With more and more content being uploaded to the internet every single day, you need to up your game when it comes to staying ahead. Gone are the days of putting out 300-word blogs and expecting them to rank on the first page of Google. And ever since Google’s Hummingbird algorithm update back in 2013, the search engine has made the importance of relevancy very clear. This update turned the content game upside down and since then, marketers have been looking for new and improved ways to boost the relevancy of their content and their website. 

This is why you need to prove to search engines that you know what you’re talking about, and one of the best ways to do that is through Topical Authority. 

As search engines shift to a more user-centric focus, the emphasis on topical relevance has grown – and it shows! I’ve seen it first-hand as I find myself no longer having to go to 10 different web pages to find the answer I’m looking for. The first search result has all the answers I need!

The concept of Topical Authority heavily feeds into Google’s drive for E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust), which is what Google uses to determine the quality of content. The more E-E-A-T you have in your content, the better chance of appearing in that top spot on search results.

In this blog, I discuss the importance of Topical Authority for your website’s SEO. I’ll break it down from what it is to easy strategies you can start using ASAP to boost your site’s visibility and climb up those search engine rankings. 

What is Topical Authority:

In short, Topical Authority is a measure of how authoritative your website is on a specific topic. The main purpose of building Topical Authority is to be seen as a credible source within your niche or industry. You earn this credibility by constantly putting out high-quality content about a subject that you know inside out. When a website establishes topical authority, it creates a sense of trust and reliability. Take Hubspot, for instance – they’re the go-to gurus for all things marketing, thanks to years of sharing valuable tips and insights. 

Posting a single article about a certain topic isn’t going to cut it. You’ve got to craft in-depth and informative pieces to the point readers aren’t clicking off your content to look for their answers. It’s not just about impressing readers; it’s about convincing search engines that you’re the ultimate source of information within your niche. 

The key to Topical Authority is trust. And gaining that trust will take some time. It’s not an overnight success story, you need to be in it for the long haul. Stay consistent and the results will speak for themselves. 

Benefits of Topical Authority: 

• Improve Search Engine Rankings: I think it’s a given at this point given everything we’ve talked about that Topical Authority will help you climb those SERPs. Search engines love the experts, so the more authority you show, the higher you rank.
• Increased Visibility in Your Niche: As your website starts ranking higher and higher, you’ll start to see your blog or article receiving a little more love from readers. 
• Returning Visitors: Being the go-to source within your field isn’t just about ranking high to get one-off visitors. It’s also about getting those return visits from users who are eager for your content. 
• Better User-experience: Putting out content that dives deep into your subject means that people won’t need to look elsewhere to get their answers. This leads to lower bounce rates and longer time spent on your page. Users love it, search engines love it- honestly a win-win. 
• Targeted Traffic Generation: When you focus on a particular subject or topic, you get the right crowd flooding in. These are the people who are interested, engaged, and ready to convert. Your content is exactly what they’re looking for as it’s targeted towards what they’re searching for. 
• Better Adapt to Algorithm Changes: Search engine algorithms are always changing and it’s hard for many websites to adapt to these changes. Having a website that has built its Topical Authority will make it easier for you to adapt to these changes. This is because your website has proven itself in the eyes of Google and usually your content will only need a little tweaking when these algorithm updates do come out.

How Does Topical Authority Help With SEO:

As you start building your Topical Authority, you should start to see your rankings rise up. This is because search engines such as Google heavily reward you for dishing out content related to your topic. For this very reason, many content marketers are quick to implement this concept within their SEO strategy.

The key to implementing Topical Authority within your SEO strategy is going beyond the topic you’re talking about. Include case studies, personal experiences, and talk about other closely related topics. This will not only help beef up your content but make sure you’re covering all bases when it comes to your topic of choice. By doing this, you’re making sure your readers are leaving your page satisfied that their questions have been fully answered. 

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How does Topical Authority work?

