How to Start an Authority Website

Getting good information on the Internet is tricky. Anyone can publish anything with a cheap hosting account and a domain name. An authority website stands above the noise by providing detailed, honest, and trustworthy information about a specific topic.

It makes money through affiliate products and promotions and by advertisements on the site. A model authority site, such as Dr. Axe, provides people looking for health advice with articles, workout routines, healthy recipes, and more. This is not to be confused with a niche website, which has much less content and may or may not have the same level of quality.

Ready to turn your business idea into a reality? We recommend forming an LLC as it is the most affordable way to protect your personal assets. You can do this yourself or with our trusted partner for a small fee.

 Northwest ($29 + State Fees)

DIY: How to Start an LLC

Start an authority website by following these 10 steps:

  1. Plan your Authority Website
  2. Form your Authority Website into a Legal Entity
  3. Register your Authority Website for Taxes
  4. Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
  5. Set up Accounting for your Authority Website
  6. Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Authority Website
  7. Get Authority Website Insurance
  8. Define your Authority Website Brand
  9. Create your Authority Website Website
  10. Set up your Business Phone System

We have put together this simple guide to starting your authority website. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly, and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas.

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

What will you name your business?

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Authority Website Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:

  • Your state’s business records
  • Federal and state trademark records
  • Social media platforms
  • Web domain availability

It’s very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

What are the costs involved in opening an authority website?

Costs are minimal. An authority website can be started for the cost of hosting and a domain name. This will set you back about $100-$200, depending on the hosting company you choose. If you plan on ramping up your content quickly, you will also spend several thousand dollars every month on content creation.

What are the ongoing expenses for an authority website?

Ongoing expenses include hosting charges, domain renewal, and any marketing costs you incur for content creation, distribution, and promotion. These costs could range from just a few hundred dollars per year to hundreds of thousands of dollars for large-scale content creation and promotion.

Who is the target market?

The target market is the general population, specifically Internet users. Since authority websites make money primarily through ad revenue and affiliate sales, it’s doubtful you’ll ever have to speak to any of your site visitors or “customers.”

How does an authority website make money?

Authority websites make money through a combination of selling affiliate products, in-house products, and direct-placement advertisements or media placements.

Affiliate products and online media ads are the most common.

An authority site owner signs up to become an affiliate with a major brand or website so that it can resell its products or services. The authority website never handles customer information. Instead, it simply refers business to its partner business.

The authority site receives a credit for every purchase made by a referral. Affiliates typically earn money as a commission or percentage of the total sales price of products or services they’re reselling. Commissions vary by company and industry.

For example, a product that sells for $100 may have a commission rate of 10%. This means whenever the authority site refers a business to a partner business, and that referral buys something from the partner business, the authority site receives a commission in the amount of $10.

Another way authority sites make money is by selling their own products. Usually, a product will be an online product, like an ebook or course that can be easily downloaded from the website. In some instances, the authority website will sell services, however, this is rare.

A third way authority websites make money is by hosting ads on the site. These ads can be in the form of pay-per-click ads (e.g. Google AdSense) or in the form of direct media placements. Media placement is when an authority website negotiates for the placement of an ad either directly with an advertiser, bypassing third-party promoters, or with an established media ad agency that works directly with a company or advertiser. Direct media placements can be very lucrative for authority sites. However, most ad agencies and companies will only consider direct media placements on sites with established high-volume traffic patterns.

How much can you charge customers?

Since authority websites make money through ad revenue and affiliate sales, you don’t have to worry about setting prices for customers. The “product” is free content.

How much profit can an authority website make?

Authority websites can bring in a few thousand dollars per month or several million dollars per year. It all depends on how large the site is, how much you’re making from ad revenue and affiliate sales, and what your traffic numbers and traffic patterns are.

How can you make your business more profitable?

Make your business more profitable by selling high-commission affiliate products or services, negotiating for direct placement media, and selling ebooks or other online products that have a high value and low distribution cost.

Want a more guided approach? Access TRUiC’s free Small Business Startup Guide – a step-by-step course for turning your business idea into reality. Get started today!

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

One crucial aspect that cannot be overlooked when starting your authority website is the importance of establishing a solid business foundation. While sole proprietorships and partnerships are the most common entity types for small businesses, they’re a far less stable and advantageous option than LLCs.

This is because unincorporated business structures (i.e., sole proprietorships and partnerships) expose you as an owner to personal liability for your business’s debts and legal actions, while LLCs protect you by keeping your personal assets separate from your business’s liabilities.

