Answer engines prefer independent sources, because a description of a brand by the brand itself is not evidence. In this context, authority means that other parties describe you, in places that answer engines retrieve.

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Why your own site has a limit

You can write a perfect page and still lose to an average comparison page from a third party. The comparison is evidence, and your page is a claim. A citation profile that contains only your own domain is also fragile. When one competitor gets independent coverage, that competitor can replace you. Read Most cited sources.

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Where authority comes from

  • Review and comparison sites, where buyers in your category already look. Usually, these sites have the largest effect, because answer engines cite them frequently. Also, you can partly control your profile on them.
  • Community discussion: the subreddit or forum where people discuss your category. Answer engines cite these places. You cannot buy a place in them. You can only earn it.
  • Independent writers and creators that write about your field. When Genezio can identify them, it gives the name of the specific channel or author. Read Channels and authors. Thus, your outreach starts from a list, not from a guess.
  • Documentation and technical text that other parties refer to. This work is slow but durable. For some categories, it is the only route.

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How to select where to spend

Start from the sources that answer engines already cite in your category. Do not start from a general list of good publications. A site with forty citations for your questions has more value than a famous site with zero citations.

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What does not work

  • Paid placements that answer engines do not retrieve.
  • Press releases that no publication uses.
  • Link building for search rankings. Answer engines read the text. They do not count the links.