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As Web 2.0 becomes less of just a buzzword and more of a
reality, the types of sites webmasters need to publish will
increasingly become more important. In other words,
mini-sites are slowly dying and cookie-cutter article sites
are on the way out as well. Web surfers will become more
value-focused and web companies will become larger.

Over the next few years expect larger conglomerates to be
buying up profitable websites in their chosen markets.
Expect smaller sites to either be bought or driven out of
business. My intention is not to scare you, but this
outcome is inevitable.

Large businesses have always taken two approaches to their
desired markets. They either buy their competition or they
push them out of business. You want to be prepared when
this trend begins on the Internet.

Being a webmaster and online marketer, you should be
preparing for one of two scenarios. To position yourself
for a buyout to a larger company or to become the larger
company that dominates your chosen market.

Whichever route you choose is entirely up to you, but I
would suggest that it would be in your best interest to
begin focusing on authority sites. You can either start
building them or turning your current sites into them.
Whatever your approach may be, I assure you it will help
you sleep better at night.

What Is the Definition of an Authority Site?

A fairly comprehensible authority site definition was put
forward by Jason Dowdell of Global Promoter. Jason defined
it this way: …quot;Authority sites are sites that have
been linked to and referenced on other web sites covering
the same subject matter and they also will have hundreds if
not thousands of pages covering that subject matter and
nearly every facet of it….quot;

That definition is one man’s opinion, albeit a good one,
but let us go directly to the source. Many search engine
optimization and search engine marketing experts believe
Google has derived their primary algorithm from a document
titled, "Hilltop: A Search Engine based on Expert
Documents."

The PageRank formula as we know it today was derived from
this paper, and the authors, Bharat and Mihaila, define an
authority site in the text below:

"We believe a page is an authority on the query topic if
and only if some of the best experts on the query topic
point to it. Of course in practice some expert pages may be
experts on a broader or related topic. If so, only a subset
of the hyperlinks on the expert page may be relevant."

"In such cases the links being considered have to be
carefully chosen to ensure that their qualifying text
matches the query. By combining relevant out-links from
many experts on the query topic we can find the pages that
are most highly regarded by the community of pages related
to the query topic. This is the basis of the high relevance
that our algorithm delivers."

What we have reprinted above is the foundation of the
PageRank system and the determination for deciding which
sites will be authorities. I highly recommend you read and
re-read the full document until you understand every aspect
of it.

What Are the Components of an Authority Site?

Allow me to present you with a diagram at:
http://www.contentdesk.com/authoritymap that dissects your
typical authority site. As you can tell from the diagram, a
considerable number of components and systems must be in
place for the authority site to function profitably and
reap the benefits of the "Authority Site Formula."

The Authority Site Formula = Visitor Optimization (VO) +
Content Optimization (CO) * Creative Marketing (CM)

A simple question must be asked. What do 99.9% of authority
sites provide? In a sentence, an incredible amount of
original content and a superb visitor experience. The
search engines want you to succeed and they want you to
make money, but you have to play by their rules. In the
future, focus your efforts on visitor optimization and
content optimization instead of search engine optimization.

What Is the Anatomy of an Authority Site?

About.com is the definition and was the original authority
site. Their site has a generic domain name and hundreds of
subdomains on different topics.

Your authority site should take the same approach, but not
on such a general level. If you launch an authority site,
it should be geared towards a well-defined and large
market. After you launch the site and generate some
traffic, you should create subdomains that cover specific
areas inside that larger market.

For example, Diabetic-Resources.Com is not an active site;
but if it were, then a typical authority site setup would
be something like:

* http://supplies.diabetic-resoures.com *
http://diet.diabetic-resources.com *
http://insurance.diabetic-resources.com *
http://symptoms.diabetic-resources.com *
http://treatment.diabetic-resources.com

Using this approach, you are able to target your general
market while generating more targeted traffic pertaining to
related sub-markets.

As a rule of thumb, the index pages on your domains and
subdomains should be more focused on content, but the
article and commentary pages should be more focused on
advertising. Just do not ever lose sight of the most
important aspect of your site, which is visitor experience
otherwise known as visitor optimization.

What Does It Take to Create an Authority Site?

You want to create a site that generates thousands of
visitors a day mainly through the major search engines, and
would ultimately be the one-stop source for information in
that particular market.

Your site must employ three traits to become an authority
site. Let’s discuss all three necessary aspects:

Dynamic: You should have as many RSS feeds as you can
muster to incorporate throughout your site. Your visitors
need to be able to receive RSS feeds for any keyword,
category or archive as well as create their own. One feed
is no longer enough to satisfy your visitors.

Interactive: You should be engaging the minds of your
visitors at all times using surveys, commenting and
feedback. Make these features easy for your visitors and
your site will grow exponentially. Why? Because they feel
like you actually care about them. Interaction is a
powerful tool and creates a sense of community on your site.

Consistent: You should post to your blog often, and you
should always provide quality and original content. That
doesn't mean you need to produce 800-word articles three
times a week. Your goal should be to become a news master.
You need to be an …quot;authority…quot; on the news
happening in your niche.

If you follow the steps and guidelines listed above, then
you will be on your way to being the owner of an authority
site.

This blog and site will be transferred to the Authority Site Center within the next few days.
After that, I will be able to write about the developments in traffic and unique visitors.
I expect to make a great deal of changes to this site during that time.  More to come on that later.

