Authority Site Set Up/Questions

[marcp]

Hi after starting some Amazon niche sites with somewhat success I am wanting to start an authority site in a competive marketplace. I have done a lot of keyword research and have found keywords/phrases that I can target with exact match search volume in the 3600/month range. However competition is more but doable. In each keyword it looks like I can get to top 3 but #1 would be a challenge. I realize this would be long term. I like the idea that I'm very interested in this marketplace and often search for info for my own benefit.

My questions are how to go about this. With amazon niche sites there are 7-8 plug ins I use and I use exact match domains.

Do I go about this with the same on page SEO?

I see a lot of the competition links to other sources in their content.

Any thoughts or recommendations?