Showing authority on your website, along with experience, expertise and trustworthiness, can have a significant impact on your online presence, brand reputation, and overall business success.
But before we dive into the different ways you can show authority on your website, it’s important to fully understand what an authoritative website actually is, and why it’s so important.
What Is an Authoritative Website?
In short, an authoritative website is one that is clearly recognised as a reliable, trustworthy, and an expert source of information in its industry, with a history of producing reliable and credible content. When your website is seen as authoritative, visitors clicking on it will know that it’s professional and that they can trust the content/ information presented.
The term “authority” is associated with the E-E-A-T framework (expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness), which are all part of the criteria that Google’s search quality evaluators use to assess the quality and reliability of web content, especially for topics that could impact a person’s health, safety, financial stability, or overall well-being, also known as ‘Your Money Your Life’ topics.
Learn more about the importance of E-E-A-T for SEO here.
How to Show Authority on your Website
There are 5 main ways you can show authority on your website:
1. Create High-Quality Content
One of the best ways you can show authority on your website is to create high-quality content across your site. Identify the needs and interests of your target audience and provide valuable, well-researched and informative content, in the form of a blog, to address those needs.
Having a regularly updated blog page not only ensures that your customers have access to the latest information and insights about your industry, but it can also serve as an educational resource that helps current and prospective clients/customers better understand your products and services.
This can be done through ‘how to’ blogs or general guides about your industry/ company that people are asking Google. For bonus points, you could even include video content into your blogs showcasing your experience and expertise around a particular topic, just like we have done in our ‘Are Keywords Important for SEO’ blog.
By sharing your tips and insights on relevant topics, you’re demonstrating that you’re an expert in your industry, establishing your brand as a thought leader. People are much more likely to buy from your brand if they think you’re a reliable, authoritative source of information.
This leads us nicely onto point number 2…
2. Regularly Earn Backlinks
Backlinks, also known as external links, are links from other websites to your website. They differ from internal links, which are links that connect one page on a website to another page within that same website.
The more your content regularly earns backlinks and mentions on other credible websites in your industry, the more your content will be perceived as authoritative. This is because backlinks from reputable websites act as an endorsement of your content, signalling to Google that your content is reliable.
As mentioned in the point above, the best way to earn these backlinks is to create high-quality, reliable content in the form of blog posts. Discover how to write SEO-friendly blog posts here.
On the topic of authority, backlinks from other websites also contribute to the calculation of domain authority, which is a metric that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine results.
Get in touch for your free SEO audit which will include a backlink audit, showing you how many backlinks you’ve currently got pointing to your website, the quality of these links, and some top tips going forward to improve your backlink profile.
3. Include Author/ About Us Pages on Your Website
Another effective tool that can improve the authoritativeness of a website according to E-E-A-T are author pages. Author pages are great as they provide a platform for writers, contributors, or experts to showcase their qualifications, expertise, and experience and allow them to build a personal brand.
When readers can learn about the person behind the content, a sense of connection and trust is built and readers are therefore much more likely to believe information when they know it comes from a knowledgeable and reputable source.
Things you can include on an author page:
- Image of author
- Certifications, awards, qualifications
- List of published articles
- Links to social media platforms
- Contact information
As well as author pages, we highly recommend you include a comprehensive ‘About Us’ page on your website that details the mission, background and expertise of your business to help visitors understand the purpose and ethos behind it.
Use the About Us page to set yourself apart from others in your industry and highlight what makes your business unique. Whether it’s the business’s history, values, or approach, this information helps differentiate your website from others.
4. Show Qualifications, Awards & Testimonials
As touched on in the point above, showing off your qualifications, awards and certifications is a fantastic way to show readers that you’re fully knowledgeable in your field and that any content you put out will be high-quality and trustworthy.
These can be shown on author pages, meet the team pages, the home page, and you could even dedicate individual blogs to showcasing your education and experience.
Testimonials are also powerful tools for improving authority and trust on a website (again, linking back to E-E-A-T).
What Are the Benefits of Testimonials and Reviews on a Website?
Genuine (& positive) testimonials serve as endorsements from satisfied customers which reinforces the reliability of your products or services. When visitors see that real customers have had a positive experience with your products or services, it builds trust in your brand, and people are much more likely to purchase from you over other competitors with no testimonials.
Google reviews are particularly useful for local businesses with a Google My Business (GMB) account set up, as these positive reviews will contribute to your GMB profile’s overall rating, influencing local search rankings and map pack placements.
Learn more about why Google My Business is important for local SEO here.
5. Have a Secure & Professional Looking Website
The final way you can show authority on your website is to ensure your website is secure and looks professional.
To ensure the security of your website’s domain, use HTTPS to secure your website, which assures visitors that their data is safe. You should also clearly display trust badges on your site, especially if you handle sensitive information or transactions.
Ensuring your website looks professional and polished will also convey a sense of trustworthiness and authority in your industry, as visitors are more likely to trust and use a business that appears aesthetically pleasing. A well-organised, easy-to-navigate and mobile-optimised site will also improve user experience, meaning that visitors are likely to stay longer, which in turn improves SEO and of course, conversions.
And there we have it! We hope this article has helped your understanding of how to show authority on your website.
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At Lumen SEO, we can take care of your whole SEO strategy, including keyword research, link building and technical SEO. Learn more about what an SEO agency, like ours, does here.
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Written by Kate, for Lumen SEO.