In the meantime, here is the link to check out what the Authority Site Center has to offer:

Click here to download the Authority Black Book, a $97 value.  In fact, it has more value
than many courses that cost a lot more than this, but it's free:

contentdesk.com/cmd.php

And here is the link to the Authority Site Center:

http://contentdesk.com/cmd.php?af=615874

Best,

Angela

Hello Friends,

I was searching for a graphics designer for my site and found one yesterday evening.  When I finally checked my email late last night, I saw an email from Michel Fortin, the famous copywriter.  His subject line was a heart-stopper:  "To Stop Her From Going Online, He Broke Her Hands"!

He wrote about this woman, whose name I will not write in this post, who is one of his web designers who formats his copy.

He writes that she's designed many web pages for him and formatted his copy
for his clients, and some of his own. And she has a knack for
designing response-driven web pages. She's a hard worker and
a person he admires and supports.  He goes on to tell the story:

Here's the rest of the email:

Right now, she's in dire need — she's fleeing an abusive
relationship and is currently without a home, alone with her
four kids, with apparently only the clothes on their back.

We're not asking for charity, but to help her out in a
different way. My friend Jason Moffatt made a blog post and
recorded a video explaining the situation:

http://www.jasonmoffatt.com/dir/239

There's also a thread on my Copywriters Discussion Board
about it, if you want to know more:

http://www.copywritersboard.com/off-topic-discussion/6086-one-our-copywritersboard-sisters-needs-help.html

I don't ask for help often.

But when I do, it's because it means something important to
me personally. Whether it's breast cancer or abuse, and if
you know my story, then you know these issues touch me VERY
deeply and I want to do whatever I can to help.

Won't you help? Thanks in advance.

Here's the link again:

http://www.jasonmoffatt.com/dir/239

That was the email from Michel Fortin.
*****

Then I saw an email early this morning from the graphic designer that I just found last night!


"This is going to be a little long (as usual) and a bit emotional. 
There are things in life that happen to people, bad things. 
I've been there. I'm sure you have too.  While I was in one of my
favorite forums today, I ran across a post that sickened and angered
me.  I'm no stranger to seeing abuse, and I do my best to stop it
when I see it.  Or I do what I can to help where it's called for.
I'm not one to send these kind of emails, but this one is true, real,
and I actually know this person.

This nice woman is a fellow moderator in a forum that I also moderate.
She has been badly abused, and finally scooped up her kids and ran.
This wonderful lady actually had her hands broke by this sick
dog of a man, so she couldn't get on the internet to do her work.
Among other things.

I can't tell you how mad that makes me. 

If YOU or someone in YOUR family is being abused, you speak up to
someone.  Or speak up FOR someone, and you get out. NOW. Not next
week, not a month from now… as soon as you can sneak out - you go.

Or help another get out.  Please, no matter how hard you think
it might be just go.  Someone will appear to help you.  Do this
for you own sake or for the sake of another victim.  Especially where
children are subject to see, or suffer from abuse.

 If you can find it in your heart to
help this single mom, and her 4 kids - any small donation will help.

$5.00 bucks will buy two happy meals for two of the kids, think of
it that way. 

There has been a major driving force of fellow internet workers who
have donated enough to get her out - and I mean out of the
State she was living in.  Combined efforts have accomplished getting
her away from her tormentor - and she is now as safe as she can be
for now.

But it's not over yet.

It's almost school time, so the kids will need to get clothes and
supplies.  They took off with just the stuff they could carry.
They will need to get a roof over their heads, and have
enough money for other things like beds, cooking supplies etc.
until she can get back on her feet.

No, this is not a scam - the money will go directly to this woman, and I'm
going to give you the links you can use right now.

http://clicks.aweber.com/z/ct/?8_9QLAN_8SOw1DV0.gUTaA is the link that a man named
Jason put up to help this woman.  Yes, I know, he's a bit freaky - but his
heart is good.  You can buy her product that she has worked hard on
from that page as a donation. 

Or you can donate even 5 bucks through paypal by using her paypal
address, which is (removed to protect her identity).

Nobody is taking the money for her, it goes directly to her.

I just caught the thread today at:
http://clicks.aweber.com/z/ct/?dv.lbHtcx1qST8_t0Y0ENw
so I've been scrambling myself to get a few bucks together to give.
(account was a bit dry)

This is a hard working stay-at-home mom of 4, I know her, she's not
a scammer, and she really does need help.

If you don't have any money, please send a prayer and best wishes.

AND - if you or someone you know is being abused… get help, get
out, help out if you can, you get the picture.  No relationship is
worth getting beat, verbally downgraded, emotionally abused or
anything else.  If you live in fear, it's time to reevaluate your
situation.  Do that for yourself, or help another if you see abuse
happening.  Don't stand by and watch while someone is hurt.

Thanks!
Michelle Brouse
www.ecoverfx.com
www.graphicfreebie.com
15351 Hametown Rd., Doylestown, OH 44230, USA"

*  *   *   *   *

This information comes from three different sources who I believe would not try to earn a fast buck in this way.  I have done what I could.  Can you do something too?  I was just reading on the Forum Michel Fortin mentioned in his email and the whole time I was wondering  why the big marketers who are making so much money can't just purchase her services in a big way, or just give a big donation?  I am glad I heard the story but it must be terrible for this woman to have this story told with her name written all over the place, which is why I removed her name.  I read in the forum that the product she created is a "no-brainer".  So that might be the best route - you guys with the big lists can do this abused woman and four children a big favor - all show all the rest of us that it's not all hot air.

Best regards,

Angela Wickenberg