High domain authority can help you achieve better search engine rankings than your competitor.
It’s not easy to achieve though. There are a lot of factors involved to establish domain authority and increase domain authority it over time.
The following are some actionable ways for you to take control of your domain authority.
Five Factors that Matter with Domain Authority
- On-Site Optimization
- Social Media Influence
- Brand
- Relationships
- Content
On-Site Optimization
On-site optimization means making your website user friendly. Navigation should be simple, so Internet users can find what they need quickly. Always keep your consumers in mind when optimizing your site.
The other side of it is keywords your consumers are using to find your content. You need to use them in your site’s content, so Google and other search engines will know which Internet users will benefit most from your site.
Social Media Influence
The goal of social media is to gain as much engagement and links as possible.
When you post content on social networks, Google pays attention to that. The more likes, comments and shares it receives, the more “points” you receive when it comes to ranking your site. The more people who know about your content, the higher the possibility they will link to it from their site, which is also favored by the search engine.
Tip: Google is the leading search engine on the web and Google+ is their own social media platform.
Now, do you think there would be any SEO or ranking benefits to being a participant on Google+? Come on, connect those dots and participate on Google+.
If you want to link your website and social media together (you should want this!) then check out our article on social media follow us badges plugin.
If you’re unsure of how to go about using Google+ you’re going to want to check out Jason Frasca’s Google Plus Resources To Grow Your Business or Individual Brand. It’s a great article jam packed with Google+ resources.
Brand
Your brand is what your business is known for, and the stronger it is, the more people will know about it including Google. The reason Google cares about branding is people tend to revisit sites that have a strong brand. They also spend more time on them. These are two indicators that you provide a great service, and Google wants to show other Internet users brands that are doing a good job.
Building a brand takes time, but there are ways you can speed up the process:
- Provide customer service through your site and social media
- Engage people by asking them questions
- Hold contests
- Have a blog
- Give away products or services to people who are most active on your site
Relationships
Branding and relationships go hand in hand. You should form a relationship with your consumers because that’s what improves your brand.
When people feel as though you’ve taken care of their needs and wants, they are more likely to come back to you for repeat business. They are also more likely to recommend your business to others that they know would benefit from you. And referrals are a time-tested, proven, and effective method of increasing sales.
However, you need to start the ball rolling.
Putting aside physical relationships, what about online relationships?
By that I mean relationships through social media outlets, not online dating. Google pays attention to the interactions you have on social media with customers, how many times people revisit your site, and how many links people post to your site that end up getting clicked on by those people’s followers.
As more people enjoy working with you online, the more Google feels that your site is worthy of higher ranking.
Content
Content is listed last for a reason. All of these factors in improving domain authority will not matter if you don’t have high quality content. It’s the driver in boosting your domain authority. You need high quality, interactive content on your site to optimize it.
You need content to post on social media to attract followers, engagement, and links. You need content to establish your brand and give your consumers something more besides your services and products.
Finally, you need content to interact and build relationships with your consumers.
Content is the most important part of improving your domain authority, so make it good and publish regularly. This is especially why you should find out how to create a content marketing strategy for your business.
Consistency Matters with Domain Authority
All of these factors for improving domain authority must be part of your online marketing strategy. You must implement them and be consistent with it. It takes time, but if you persevere, you will soon see how beneficial it is to the success of your business.
