Banked Content Prevents Burn-Out
Question: Last issue you wrote, "If
you have a topic that you're passionate about, and can sustain interest in the
project for years... then set up an Authority site. Go for it. Start organizing
the layout, then slowly add your
content."
I was about to
launch a new site, over 100 pages, but now I'm not certain. I'm worried that a
large site "suddenly appearing" might have a negative effect in the SERPs. Just
how "slowly" should I add my content?
Answer: A large site that suddenly appears won't
have any negative effect in the SERPs (search engine results pages). New
companies come online every day. Some have massive inventories. They are
certainly not going to get
penalized.
I've had clients that held
back launching a site until it was absolutely perfect. Thousands of pages that
were tested in-house before the site launched to the public. So in a sense...
it's very normal for large sites to suddenly
appear.
What's not normal, is if the site
suddenly appears and it has hundreds of links to it, from your other web
properties. That would be a
mistake.
After the site is online, start
announcing it to the better directories. Write a press release or two. Write a
few articles and submit them. Get links from your upstream and downstream
suppliers and retailers.
The reason I
told you to add pages slowly, is so you don't burn out! The last thing you want
to do, is have your Authority site fizzle out, because you've lost
interest.
Even if you've managed to put
together over 100 pages before launch, you'll want to keep adding to your
Authority site on a regular basis. Not so much for the search engines (although
extra content always helps) but for your human
visitors.
You want to give people a
reason to link to you. A reason to talk about you. A reason to keep returning to
your site for additional information and to buy things from
you.
That's why I said, do your graphic
design and layout. Figure out your directory and linking structures. Then add
your content slowly. Not because you'll get penalized for a big site that
appears... but so you can go into "maintenance mode" on the affiliate revenue
site, adding a new article or product, every couple of days, without having to
do so much additional work.
Get the
articles, how-to's, comparisons, lessons, etc, written ahead of time and "bank
them" so that you can pull them out and add content to the site, even when you
don't feel like it.
When you're motivated
and the words are flowing... Great! You can add that content right away. But if
you're stuck, on vacation, or just plain lazy that day, you can always
"withdraw" from your content bank.
Even
the most disciplined person, can lose focus and tend to wander at times. The
last thing you want to do is burn out on your subject matter and abandon the
site altogether.
So, after your site is
done, and before you move on to the next one, be sure you have enough content
"in the bank" so that you can keep adding to the old sites on a regular basis.
Not only will you get indexed for additional search terms, your visitors will
always have new info to read and more chances to buy from your affiliate
links.
Posted: Mon - September 4, 2006 at 10:47 AM