build_authority_site_from_scratchIn the last post on developing an authority site strategy I talked about how to approach your new authority site through the development of related niches.

In this post I’ll outline how to implement these niche groups gradually to create an effective authority site for your niche.

I’ll be using the same example as the last post, on building a site focused on Italian Travel.

Create a Phased Implementation Plan

Once you’ve decided on your target niches for your site, it’s time to create a plan to implement those niches. Unlike niche sites, where you consistently write hyper-targeted posts, an authority site needs to build relevance over a variety of niches over time. Thus, it’s important to think of your build in phases.

Phase 1: The First 100 Pages

For the first phase you’re going to focus on a clear strategy for the first 100 pages of your site. At this point, your primary concern should be starting to develop a consistent posting schedule across each of your target niches.

If you have 5 niches, for example, you should evenly divide your first 100 pages/posts into groups of 20, and distribute these posts evenly for your specified period of time.

This method begins to establish your credibility and ongoing commitment to each of your target topic areas.

Phase 2: The Next Thousand Pages

Yes, I said the next thousand pages. Authority sites are big, which is one of the reasons they take longer to develop and see income from, but also why they can be considerably more profitable than niche sites in the long run.

After your first hundred posts, it’s important to keep a ‘maintenance’ level for each topic, while beginning to isolate and target one niche at a time.

This is why I say that to build an authority site, you’re really building a collection of niche sites, compiled together.

If you’re going to do 200 new posts on each topic, you’ll want to focus on a balance between one niche at a time and maintaining some activity on the other niches. One distribution might look like this:

  • Phase 2.1: 160 posts on Niche 1, 10  posts each on Niche 2, 3, 4, and 5
  • Phase 2.2: 160 posts on Niche 2, 10  posts each on Niche 1, 3, 4, and 5
  • Phase 2.3: 160 posts on Niche 3, 10  posts each on Niche 1, 2, 4, and 5
  • Phase 2.4: 160 posts on Niche 4, 10  posts each on Niche 1, 2, 3, and 5
  • Phase 2.5: 160 posts on Niche 5, 10  posts each on Niche 1, 2, 3, and 4

Phase 3: Adding New Niches for Total Domination

By the time you get to phase 3, you’re well on your way to having an awesome authority site.

From here on out, you’re going to develop a systemized process that lets you add niches within your authority topic.

There are two basic ways to approach this:

  1. Add niches in groups of 3-5, just like the Phase 2 process above
  2. Add 1 niche at a time

Either approach works, but its important to keep activity on previous niches you’ve already incorporated, to keep your content up to date for your reader and fresh in the eyes of the search engines.

I know I covered a lot of material in these two posts, so don’t worry if you’re feeling overwhelmed. The important thing is to start taking action writing posts and developing your site. You’ll get the hang of it in no time!

You might also read further on how to group different user actions and use different profiles to increase sales.