Now that I’ve gone into the ins and outs of what Topical Authority is, it’s time to talk about how it works and how you can implement it within your website. Remember, the key here is to build trust and credibility. And it all begins with the content you put out. Accuracy, depth, and relevant keywords will help you achieve brownie points in Google. Don’t just be surface-level with your content; dive deep. Show search engines that you know what you’re talking about. Other key factors in how Topical Authority works are:

• Keyword Optimisation: Optimise your content for relevant keywords and key phrases and scatter them strategically throughout your blog or article. This helps search engines connect the dots and understand your content’s context better.
• Internal Linking: Linking to other pages on your site is another great way to link relevant pages together. It shows that you have more than one piece of content around your topic area and acts as a roadmap for both users and search engines.
• External Links: Including external links to trusted websites will help show Google that you’re also a trusted source of information.
• Up-to-date Content: You need to be consistent with your posting schedule and discuss emerging topics related to your niche.
• User Engagement Metrics: Google loves metrics. Having metrics such as longer time spent on pages and lower bounce rates gets you that nod of approval from Google. It shows that your website is engaging and has all the answers users are looking for.

Domain Authority vs Topical Authority:

Topical Authority and Domain Authority both share a common goal- winning the trust of both search engines and readers. Yet, it’s important to note that they’re both completely different, each with their unique functions when it comes to SEO.

As I mentioned above, Topical Authority is how credible you are in a specific subject. It’s all about showcasing how well you know your way around a specific niche or industry. It’s more laser-focused towards the content within a niche. Whereas, Domain Authority is a metric developed by Moz which looks at the bigger picture of your website. It’s a measure of your domain’s strength as a whole. Backlinks, the age of your domain, and other trust-related backlinks all count towards your Domain Authority.

Topical Authority is measured based on the quality, relevance, and depth of content within a particular content. Whereas Domain Authority is measured based on a numerical score (usually on a 0-100 scale) by looking into the trustworthiness of the overall domain. 

How to build topical authority:

1. Choose Your Topic:

Before you even dive into the world of Topical Authority, you need to first choose your desired topic. The idea here is to find a little niche where you can truly shine without drowning in competition. Imagine: rather than being the jack of all trades in the technology niche, try focusing on saving money through Technology. Being as specific as possible will help you focus on what to write about, as well as have the ability to be a content powerhouse around that particular subject.

2. Create A Content Strategy:

The next step is to create a content strategy to give you a sense of direction. Know what your readers want to learn through keyword research. This will help you plan out your content and get involved in trending industry topics. When conducting keyword research, you should keep in mind the traffic potential you gain from each keyword. No point wasting time writing up content no one’s going to read. Remember: You need to really hone into the topic and write about all the talking points within your topic of choice.

You’ll first need to start with your content pillars which will act as the backbone for all the content you put out. Then create topic clusters to help group relevant content together so that it is easier to find by both users and Google. Be as specific as you can with your content and keep in mind user intent. There’s no point in writing a blog or article for the sake of creating content. You need to truly understand your target audience and make sure you’re coming up with ideas that they’re eager to read.

The main aim of this strategy is to ensure you’re staying on track. Building Topical Authority requires time and dedication, which can be hard if you aren’t staying focused.

3. Create High-Quality Content:

Here comes the fun part – creating the content. This is your chance to show off your expertise. Make sure your article or blog is in-depth and adds genuine value to the readers. Aim for around 1,500-2,000 words as these are the types of posts that are likely to rank higher in search engines. Share your personal experience and insight – real-world examples do wonders. And don’t be afraid to show your personality. It makes your content seem authentic. You don’t want to end up sounding like ChatGPT!  

Include FAQs and Key Takeaways section to talk more about your content and cover a wide breadth of information. 

4. Optimise Your Content For SEO:

Now that you’ve written up your content, you now need to optimise it for SEO. This is basically where you’ll prepare your content so that it can hit that first page of Google. Scatter relevant keywords across your post, include both internal and external links, and make sure to identify those H1 and H2 tags. This boosts your crawl efficiency so search engine crawlers can easily identify what your content is about. The easier you make your content readable to search engine bots, the higher your chance of getting your page ranking on Google.

