Tag Archives: authority

My number 1 secret to building authority online

Posted on January 16, 2012 by in Content marketing

How to build trust and authority online (part 2 of 2)

In part 1 of how to build trust and authority online, I discussed the idea of running a business without advertising. Creating great content, becoming known as the expert in your field by creating a web presence that helps you build trust and authority. Instead of interrupting people who aren’t interested in your services, people come to you because you are the expert!

Sounds good right? But now?

In this post I am going to tell you the number 1 secret I use to build trust and authority online.

But before I do I’m going to fill you in on 5 other ways to build trust and authority online and give you some examples of how I do it in my business. Note these are all ‘online’ things, there are obviously loads of things you can do ‘offline’ that will also build your authority.

1.  Start blogging

I recommend WordPress for blogs

What you are reading right now is an article I have written because I am an active blogger. I have posted over 140 blog posts on my blog A Website Designer (lots more elsewhere).

Blogging has a lot of benefits but from a trust and authority perspective it has enabled me to: Read More…

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How to build trust and authority online (part 1 of 2)

Posted on December 6, 2011 by in Content marketing

In this 2 part series I am going to get into the detail of how you can build trust and authority online.

Why build trust and authority

Many marketing experts have pointed out that ‘interruption’ style marketing no longer works as well as it used to. Have a look at people the next time you are at the train station. Are people looking around marvelling at the wonderful signs posted on the tunnel wall? Or are they staring at Facebook or Twitter on their phones and consuming information that is relevant to them?

Thought leaders like David Meerman Scott (man he needs a new theme on his blog!) and Seth Goddin have long advocated a new style of marketing. A style that doesn’t interrupt, it adds value. The idea of providing exceptional value to people to the point where it becomes ‘Remarkable’.

These days it’s entirely possible to run a business without advertising or marketing if you embrace the idea of becoming an authority in your industry. I can say this because that’s exactly what I do in my business.

The technique is simple. Create as much useful information for people as you can, gradually build yourself up as a leader in your industry and as a result of this, people will begin to learn about you and your business. Not only that, Google will begin to see you as an authority as well and will send more leads your way. Read More…

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The only way to win at SEO (part 2)

Posted on September 15, 2011 by in SEO and Traffic

In part 1 of this series I covered what Google is looking for (authority for the keyword) and the first 2 levels in my ’5 levels of SEO sophistication’ chart seen below. In this article I will cover the last 3 levels and will explain the 1 and only 1 way you will rank in Google.

Read More…

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The only way to win at SEO (part 1)

Posted on September 14, 2011 by in SEO and Traffic

As a small business owner I bet you have heard it all when it comes to being ranked in Google.

“Put your keywords in your title and headings”

“Just create lots of great content and Google will love you for it”

“Get loads of backlinks”

The truth is, there is 1 and only 1 way you can possibly rank on the front page in Google (we are talking about natural listings here if you don’t know the difference between paid and natural listings start here).

By the end of this 2 part article you will know what that is and you will be able to make a start towards making it happen.

First it’s important to know what Google wants.

What Google wants

If you are a small business owner trying to make sense of the hazy mess of SEO advice out there start with this one simple piece of information

“The front page of Google for your keyword will be filled with the results that Google decides have the most authority for that keyword”

This will make more sense as I go so with that in mind let’s move on for now.

SEO Strategies – The 5 levels of sophistication

Next it’s important to understand that there are a lot of ways of going about ranking in Google (called SEO from now on) and they vary in terms of their level of sophistication. Some of them do not work and will never work anymore (like adding keywords to your meta tags). I will focus here on the methods that do work, including doing nothing.

I think it’s helpful to group them visually into 5 levels as I have done here. Read More…

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