10 ways to Make your Blog More Authoritative

This is a guest post by James Adams.

If you are struggling to get more readers and traffic to your blog, then you have probably tried many different techniques. Although it may seem as if the stardom that comes with having a top blog is out of reach, it actually is not that hard to achieve. One of the easiest ways to get there is to emulate the style of the blogs that are already authoritative in their respective niches.

authoritative blog tiger

 Tiger Attak by Claudio Gennari

Read on for 10 common practices that you should be using to make your blog more authoritative.


1. Speak Like a Teacher

Since blogs mostly deal with communicating content, it may be useful to look into the real world to see who has the most authority when it comes to content and information. In the offline world, these are the teachers and professors. They speak from experience and with confidence. You should take the same approach when you are communicating to your readers through your blog.


2. Post At Least Twice Per Day

When Technorati released the statistics of all the blogs they track on the Internet, one fact was striking. The average posting frequency for the top 4000 authoritative blogs was more than twice as much as the posting frequency of blogs with less authority. The more you post, the more authority you will be perceived to have.


3. Keep at It

The average life of the blogs in Technorati's top 4000 was almost three years. While it's possible to grow your blog's popularity in a much shorter period of time, it's probably a good idea to be realistic and assume that you're going to need to stick with it for a few years.


4. Have a Passion for Your Blog

It sounds trite, but it's true. Without actually loving your blog for the sake of writing and communicating with your readers, it will be quite tough to achieve any authority. Eventually, it will feel like too much work and you'll be tempted to stop blogging.


5. Design

It's important that your blog is pleasing to the eye if you want readers to stay or to keep coming back. Most often, this means a blog with a clean, crisp layout.


6. Go Easy on the Ads

Occasionally, bloggers try to fit as many ads as they possibly can onto their blogs, trying to earn the maximum amount of money. This may be understandable, but the presence of too many ads takes attention away from the content of your blog and makes your overall site appear spammy. Try focusing on your content at first and put the ads on after a period of time. If you manage the amount of ads that you put on your site, you’ll find that visitors are much more tolerant and will take the time to look around your site, rather than instantly dismiss it.


7. Make it Easy to Subscribe

While ads are frowned upon, what is more acceptable in the blogosphere is to ask people to subscribe to your blog. This is usually done by RSS or email. If you are looking to monetize your blog, then these subscribers could be more valuable in the future.


8. Get Your Own Domain

If you want your blog to look more professional, then it is crucial that you get your own domain name. It is rare to find an authoritative blog that has a WordPress or Blogger sub-domain. A domain name typically only costs around $10 per year, which is a small investment compared to the degree by which your reputation will increase.


9. Highlight Your Top Posts

When many Internet users come across a new blog, they love to check out the "Top Posts" section if there is one. Put your top posts section in a prominent area of your blog, and select your absolute best content to give a great first impression.


10. Tell About Yourself

You want your blog readers to be able to find out about you. New readers will want to know who is writing the blog, and your longtime readers will become even more curious to learn more about you. The most authoritative bloggers aren't afraid to show themselves to their readers: They are quite often extremely visible personalities.


Creating an authoritative blog is no walk in the park. It is a bit like becoming a rock musician. A lot more people would like to be a rock star than those that actually achieve it. It will probably take at least a couple years to build up a large readership. However, if you implement the above tips, then you will set yourself up for a much higher probability of success.

About the author
James Adams is a UK-based blogger and writer who works at Cartridge Save where he writes in-depth reviews of HP supplies and many other types of office supplies from various top brands.

11 comments to "10 ways to Make your Blog More Authoritative"

nycstylelittlecannoli April 4, 2011 at 4:53 AM    

Some good ideas which I have been trying to do. My blog is just over a year old and I am trying to get to 200 followers...getting close..I have about 250 subscribers and do receive emails regarding product reviews and press passes. I agree it is a slow process and you have to keep at it and have the passion for it. It will show to your readers.

Unknown April 4, 2011 at 4:59 AM    

These are some excellent tips! But, I have to say, while a domain name probably makes your blog look more authoritative, I don't think it has anything to do with your success. I think the reason why the top bloggers have domain names is only because they are the sort of people who will spend money on their blog, because they often want to get money out of it. Hobbyists often don't go to that trouble, but that doesn't mean they can't be successful.

Greenlava April 4, 2011 at 7:50 PM    

@NYC, Style and a little Cannoli
Keep posting articles that benefit your readers and readership will grow.
Thanks for commenting.

@Sarah
Yep. What matters most is the content you put inside your blog, custom domain or not.

XnYs April 5, 2011 at 3:58 PM    

Thanks!!
i will try to adopt all of the above :)

Tara April 18, 2011 at 5:22 PM    

Great ideas. More power!

jade sitjar August 18, 2011 at 8:57 PM    

yes, i agree with your tips but do i really have to get my own domain name? cant i just use a subdomain? and if i use a domain name what is its weight in my sites/blogs ranking or popularity?

Cikgu Kasim Gugel September 18, 2011 at 1:23 AM    

Tq tq. ^_^

izwannizam September 18, 2011 at 1:37 AM    

well written james!

by the way , i am so new into this blogging things and lots need to be done.but i think,it's a long term investment to build my authority in blogging.it may take times but i am sure enough,it will pay off.

oto September 18, 2011 at 1:41 AM    

those are really cool tips.

Berita Menarik dan Terkini dari Seluruh Dunia - Arham Vhy December 2, 2011 at 8:18 PM    

Thanks for share, that's cool tips

Tate March 2, 2012 at 2:50 PM    

I like these. I have several blogs and with my new one I started just over 4 months ago I see a greater level of success and readership because I left everything behind to travel the world.

Since a lot of people would like to do this and think that it's hard if you are not rich they are curious how I do it. I think the interest in the topic you are covering has to be on this list as well.

My most successful articles are the tutorials and my page on how to make money and travel. Great tips. I will use the ones I haven't.

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