In my last post about starting a new case study, I mentioned that I was making my website into an authority site. Even though a lot of people (me included) are making money from thin, affiliate sites I do believe that type of site is not the best for a long term business. That is why I plan on turning a lot of my sites into authority sites that people want to read.
What Is An Authority Site?
Some people mistake an authority site for a large website full of thousands of posts. Yes, an authority website can have thousands of post but it can also have 100 posts as well. On the other hand a spammy, spun-content website that no one learns anything from can also have thousands of posts.
When talking about an authority website I’m talking about the ones that have high quality content, answer the questions you are looking for and have some sort of authority on the subject even if it just means they did research on the subject.
An authority website is not one with 2 or 3 pages that only targets 1 or 2 keywords and the articles took about 10 minutes to write. It isn’t a website with spun content that you can’t even understand. It is not a site that has a product review after a product review with no other articles on it.
Building an Authority Site
I really do believe that unless you start building authority sites you may start seeing your sites being hit by the Big Panda (if you haven’t already). Now, I’m not saying that authority sites are Panda-proof but with this type of site you can build a list full of people who like your site and want to know more from you. That list can keep the money flowing in even if the site gets slapped by Panda.
I am no expert on building an authority site. As I mentioned in my case study, I am just starting to go this route with my sites and am already seeing success with them.
One person that is an expert in building authority sites is Lisa Parmley. She makes over 6 figures a year (for the past 6 years) with her websites and is not some “guru” who makes money selling product to the IM crowd but actually makes 6 figures with her niche websites.
Lisa just released a new product called Authority Site Model and I have to say this is perfect timing with my case study and how I am looking to build a long term business with my sites.
I can vouch for Lisa as her Inline SEO course is the best course I have seen for SEO. In fact the last website I built that was based off step by step of Inline SEO is now ranks #1 for higher traffic keywords and gets around 500 unique visits a day. So, trust me when I say that Lisa knows her stuff.
The Authority Site Model takes a look at building an authority site properly. It is a step-by-step course with over 11 hours of training videos.
This course can help you properly make your authority site so that you can crank up your income and have a site that Google actually likes instead. I really believe that if you follow this course it will more than pay for itself with the income you will make from your site.
The topics that Lisa covers in Authority Site Model include:
Research – Determine if the market you are choosing is a profitable one.
List Building – Learn how to structure your lists and the emails you should be sending.
Keywords and Site Structure – Map out the exact pages you will have on your site based off the best keywords
Authority Content – A look at high quality content and attracting readers with your content (link-bait). Also includes hiring writers and other quality control issues.
Building Your Site – Domain name selection, quick tutorial on WordPress and plugins and monetization
Promoting Your Site – Learn all about Lisa’s strategies for gaining real links to your sites as well as forced backlinks. Includes special methods for getting traffic that have nothing to do with search engines.
I think that Lisa’s Authority Site Model course is for beginners, intermediates and even advanced IMers who are looking to get away from thinner affiliate or Adsense sites. Authority sites can be monetized with just about anything from affiliate links to Adsense and CPA offers so this can be a long term way for you to continue making money with your website. Plus when you build authority sites you don’t need to have 50 of them. In fact, you could probably have 2-3 of them and start earning a real nice income every month.
This course is not cheap because the material inside is not cheap. It is not your average $47 or $27 course that rehashes 2 other courses. Lisa has proven that she makes money with her niche websites and based on her InLine SEO course she knows what she is talking about.
For me, Authority Site Model is an investment that I will make back quickly and fits in perfect with my case study and will help me make my website earn for many years to come.
If you aren’t sure about buying Authority Site Model, check out the free report Lisa posted about making authority sites.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
A few years ago it was all about micro niche sites. Google seems to have caught on and now its a LOT harder to rank quickly for these making them not as attractive of an option.
One thing that will never change is how Google handles authority sites.
I have just started to move from creating MANY micro niche sites, to concentrating on a few authority sites for income.
-Chris
Chris – I think you are making a wise choice to move away from making micro niche sites and instead concentrate on a few authority sites. I’ll be interested to see what your opinion is in another 6 months or so and how it is going.
Tiffany, I recently wrote a blog post to document my authority site journey, take a look so you can see my results: WARNING: Micro niche sites are like settling for less. Let me know what you think or if you have any sugestions!