Posted by SEO'd in Building true credibility for a website takes time. It’s no easy thing, believe me. You may think that as long as you are getting ranked decently on major search engines, who cares about credibility, right? Wrong! We have seen it time and time again that there are in general two groups trying to make money on the Internet. On one hand, we have the short-term cash hunters. These guys build a bunch of crappy sites, optimize them for organic search, and slap Adsense ads all over them. I have no problem with folks making money, but I am always for providing some value in return for the cash.
The second group thinks more long-term. These folks treat their sites as a business. They are not there to make quick bucks and leave. They want to build a brand and add value to their online assets. I personally think of my sites a real properties. I rather take care of my physical properties and improve them rather than neglecting them. I don’t know about you but a site that is pushing the Adsense ads too hard can’t be too credible. But credibility is more than just that.
In order to build credibility for a website, you need to pay attention to details. You are going to need:
- a good domain: domains that have a lot of dashes and numbers in them can’t possibly look credible. mylove4-u is not exactly a good start. So getting a brandable, catchy domain name is a must.
- a good web host: your web host is the heart your website. If your host goes down a lot, then you are going to have a bunch of disgruntled visitors. And let’s not forget search engines may penalize you for your troubles.
- a good design: a lot of folks are cheap when it comes to ordering a design for their sites. A unique website design sets you apart from your competitors. Not everybody’s going to spend in a unique attractive web design, so doing it will give you some extra credibility.
- valuable content: as Mr. Wall puts it, you should always provide value to your readers. Folks are not visiting your site just to hear from you. They are there to get some value. Time is valuable, and you should treat your readers’ time as valuable as yours. Don’t waste their time with nonsense.
- to develop a decent online reputation: as you take time to participate on Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Stumbleupon, and YouTube, you should not act as a troll in the social media. In addition, you should try to provide value to your communities instead of just pushing your own content real hard. Research has shown that when you take time to really participate in community activities, you are going to be rewarded by the community members. You should also watch your brand. You should avoid from activities that can harm your brand.
- authority links: if you manage to get a few links from authority sites in your niche, that can only add to your site’s credibility.
Building a credible website is not a one-night matter. It’s a long-term project, and it will take a lot of effort to pull off. But once you have built that credibility, you are going to realize that it’s all been worth it.
