We all know that fresh content is important in getting picked up by the search engines. They don't want to pick up and rank old rehashed information. Not only that, but the content needs to be relevant. Do you know about Google Alerts? It is a great way to have google email you the latest news in your niche to your email box. Google alerts helps you keep up with the latest news in your niche and I highly recommend using google alerts for your main keywords. You can go to http://www.google.com/alerts in order to signup for your main keywords.

One way to use this infomation is to use these alerts in order to help provide fresh and relevant content. The way to do this is through social commentary. An example was late last year there were reports about a certain celebrity driving around with her young son on her lap and no seatbelt amongst other things. So I did a post on my parenting site and expressed concerns and opinions. Just remember, proper social edicate dictates that you mention and link to the source of the information and if you quote from any article give proper credit. It is very important that you not just rewrite the article or news but make it your 'own' by providing valuable commentary and opinion. Google will love you for it.

However, where does google get their news from? Can you beat google to the punch and get a jump on them? Its hard, but well worth it if you can. Here is one ideas that many people overlook. 

Each niche is different. For example, do you have a health site? Do you think your readers would be interested in tainted food products etc? Some government sites such as the FDA has email lists you can sign up for to get precisely that information. Would'nt it be great to get the beat on google?

There was recently a recall for "Rainforest Open Top Take-Along Swing". Only 34,000 some pages come up in the search. Normally it would never be a keyword I would target. I signed up to get notified of recalls affecting babies and toddlers. For a while I was number 1 for that term. Guess how many people were searching for information on this term when the news hit?

While some of these strategies may only give you short term traffic, you should be able to convert some of that traffic into regular readers. Part of aspiring to becoming an authority site is being in tune with the needs and wants of your niche, and showing your readers you care by providing them with truely useful information.

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