Cadence #41 - Topical Authority

Hello and welcome to the last #Cadence of 2023.

In this week's edition, I'm going to overview what Topical Authority is. It's a term being bounded about a lot in the SEO circles,

So, what does "authority" really mean? If you're familiar with the concept, you might wonder how to make your website's content more authoritative.

Simply put, authority in this context means how much power or influence your website's content has over other information on the internet.

In the world of SEO, if your page/domain is seen as having high authority, it's more likely to show up in the top results of Google searches.

To make your content appear at the top of search results on Google, you need to create authoritative content. High-quality content builds trust with both your website visitors and Google.

Good content improves your reputation and increases your chances of appearing on search engine results pages (SERPs).

This article will explain everything you need to know about "topical authority." Let's begin by understanding what it means in SEO.

What Is Topical Authority?

Topical authority is about being seen as trustworthy or credible.

For search engines, it's about how important your webpage or site is considered. For instance, Google uses signs of authority to decide how important certain pages are for what people are searching for.

The more high-quality, informative articles you have, the more people will trust your website as a go-to source on a specific subject.

For example, a blog post about SEO written by a well-known expert will be more influential than one written by a beginner.

However, a post from a brand-new company might not be as impactful because people don't know or trust them yet.

Topical authority is important because it shows how well you understand what your audience is looking for online.

It's also a way to rank websites based on the quality of their information. You can gain topical authority by creating high-quality content, getting authoritative websites to link to yours, and getting shares on social media.

When talking about SEO and authority, it's important to know the difference between two terms: topical authority and domain authority.

Topical authority comes from the quality and uniqueness of your content and its SEO, while domain authority is more about technical SEO stuff, like building links to your site.

Why Should Content Creators Care About It?

Topical authority is important for SEO and getting higher rankings on search engines.

Content creators should include it in their content creation and marketing strategy.

If you want your content to rank well on search engines like Google, you need to focus on topical authority.

If your content has more topical authority, it'll likely get more clicks and views from people looking for information on those topics.

The best part is that you can control your topical authority if you know how.

Now, let's look at how topical authority works before discussing strategies to increase it on your site.

How Does Topical Authority Work?

Topical authority became more important with Google's Hummingbird algorithm in 2013, which changed how Google analyzed content. This was especially useful for people searching on mobile devices.

Content started to be ranked based on how relevant it was to a user's search.

Google could now understand the context of searches better and do this quickly.

Before Hummingbird, Google focused on keywords to understand what users were looking for.

However, Google struggled with understanding the context behind searches. For example, a search for [how to bake a pie] might have been interpreted as looking for a recipe.

Keywords were important, but Google also used links and other factors to decide if a page should rank higher. These factors included how popular the links were, how many pages the content was linked to, and how old the website was.

Links from authoritative websites were also important for SEO, as was focusing on keyword research.

With topical authority, it's crucial to create unique, high-quality content that understands the topics you're discussing.

Topical authority relies on good on-page SEO to build a website's authority naturally, which can help increase click-through rates.

It includes keyword optimization and other major on-page SEO elements.

Content with topical authority will likely use more relevant keywords, both on purpose and by accident.

Such content will be easier to read because it's written by people who understand the topic.

The content will also be well-targeted. A brand with authority in its field will know what kind of content will engage its customers and answer their questions.

Now, let's talk about how to create topical authority in your content.

Building Topical Authority

Building topical authority takes time and effort. It involves research and writing to develop a strong presence for a website.

To build topical authority, you need a strong content strategy. This should include a plan for regularly creating content that builds authority and includes the keywords and topics your readers want to learn about.

Focus on sharing your knowledge and engaging with what others in your industry are talking about.

Use these discussions as a starting point to create more content or to further explore important topics in your industry.

Research what questions people are asking about certain topics and use that as inspiration for your content.

Plan when to release each piece of content so that it leads your followers and customers to more content or to points where they can make a purchase on your website.

Think about how you'll share that content on your website, listings, and social media.

What are Topic Clusters?

Choose a few topics to focus on intensely, and become the go-to source for information on those topics.

Creating topic clusters is important for SEO.

Topic clusters show search engines that your content is valuable and authoritative compared to competitors.

Google looks for synonyms, subtopics, and answers to common questions, not just keywords.

Topic clusters are groups of content on your website that are all about the same broad topic. They help you answer all your audience's questions about a subject.

Each cluster consists of a main pillar page and related content. The pillar page covers a broad subject and targets more general keywords. The related content explores subtopics or common questions within the cluster and targets more specific keywords that relate to the main topic.

To create topic clusters, focus on these three things:

Choose your main topic.

• Create a pillar page.
• Use backlinks effectively.
• Focusing On User Intent

A good strategy for topical authority is to focus on what users are trying to find out.

Search engines like Google have smart algorithms that try to understand a user's purpose behind their search.

These algorithms look at both common and less obvious meanings of a user's question. To explain this better, think about the "Do, Know, Go" theory of how people search:

• A "do" question means someone wants to take an action, like buying a product or booking a service.
• A "know" question means someone wants information about a topic.
• A "go" question means someone wants to find a specific website or place.

Establish Topical Authority

As you can see, topical authority is very important for a website's ranking. Creating an effective topical authority strategy takes time.

Remember, it's a long-term effort. Link building and unique, well-written content are key ways to build organic site authority.

In conclusion, I hope this guide has been helpful.

Topical authority is a powerful tool for getting any page to rank high on Google. Knowing how to use it will help you outrank your competitors.

To learn more, check out our other resources on building SEO strategies and creating site authority.