stuffing and unnatural anchor text.
Writing Unsure where to start link building? Check out “Why Building Links : 10 Techniques That Actually Work” to jumpstart your link building.
8. Be consistent
Gaining content authority is definitely about quality over quantity. However, producing quality content on a regular basis is important. Sit down and determine how often you are able to publish quality material. Make a schedule based on your resources and stick to it. The more the merrier – as long as your content is engaging, informative and well-written it will be well received by consumers and search engines.
Although it may take some time, working to build authority for your brand and website is a great way to generate new customers and increase sales. Therefore, putting in the hard work to become a content authority in your industry is definitely worth your while.
Key Takeaways On Content Authority
Content authority is the ultimate seal of approval awarded by consumers and search engines to sources of information that they deem as reliable and trustworthy.
Building content authority is an important part of digital marketing today and offers many benefits. Websites, brands and even writers that are seen as authoritative in their field will receive increased and sustainable traffic to their websites, be ranked higher in search engines and ultimately gain new customers, increasing their revenue.
Content authority can be earned by creating engaging, quality content that follows Google’s guidelines, informs consumers and uses reliable resources. Developing this information in multiple formats, including images, video, audio, etc., and sharing it on platforms like social media will also help with earning authority.
Be sure to stick to what you know best – pick a niche and share all you know about it. Consistency is also key. Develop a publishing schedule and stick to it. The more content the better, as long as the content is of high-quality.
Ready to get started? Pick a topic you know well and that relates to your business and start creating! Don’t forget to set up some measurables to see how your content is performing. Keep an eye on its position in the search returns and how consumers are responding to it.
Are readers sharing your material? Are they sticking around on your website to learn more about your chosen topic? Use this information to make adjustments and create material that is optimized for both search engines and viewers.