5. Create A Link-Building Strategy:

It doesn’t just stop with your content—what goes on outside your website also matters. For your content to really shine, it needs high-quality backlinks to boost the authority of your post. Backlinks can act as an indicator to search engines, telling them you know your stuff. It signals to search engines that your content is worth ranking. 

You shouldn’t just build any backlinks. Make sure they’re from high-quality sources that are well-known, and have a high domain authority. Your main focus should be on earning natural and relevant backlinks. The key to scoring these high-quality backlinks is by reaching out to other websites within your niche. Look for opportunities to collaborate, contribute guest posts, or get featured on reputable industry blogs. This will help not only gain eyes on your content from their audience but also boost your Topical Authority. 

6. Spice Up Your Content:

Your content doesn’t always have to just be a box-standard blog or article. Spice up your content by adding engaging and interactive elements such as images, videos, infographics, quizzes, and polls. This will help make your content shareable and allow you to repurpose your content. For example, you create an infographic for your blog post. This can then be put on your social media sites to gain website visits from a whole new audience. 

The possibilities are truly endless when you start getting creative with your content. Go ahead, unleash your creative genius!

Examples of websites with high Topical Authority:

There are many websites that you probably visit daily that have a high level of domain authority. Websites such as WebMD, Forbes, and Cosmopolitan all have high Topical Authority. These websites are seen as the experts in their fields and are oftentimes the go-to source when looking for information within their respective niches.

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Measuring Topical Authority:

To make sure your topical authority strategy is even working, you first need to look at the results. There are a couple of key analytics to keep an eye out for such as keyword ranking, organic traffic, and backlinks from reputable sources. The more effort you put into beefing up your Topical Authority, the more you’ll see these metrics heading in the right direction.

How can you measure your website’s topical authority?

One obvious method to measure your website’s topical authority is by checking your website’s traffic. All you need to do is sign into your website’s Google Analytics dashboard and take a look at whether your organic traffic has been on the up. You should also look at how people are engaging with your content by paying close attention to the metrics like time on page spent, bounce rate, and pages per session. If users are sticking around and going from page to page, it signals to Google that your content is valuable. 

Another way to see if the time and resources you’re putting into building your website’s authority are paying off is by analysing your site’s backlink profile. If you’ve got links coming in from respected relevant sites, it’s a good indicator that your site is headed in the right direction. What’s more, is that it also tells search engines that your site is a trusted source of information on a certain topic. Tools like Moz’s Link Explorer and Ahrefs are great for giving you a quick breakdown of the quality and quantity of those backlinks pointing to your site. 

Finally, make sure to track your site’s ranking for relevant keywords. If your site is popping up at the top of the search results for important keywords in your industry, it’s a huge sign that search engines see your site as the go-to authority on these topics. You can use tools like Google Search Console or SEMrush to track your keyword rankings over time.

Examples of websites with high Topical Authority:

There are many websites that you probably visit on a daily basis that have a high level of domain authority. Websites such as WebMD, Forbes, and Cosmopolitan all have high Topical Authority. These websites are seen as the experts in their fields and are oftentimes the go-to source when looking for information within their respective niches.

Common Topical Authority FAQs:

FAQ: How Long Does It Typically Take For A Website To Build Topical Authority?

