Brand authority is something everybody wants for their company – not only does it look good in the eyes of your customers and competitors, but it’s also something that Google likes and prizes while ranking the content.
There’s no fast and easy way to gain brand authority, though – you have to earn it with time and effort put into the right strategy. And how can you do it? SEO and content marketing are both crucial components of the well-managed digital marketing strategy.
So track your ranks with the help of MyRanks to see what there’s to improve to earn yourself the brand authority – and here’s what you can do about it.
Think about your content strategy
Writing without any schedule or consistency is basically throwing your time and money away. You need to stick to related topics and write regularly so that the people know when and what to expect. Consider your budget to avoid problems in the future and think through all the needed tools and helping hands you may need or have to offer.
You need to know what you’re writing about, how you’re writing it (think about keywords) and what is your audience (whether they are interested in what you’re trying to convey). Planning your writing may also help you gain audience and authority through timing – promote accurate content around specific dates (events, celebrations, and happenings related to the subject).
Plus, analyze the keywords and themes that are relevant to your industry and try to create writing topics around them.
Share – even when, on the face of it, there’s nothing for you to gain
It’s essential when you’re trying to gain some authority – you have to provide your readers with something of value (help, information). Let them trust you by solving their problems without any hidden agenda – no selling, no advertising.
That’s how they’ll remember your brand and link it with high-quality content and trustworthiness. If you want to pass for an expert, you have to share your knowledge to prove yourself.
Don’t ignore your industry community
Be present. Connect with your peers and audience to show that you’re approachable – that’s how you gain trust and credibility. You can’t only write and be oblivious about what’s going on around the topic. Share, comment, interact – be active, because that’s the only way to earn an online authority.
Spark discussions and participate in them. That will help you make your brand seen as familiar, open and friendly. This will gain you more audience, potential customers, as well as much desired links.
Don’t spare your words, but choose them carefully
If you really are an expert on a topic, you can probably write about it a lot – and you should. Don’t hesitate to post long, in-depth content; as long as it’s well-written and in considerably simple, non-patronising language, it can only do you good.
A short Twitter update is good, but post it along with a link to some longer, helpful article. Also, think about target informational keywords, but don’t force them – accurate, consistent, useful, good quality content will always help you to rank high.
Don’t try to be an expert on everything
People (and Google) don’t trust those who try to prove they’re experts on every topic; it’s simply not possible so trying is usually frowned upon. Write about related subjects or different aspects of the same one – the perfect situation is when an article links to each of the rest and to the main so-called pillar page.
This is more trustworthy than writing on various, not-related topics and it’s also seen better by Google algorithms. Google prizes authority and there are only so many subjects to be an expert in. Obviously, it’s best when the topics are related to your brand name.
Remember about linkability
Linkability refers to the possibility of securing links, which still is one of the most important ranking factors. You have to make sure that your content is worth referring to – that’s why you need to always put quality first.
You can start by looking for the outreach market for your content; you don’t have to wait for someone to find and share your writing – you find someone yourself, as long as your content is accurate and relevant.
Research to be absolutely sure that your writing is more useful for your audience – sometimes it’s enough to come up with a better title or formating.
Be patient
It’s simply not possible to gain people’s trust and liking in a short time; when it happens, it’s only superficial and that’s not what you should aim for. So remember about the quality of your content and your overall online presence, and check your ranks regularly – with time, you’ll see desired improvements.