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Topical Authority: What Is It And How Do You Establish It?
Topical authority measures how credible and trustworthy a website is on a given subject. It is a powerful methodology for enhancing your SEO.
Essentially, search engines will see you as an authoritative source if you publish plenty of high-quality content around a given topic.
This authority can translate into higher search rankings, more traffic, and increased customer trust.
In this guide, we’ll cover:
- How topical authority works
- Why it matters for SEOs and content marketers
- Actionable steps to build and measure it
What Is Topical Authority?
Topical authority measures your expertise and authority on a specific topic.
Strong topical authority makes you more likely to rank high in search results for your target keywords.
For example, let’s say you run a personal finance website.
You’ve been writing in-depth, high-quality content for a long time. And you have built up a lot of topical authority on the subject.
If you publish a new article covering credit cards, it will rank higher and faster than a similar post published on a website that doesn’t usually cover personal finance topics.
The concept of topical authority gained prominence with Google’s Hummingbird algorithm update.
Before Hummingbird, Google relied more on keywords to understand what a user searched for. Hummingbird changed the algorithm, with content relevance becoming much more important.
Topic modeling, introduced as part of Hummingbird, allowed the search engine to consider the wider context of the search and the page providing the result. Any page demonstrating overall topical authority would be rewarded with prominence in answering the query.
Google’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) Framework
Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines highlight the search engine’s emphasis on topical authority.
These guidelines help Quality Raters evaluate search engine results. Google uses this feedback to improve the quality of results served to users.
In its latest update, Google emphasized “expertise” and “reputable websites” as indicators of page quality.
Increasing your topical authority will help you tick the boxes in E-E-A-T.
Demonstrable E-E-A-T, in turn, increases your perceived topical authority in a happy circle of increased reputation.
Why Is Topical Authority Important?
Topical authority is a big deal for several reasons.
First off, you need topical authority to rank for competitive keywords. Search engines look to provide their users with answers and results from the most reliable and accurate sources possible, so they reward your authoritative content with higher rankings.
These higher rankings mean more exposure, traffic, and potential customers visiting your website. Being the number one result in SERPs leads to an average CTR of 27.6%!
With topical authority a confirmed ranking factor for news results and an implied running factor from Hummingbird onwards, anything you do to increase your topical authority can boost your ranking chances, with all the benefits that leads to.
Topical authority also positions you as a thought leader in your industry. You can become the go-to source when people seek information on a topic related to your products or services.
This increased brand awareness and credibility can lead to more conversions and sales for your business as potential customers find you both knowledgeable and trustworthy.
How topic authority works
The topic authority system looks at a variety of signals to understand the degree of expertise a publication has in particular areas. A few of the most prominent signals are:
- How notable a source is for a topic or location: Our systems understand publications that seem especially relevant to topics or locations. For example, they can tell that people looking for news on Nashville high school football often turn to a publication like The Tennessean for local coverage.
- Influence and original reporting: Our system looks at how original reporting (for example the publisher that first broke a story) is cited by other publishers to understand how a publication is influential and authoritative on a topic. In 2022, we added the Highly Cited label to give people an easier way to identify stories that have been frequently cited by other news organizations.
- Source reputation: Our system also looks at a source’s history of high-quality reporting, or recommendations from expert sources, such as professional societies. For example, a publication’s history doing original reporting or their journalistic awards are strong evidence of positive reputation for news websites.
How To Build Topical Authority For SEO
We’ve covered what it is and why it matters. So how do you actually build topical authority?
Typical strategies can be split into two categories; internal and external.
Internal Topical Authority Strategies
Topical Clusters
Organize your content into topical clusters of pillar content and related sub-topics. This approach helps search engines understand the structure and relevance of your content while building your semantic SEO.
Start by identifying the core topic you want to establish authority on.
Once you have the core topic, create pillar content that serves as the foundation for the cluster.
Pillar content is comprehensive content that covers a topic in-depth. Think “ultimate” and “definitive” guides covering every aspect of a topic.
Next, identify sub-topics closely related to the core topic. These sub-topics will form the clusters around the pillar content.
Create smaller content pieces for each sub-topic. Then, you can link back to the pillar and sub-topic content within the cluster.
This structure helps reinforce the topical authority of the cluster.
Topic-Based Keyword Research To Create A Topical Map
A topical map is your blueprint for achieving topical authority. It helps you create a hierarchy and organize your content.
First, break down your main topic into subcategories.
Then conduct keyword research to identify relevant terms and build a content network for each.
Covering a wide range of questions and sub-topics increases your chances of gaining topical authority. It helps you build your appearance as an expert in the field and develops your semantic SEO as Google can more confidently associate your site with niche-specific relevance.
Meet Search Intent
Search intent refers to the reason behind a user’s search query. It can be:
- Informational (seeking answers)
- Navigational (looking for a specific website or page)
- Transactional (aiming to make a purchase)
- Commercial (researching before making a buying decision)
- Providing content that matches the user intent is key for search rankings. It ensures you satisfy user needs and strengthens your topical authority.
Comprehensive And Authoritative Content Strategy
Aim to provide comprehensive, well-researched content covering the different angles of your topic.
This demonstrates expertise and signals to search engines that your content is a valuable resource.
Consider using various content formats to cater to different user preferences. For example, some users prefer reading articles, while others prefer watching videos.
Internal Links And Crawl Efficiency
Internal linking is crucial in building topical authority and improving crawl efficiency.
Strategically use internal links to connect relevant pages within your website.
Make sure your internal linking structure is logical and follows a hierarchical structure. This helps search engines understand the relationships between your content and the importance of each page.
Site Structure
A well-structured site helps organize and categorize content logically. It makes it easy for users to find the information they seek and for search engines to understand your content.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Group related content together
- Use clear and concise titles and descriptions
- Use internal links to connect related pages
External Topical Authority Strategies
Contextual Link Building
Contextual links are from websites that are topically relevant to your content. These links carry more weight as they are from authoritative sources within your niche.
Reach out to industry-specific websites and offer to contribute guest posts. You can showcase your knowledge, gain exposure, and earn valuable backlinks.
You can also use a professional link building service for outreach and link placement.
Targeted link building can allow you to increase your topical authority by securing links from niche and industry-relevant sites that already have their own established topical authority.
Link building with services like HARO can also secure links from reputable news outlets. You can leverage their existing reputation to bolster your own topical authority. If Google sees a well-regarded news outlet linking to you as a source, they are more likely to consider you an authority in your space.
Multi-Channel Authority
Consistently delivering high-quality content on different platforms can reinforce your topical authority.
For example, you can share your blog posts on social media platforms.
Social media does not directly impact SEO. But studies have shown a correlation between social shares and search ranking.
This cross-promotion helps drive traffic and engagement across different channels and increases your reach.
Reputation Management
Managing your online reputation can help build trust and authority in your industry.
Monitor your brand mentions, customer reviews, and social media interactions.
Ensure you respond promptly to feedback and address any concerns your audience raises.
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Source: FATJOE(https://fatjoe.com/topical-authority/)
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