What the rest of the internet says about you matters too
A good website, solid content, well-targeted social media channels – they are all essential parts of a digital communications strategy. But they’re not the whole story. Search engines, AI, and potential customers also pay attention to what other people and other websites are saying about your business.
So if you want to be the business that search engines, AI, and customers go to, you need to start thinking about your online authority.
What is online authority?
Online authority is the accumulation of mentions, links, and endorsements across other websites and channels that tell search engines, AI, and customers that your business is worth trusting. Sometimes called “off-page SEO”, it’s really just the digital equivalent of a good reputation and word of mouth.
Why online authority matters
You can have the best website in your sector, but if no one outside it is vouching for you, search engines have little reason to rank you above competitors who do have that external backing. And customers have less to go on when it comes to deciding between you and another provider.
I’ll be honest, building online authority is not easy. It takes time, effort, and sometimes a bit of money. But if you can start to get your business mentioned and endorsed by other people online, it will give you a significant boost in trying to compete with some of the bigger players in your sector.
What the Authority Building Service involves
- A baseline check of your current authority, and how it compares to competitors in your space
- Identifying realistic, relevant opportunities, such as industry directories, discussion forums, local listings, trade publications, or partner websites
- Digital PR and outreach, helping your business get mentioned in places your customers and search engines both trust
- Quality-focused link building, since a handful of genuinely relevant links outperforms dozens of low-quality ones
- Ongoing monitoring of brand mentions, so nothing slips through unnoticed
Can I get this service as a standalone?
As with all my digital communications services, I can offer authority building as a standalone service. But it works best when it follows on from a website and social media review and sits alongside search engine & AI optimisation and content strategy, since strong content is what makes your business worth linking to in the first place.