by Success stories of authority site operators have encouraged more and more people to ride the trend of website management. After all, it’s hard to say pass to the enticing mix of a potential high monthly income and total control over your time.
Much time is given to researching the nitty-gritty aspects of WordPress, SEO, and affiliate partner programs, but some webmasters tend to forget another important consideration – what makes a product worthy of your recommendation?
Products with high commissions aren’t always the best in terms of quality. In the same manner, a perfect five-star rating is not a guarantee that a brand will make it into the best sellers list. Tough choice, isn’t it?
In this guide, allow us to help you determine which is more important when choosing products to recommend – profit or quality?
Contents
Setting your goals as an authority site operator
Before you spend days or weeks in front of a computer to set up your first authority site, it’s important to ask first – “what urges you to become a webmaster?” Clearly, your goals will determine your priorities. But did you know that it can also predict the role you’ll play in the niche community you choose to operate in?
Generally, there are two types of authority site operators:
- Profit-driven. These people are focused on earning as much money as they could and are always on the lookout for the highest commission rates
- Passion-driven. These people are highly invested in their chosen niche and are focused on providing the best value to readers
Our deepest condolences to niches who are plagued by the first type of webmaster. Money is an important consideration, that’s for sure. But considering it as the core of your purpose and identity as a webmasters won’t get you far. Readers are attracted to authority sites that can assist them in solving their problems. So if you see viewers as nothing more than cash cows, your lack of care will also reflect on the quality of content you publish. Generic. Unhelpful. Highly exaggerated product value.
In contrast, a passion-driven authority site owner have a better shot in earning a name in his chosen niche. One’s genuine interest in a topic will make the technical aspects of web management (e.g. keyword research, content planning, etc.) feel like play rather than stressful work. In pursuit of providing as much value as he could, the motivation to optimize each page for high search engine rankings also comes naturally.
This brings us back to the question – should you prioritize profit or quality? Ideally, you should strike a balance between these considerations. But in the event that you’re forced to choose only one, we highly recommend prioritizing products’ quality by creating buyer guides that are inspired by your viewers’ needs, personality, and expectations.
The consequences of recommending products with terrible quality
Don’t worry, Google will not automatically purge your authority site if you accidentally recommended a terrible product. Its algorithm isn’t advanced enough to test if you’ve conducted thorough research on quality before publishing your top ten picks.
Although divine judgment won’t be passed by search engines, prepare for the wrath of a higher authority – your visitors themselves. With increasing access to information, expect that internet users have adequate analytical skills to call out if your buyer guide stems from greed and deceit. Not only do you lose opportunities to earn commissions, but you also make a wreck out of your reputation as a website.
Though it’s not powerful enough to evaluate the quality of products linked in your authority site, Google depends on your visitors’ perspective to determine your worthiness for a spot in the search results page. A profit-driven webmaster will tend to publish as much money pages as he could, but often ends up disappointed with his visitor count. He probably forgot a golden rule in content production – quality is more important than quantity.
Best practices in improving your authority site’s quality and value
To make sure you stay clear from being branded as a greedy, profit-driven webmaster, allow us to walk you through some tips on how to keep your authority site’s quality and value at an all-time high:
- Consider actual consumer experiences when choosing products to recommend. If your means allow it, try a product out and use your own experience as the basis for a review article. The most successful authority sites even publish unboxing and product testing videos to accompany their buyer guides. But for humble startups, customer reviews found in listings can also do the trick.
- Know your viewers. The key to choosing the most valuable and high-quality products is a deep understanding of your readers’ buyer persona. What product features do they consider most important? What brands do they often compare? Consider these questions as a guide when deciding what content to publish. After all, search engines also consider viewers’ interaction with your website (e.g. the period of time they stayed on your page, the number of pages they accessed, etc.) when giving out SEO brownie points.
- Invest in your SEO strategy. Your content can only provide value if your target readers can access it. To improve your chances of making it to the top Google search results, invest in SEO optimization techniques like keyword research and integration. The common terms that users enter into the query bar must be seen in your URLs and in strategic sections your website (e.g. landing pages, blog titles, etc.).
The bottom line
If you want your authority site to be a sustainable source of revenue, be prepared to look beyond profit and invest in producing valuable content supported by high-quality product recommendations. Overly focusing on bestseller lists and top commission rates can cost you your integrity as a webmaster – the most powerful attribute that could’ve set you apart from the hundreds of pages in the same niche as you. What’s worse, being unreasonably profit-driven can also cause you to neglect the quality of content.
Reality check, you can only earn from your authority site if viewers find value in it.
Got any tips in choosing what products to recommend and maintaining your authority site’s quality? Don’t hesitate to share them in the comments below!
