10K Challenge: Building an Authority Website

Hello October,

New month is here and I’m excited to get started with another challenge. This is the 10K Challenge, which is all about building an authority blog, or website if you wish.

One of the goals I made at the beginning of the year was to build an authority website. I never really got to get started with the goal apart from buying a domain name. Then, sometime in August, one of the bloggers I follow, Tung Tran from Cloud Income started an authority website case study. I figured I should jump at it with him and others so that we can keep each others on toes. You know how it is in the online world, it can get pretty lonely when you have no one to be accountable to.

Anyway, I never got to get started with the project due to commitments here and there. But now, I feel I’m ready. The energy I have within me is daring me to roll on. So, here we go.

What is an Authority Website?

An authority website is simply a website that focuses on a large niche. To better understand what I mean, let’s look at some aspects that differentiate authority and niche websites.

i) Audience

The audience of a niche website is fairly defined while the audience of an authority website is more general. For example, a niche website may focus on “weight loss for women over 40” keyword  phrase while an authority website will focus generally on “weight loss” and related keywords.

ii) Monetization

Niche websites usually focus on selling a specific product in the niche while authority websites usually sell multiple products and have different monetization avenues.

iii) Traffic sources

For niche websites, traffic mainly relies on getting specific keywords ranked high on Google. For authority websites, traffic sources are diverse and the aim is not to rank high on Google for specific keywords but to get traffic through brand building and social clout.

Challenges of Building an Authority Website

You can look at an authority website as niche site on a higher level. All the challenges one has to go through with a niche site should be anticipated with an authority site, but at a greater level.  For my part, I have both business and personal challenges with the project that I’ll have to overcome.

Some of the challenges I see include:

i) Fatigue. I am already doing different projects on the side. Sometimes, life gets in the way and I may get tired with the project. The good thing is the project is set on a timeline of up to two years. So, I can go as slowly or as quickly as I wish. In the end, it’s all about making small steps towards achieving the large goal.

ii) Financial constraints. I anticipate I will have to outsource some tasks along the way. For instance, I usually write articles on my own but I will have to outsource SEO, and perhaps social media marketing. This requires money, which I may or may not have at the time.

iii) Market challenge.I am entering a market that I am entirely not familiar with. This is a farming market. I will have to devout a lot of time to learn the lingo and everything related  to the market if my website is to become an authority in the industry.

iv) Delayed results. One of the joys of building a niche site is that you can see results quickly. Sometimes, you will need  just a few weeks to get your website ranking on page 1 of Google. With an authority site, things are different. Since we are not chasing after niche keywords, it can take quite some time before we start getting traffic. This can be really discouraging especially after pouring all the sweat, blood and tears into the project.

And that is that.

Updates on the 10K Challenge

I will try to make at least one update every month with regards to where I am with the 10K Challenge. You can view all the updates of the challenge here.

The 10K Challenge has official began. May the odds be in your favor, dear friend.