In practice, this means that if your authority website were to face a lawsuit or incur any debts, your savings, home, and other personal assets could not be used to cover these costs. On top of this, forming your business as an LLC also helps it to appear more legitimate and trustworthy.

More than 84% of our readers opt to collaborate with a professional LLC formation service to kickstart their venture. We’ve negotiated a tailored discount for our readers, bringing the total down to just $29.

FORM YOUR LLC

Note: If you’re interested in more information before getting started, we recommend having a look at our state-specific How to Start an LLC guide (DIY) or our in-depth Best LLC Services review (for those opting for a professional service).

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It’s really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN through the IRS website. If you would like to learn more about EINs, read our article, What is an EIN?

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

  • Separates your personal assets from your company’s assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
  • Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from BILL and build your business credit quickly.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate an authority website. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits.

Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses.

Trademark & Copyright Protection

If you are developing a unique product, concept, brand, or design, it is prudent to protect your rights by registering for the appropriate trademarks and copyrights.

Learn more about trademark and copyright protection

The nature of legal requirements in distance education is ever-changing, especially in regard to copyright laws. Here is a frequently updated resource, which can help keep you aware of the legal requirements.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers’ Compensation Coverage.

Find out what types of insurance your Authority Website needs and how much it will cost you by reading our guide Business Insurance for Authority Website.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator. Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote & market an authority website

Promote your site in forums, on other blogs and authority websites, in the media, and on social media.

How to keep customers coming back

Keep growing your backlinks. Publish valuable content. Maintain an email list and send emails regularly. Entertain and engage your site visitors to keep them coming back for more.

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business.

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:

  • All legitimate businesses have websites – full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
  • Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
  • Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Recommended: Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders.

Other popular website builders are: WordPressWIXWeeblySquarespace, and Shopify.

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2024 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com

Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it’s fair pricing.

Is this Business Right For You?

This kind of business is ideal for individuals who are passionate about a subject, love writing and reading about it, and have good managerial skills. Since authority sites are so large, they are rarely run by just one person. Usually, the owner delegates a variety of tasks to other people, with many of the tasks outsourced to independent contractors and content creators.

This business is very flexible due to the fact that content scheduling, and all business-related activities, can be done on a flexible schedule. Most authority site owners don’t have to meet face-to-face with clients or customers on a daily basis, if ever.

Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?

Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!

Entrepreneurship Quiz

What happens during a typical day at an authority website?

A typical business day is spent creating content and managing the editorial calendar. When the site is just starting, the owner may be directly involved in creating the content. As the site grows, however, the owner will become less involved in the day-to-day operations and will instead oversee an operations manager.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful authority website?

There’s no formal experience needed to start and run an authority website, however, it helps to have business experience. You should know basic HTML and have a rudimentary understanding of website development and how hosting platforms work.

What is the growth potential for an authority website?

Growth potential for an authority site is good, provided the site can secure the content, revenue streams, and affiliate products to make the site work. Since everything is hosted and handled online, the theoretical upper limit for growth is infinite.

Authority sites, by definition, are large websites. They cover a wide range of topics in an industry. For example, an authority site may cover a variety of topics on health and fitness. Or, it may cover topics on personal finance. Or, it may cover travel topics.

Take the Next Step

Find a business mentor

One of the greatest resources an entrepreneur can have is quality mentorship. As you start planning your business, connect with a free business resource near you to get the help you need.

Having a support network in place to turn to during tough times is a major factor of success for new business owners.

Learn from other business owners

Want to learn more about starting a business from entrepreneurs themselves? Visit Startup Savant’s startup founder series to gain entrepreneurial insights, lessons, and advice from founders themselves.

Resources to Help Women in Business

There are many resources out there specifically for women entrepreneurs. We’ve gathered necessary and useful information to help you succeed both professionally and personally:

  • Funding
  • Events
  • Guides
  • Support

If you’re a woman looking for some guidance in entrepreneurship, check out this great new series Women in Business created by the women of our partner Startup Savant.

What are some insider tips for jump starting an authority website?

Start with content. Hire content creators on popular freelance websites and ramp up your on-site content. Contact major media outlets and other authority site owners (in non-competing industries) and tell them about your “grand opening.” Form partnerships with other blog owners and see if you can write a few guest blog posts about your new website.

How and when to build a team

It’s not necessary to build a team unless you need or want rapid content creation and distribution in the early phases of your site development. A minimum of two content writers will probably be necessary.

Useful Links

Real World Examples

Further Reading