5 Tips for Building Industry Authority Through WordPress
Having a WordPress blog is essential to every business. Not only does it help convert visitors into customers, but a WordPress website is also the key to developing industry authority.
Building industry authority allows you to spread your influence and establish a loyal following. For this, you only need to demonstrate how much you know about your industry. How do you build a WordPress website for that purpose? Here are a few tips you might want to keep in mind:
Opt for a professional design
Let’s start with appearance. People respond well to websites that imply competence and professionalism. Websites that aren’t designed well are less likely to impress visitors. A cluttered UI or poor color combinations can turn anyone away the moment they land on your homepage.
If you want people to take your brand seriously, your website has to be visually appealing. As much as you want to provide information to visitors, simplicity is still an important principle to follow. Opt for a clean layout with just enough white space for easier reading.
Other than that, you can also add visual relief by including high-quality graphics or original photos. You can also use a color scheme that’s consistent with your brand identity. Use appropriate contrasting colors to achieve visual harmony.
Try to avoid using bright colors against darker backgrounds. You should also avoid putting too much green in the background. If your brand kit requires a certain shade of green, balance it out with some blue or white.
With the right color scheme, you can highlight important text and make it easier for visitors to read the valuable information you have on your site. Be sure to use a mobile-optimized theme so people can browse your entire website on their phone just as easily as they would on a desktop.
Clear and engaging web page copy
Each webpage of your WordPress site must contain well-written and engaging information. If the text is confusing or too technical, you may not be able to keep them wanting more information.
You can’t build an audience let alone position yourself as an industry authority if your web pages aren’t delivering value. Unless you are targeting B2B organizations, you need to keep the language as simple as possible when writing web copy. In case you are trying to go for B2B organizations then you might as well do some research on content marketing for B2B companies first.
Depending on your brand voice, make each line of text stand out. Observe proper paragraph and sentence length and make sure to craft engaging content.
If you are unsure of how to do this, consider hiring a professional copywriter who is well-versed in your industry. An expert copywriter should help you create webpage text that positions your brand as an industry leader.
Blog about relevant topics
The most effective way to show how much you know about your industry is blogging. Apart from making your WordPress site visible online, blogging can also function as a medium for educating your audience.
It doesn’t take much to start a blog, but it requires careful research about the topics that your audience cares about. Since you are building industry authority, it’s important that you discuss the latest trends and give your insights on issues that have a significant impact on your market or niche.
Whether it’s you or someone else who is managing your WordPress blog, you need to stay current on what’s happening in your industry. You can pick a trending issue or look for keywords that people search for the most.
You can then write blogs around these keywords, but make sure to add your own insights. To be an authority figure means sharing your wisdom with your audience.
If you are not sure what to write about yet, start with tips and life hacks. You can also publish articles using an op-ed format. This format allows you to share your brand’s take on a recent trend or issue. It also provides you an avenue for showing how much you know about your industry.
Whichever topics you have picked for your blogs, you need to make sure they are optimized for searchability. Use SEO plugins such as Yoast, Rank Math, or WP Meta SEO to check if your blogs match Google’s indexing parameters.
Add videos and interactive content
Writing blogs is not the only way to demonstrate how much you know about your industry. You also need to publish videos and other types of content that work well in educating your audience.
On your home page, consider adding a video introduction that shows how your brand is becoming a key player in your industry. For your about page, you can include a video of yourself talking about how you got started and what your vision of the future would be.
Don’t forget to add recorded testimonials from clients and industry partners so people will know how credible you are as a brand. You can also include recorded webinars and tutorials so you can provide more value to your visitors.
There are a number of WordPress plugins you can use for video content. Some of the best ones include WP LightBox and ARVE which allow you to easily embed mobile-optimized videos on any page.
Interactive content such as quizzes, surveys, and assessments can also get visitors engaged at a deeper level. You just need to find the right plugins for creating these.
Provide free downloadable resources
If you have a wealth of market reports, case studies, and e-books at your disposal, it’s best that you share all of these for free.
To be an industry leader, you have to make your knowledge available to a wider audience. If that is your goal, consider installing plugins that host online files. The WordPress Download Manager is often cited as the best one for its ease of use and wide array of customization tools.
Preparing a range of free resources will surely position your brand front and center, so include downloadable files into your content strategy. You may also promote these on social media or through email.
If you are looking to turn your business into an industry authority, look no further than your WordPress website. Consider these tips and place your brand at the top.