Building topical authority for a website is a gradual process that requires dedication and patience – it’s not something that happens overnight. Usually, you’re looking at about 6 months to a year for your website to start gaining topical authority in its niche. But there are also a lot of factors that come into play:

• How much time you’re putting in: Your website needs to be consistently updated with top-notch content that shows off your expertise. The less time you’re willing to dedicate, the more time it’ll take to build your website’s authority. 
• Competition of the industry: It’s not just about how much effort you’re putting in, but also about how much effort the competition is putting in too. If you’re looking to build authority in a niche that’s highly competitive, it’s going to take longer for you to build your topical authority. This is because there are already a tonne of sites that Google deems more authoritative than yours because they’ve been in the game for longer.
• Link Building: Link-building strategies are a part of every website content strategy and that’s especially the case when it comes to your topical authority strategy. You need to get reputable sites in the same niche to link back to your content, which signals to search engines that your website is a trusted source of information. You may naturally get some backlinks to your website, however, typically you’ll need to build relationships with other websites and influencers in the industry so that you can reach out to them to ask them for a link back to your site. If you’re struggling to build backlinks, it may take longer for your authority to be established. 

FAQ: What are some challenges someone may face when trying to build topical authority?

A lack of topics to write about can be a major challenge when trying to build topical authority. Without a continuous stream of juicy content ideas, it’s tough to stake your claim as the go-to expert in your field. It can also make it hard to keep readers engaged as you’re not churning out consistent content to your audience. 

One way to overcome this challenge and busy through this writer’s block is to conduct some in-depth research and brainstorm like there’s no tomorrow.  Sometimes, all it takes is a fresh new angle or a unique perspective to breathe new life into your content. Another strategy is to expand the scope of the topic and explore related sub-topics that can be covered in-depth. This can help you flesh out what you’ve already got as well as build authority around your main topic as well as your sub-topic – a win-win. 

Another challenge is struggling to keep up with the latest trends and shifts in your industry. Building topical authority requires consistently providing relevant and valuable content to your audience, which is no small feat if you’re not staying up-to-date on the latest news and best practices.

FAQ: Can Topical Authority Be Built For Any Topic, Or Are There Limitations?

Sure, you can certainly build topical authority for any topic, but there are some roadblocks that you may encounter. 

First up is the competition. If you’re diving into a topic that is already saturated with authoritative sources, it’s going to be a tough space to leave your mark. 

Next up with the quality and consistency of your content. In order to be seen as a subject matter expert, you need to be putting out top-notch that your audience loves. For some this will be a no-brainer, but for others, churning out high-quality consistently can be a challenge. 

Finally, time is a huge limitation for many. It takes time to establish yourself as a credible source for a given topic and it isn’t going to happen overnight. It takes time to prove yourself in the eyes of search engines and users so you’ll have to play the waiting game before you start seeing any serious results.

FAQ: How can someone adapt their current strategy to focus on building topical authority? 

Step 1: If you’re looking to adapt your current strategy, the first thing you have to do is figure out the relevant topics that are relevant to your industry or niche. You can do this by conducting thorough keyword research, competitor analysis, and monitoring industry trends.

Step 2: Once you have identified the relevant topics, it is time to get creative and start creating some high-quality content that showcases your expertise. This content should be well-researched, cover all bases, and be packed with valuable information that your audience will love. 

Step 3: Step 3 is to build relationships with other authoritative sources in your industry. You can do this through guest posting, collaboration, or networking with influencers in your niche.

Step 4: The final step is to monitor how your content is performing. This means keeping your content fresh with relevant keywords, updating outdated content that’s gathering dust, and promoting your content via social media and other channels.

FAQ: How has Google’s Hummingbird update impacted content creation and SEO? 

Since Google released its Hummingbird update in 2013, there have been drastic shifts in the way marketers approach content creation and SEO. The update was released as a way to improve user experience by giving more weight to delivering relevant search results. This is done by understanding the context and meaning behind user queries. It wasn’t just about keywords anymore; it was about providing real value to users.

This shift meant content creators had to change their approach, focussing on creating engaging content that actually answered people’s questions. Before, it was all about stuffing in keywords, whether they made sense or not. But now, it’s all about putting out content that provides value. 

Not to mention that, with Hummingbird’s update release, Google started favouring websites that offered in-depth, comprehensive answers to user queries. This pushed content creators to address a wide range of related topics and focus on embracing longer-form content.