Japan authority sites

[jeffposaka]

What are considered "authority" sites in Japan? ac.jp domains? Any other ideas?

Thanks in advance

[bill]

I don't think a domain extension alone will be an indicator of an authority site in Japan or anywhere else. The educational ac.jp domains will lend the same approximate authority as an .edu domain in the West. The SEs may lend a bit more credence to links from sites with these extensions, but it would be a stretch to call them authority sites on this basis alone.

Authority sites generally have an exhaustive collection of information on a certain topic. Often times the older and bigger sites have achieved this status. You'll see this in a lot of the old Japanese portal sites.

A good way to look for authority sites in your area is to look at the SERPs for your chosen keywords to see what the SEs think. Sites that consistently rank well (not necessarily #1) in the SERPs for a broad range of relevant KWs are a good place to start.

[jeffposaka]

Bill thanks for your reply.

For some very competitive terms, for example "chintai", it is hard for me to see "authority" from any of the sites in that area. Many have a lower PR (for what is worth) than I would expect for a top ten ranking and the many of the backlinks seem spammy, of the link ring variety.

So either the quality of links is not that important in this area or is there something I am missing...

I am still trying to get my arms around link strategies here. Thanks for the help.

P.S. Looking forward to summer in Osaka?

[bill]

The determining factors for what makes an "authority site" for a given keyword category is not always clear...especially when you're looking at a highly competitive KW like that.

You do know that toolbar PR is just for entertainment purposes, don't you? ;) It's not even worth it in most cases to even consider that little green bar. It may be somewhat accurate for older established sites, but it's a joke for anything new.

In categories like that you're probably seeing a lot of paid links in high ranking mailing lists as well as the traditional blogs, link rings, etc.

Summer in Osaka? This place will probably be an inferno this year...not looking forward to it actually.

[jeffposaka]

I know the PR is nothing to worry about too much, but sometimes it is a convenient reference. Thanks for your reply.

I spent 6 summers in Osaka that is one reason I live in Hokkaido now :)

[bill]

What have you been using as quality determining factors to date?

Hokkaido sounds nice. I've never actually been there. It's one of those places I always wanted to visit, but just never found the time. It's actually cheaper for me to go to Hawaii. ;)

[jeffposaka]

Bill Thanks for the reply. My link quality checklist, I look for DMOZ and Yahoo directory links. Also a quick check for links from education or governmental links.

I hate to admit it but also the number of incoming links also impresses me, although I know it could mean little.

How about you? How do you judge a link from a site?

I hope you can make it up here someday. Summer is great. Winter is a little cold.

[bill]

That's a good list Jeff. I would add to it with links from the big ISP portals like Nifty, BIGLOBE, ODN, DION, etc. Those big old portal properties can have some good linking authority.

Depending on your niche, the older, more established sites may not even be as gigantic as these portals. You may find some good authority simply from smaller, yet quality old sites. Look at the age of the domain as a quick test.