Topical authority is an SEO concept that encapsulates a great deal of time, strategy, and commitment to improving keyword rankings and increasing traffic. As SEOs, we all want it, as it’s a worthy goal that means we’ve earned users’ trust and interest. That’s no small accomplishment! How we earn it varies based on industry, topic, and what our sites are missing the most. In this article, learn what topical authority is, where this SEO term came from, why it’s important, and how to make your domain an authority in 2024.
When a website displays expertise on a particular keyword theme or topic, that’s known as topical authority. It’s based on knowledge, credibility, trustworthiness, persistence, and other factors important to users. For over 10 years, the concept has grown in importance as Google has shifted from exact keyword match to contextual understanding of search queries with updates like the Helpful Content Update and a greater focus on content with E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).
In a nutshell, one can view topical authority as a measurement of how well Google believes a website understands its audience and search intent. As websites and SEOs do their due diligence to incorporate user-friendly and helpful information, their chances of increasing topical authority compound. The higher the topical authority a site has, the more likely it is to rank higher in the SERPs and be featured in a snippet around a keyword theme the site has authority on. However, the road to accomplishing this is filled with careful planning and well-structured content that doesn’t just mimic what’s already out there — it has to offer a unique authoritativeness and experience users can’t find at a million other websites.
Consider this example:
For an auto parts company, topical authority means becoming the leading resource for everything related to auto parts. This could mean building out content that covers information about auto part products, how to make repairs, how to troubleshoot automotive problems, performing routine maintenance, and anything else in the sphere of how those auto parts factor into vehicle ownership. The more detailed, organized, and user-friendly these pieces of content are, the better. It also helps if articles around the topic of auto parts come from a recognizable person who pulls in nuggets of experience and expertise to distinguish this auto parts company from others on the web.
Some of you might be saying, “This is all well and good, Scott, but how do we even measure something like that?”
As much as the world of SEO is built on data-driven analysis, there is no one way to measure topical authority. At its core, it’s a concept without a clear metric. Many SEOs choose to use third-party tools from Ahrefs or Semrush to look at traffic share by domain or competitive positioning maps. It’s nowhere near a foolproof solution, but it can help SEOs grasp some understanding of what the landscape looks like for their chosen topic, and from studying the competition, they can get a feel for what they need to create to better compete.
These tools can also offer a snapshot overview of ranking keywords. The more keywords around a theme a site ranks for, the better indicator of how much topical authority a site has. Using Google’s Ad Preview and Diagnosis tool or Google Search Console, SEOs can get a feel for where their website lands across various keywords and themes, putting together a picture of how well their pages are performing. If little or no pages are ranking on a website or pulling in clicks, that might be a good corollary for a site’s topical authority. If there are a few hits around a very specific keyword theme on a site that dabbles in multiple topics, attention to that single theme could help build a foundation of topical authority that could later make it easier to expand into other arenas.
Again, it’s not a clearly defined measurement. Gauging topical authority involves putting together a portrait of how well a website is competing in the SERPs. It means making the best decisions possible based on the data available. Sometimes that involves zeroing in on a specific keyword set, and other times it could mean building a foundation based on the competitive landscape in the SERPs.
Last year was a big one in the world of generative AI, and this year we’re going to see the rollout of new changes that could affect how SEOs approach optimizing for topical authority. Among the many AI startups, updates to ChatGPT, and rollout of Microsoft’s “Copilot,” Google has been experimenting with both Bard and Search Generative Experience (SGE). SGE in particular poses an interesting conundrum for SEOs, as it generates AI-written answers pulled from content sometimes found lurking off of the first page of the SERPs.
It also offers follow-up questions and filters for users to refine their searches. This provides a unique opportunity for ecommerce sites and content creators to feed as much distinct, easily digestible information to their pages as possible in hopes of being featured on these results. For topical authority, it means SEOs will have to stay competitive and alert to the many nuances of SGE, taking cues from competitors and speaking to as many aspects around a given topic as possible.
Along with SGE, featured snippets and FAQs remain in the SERPs, just nestled lower down in the results with SGE taking the prime spot at the top, at least in the current beta implementation. Answering “People Also Ask” questions in your content strategy — and going beyond that to surface answers to other questions you know your audience has — remains an effective tactic that speaks to what users and your audience are searching for.
Speaking of audience, embracing user-generated content remains an important component of your topical authority strategy. Reddit threads, YouTube videos, and other user-generated content regularly make their way into the SERPs. When other people engage and speak about your brand, it can help lend credit to your trustworthiness and authoritativeness. Adding comments or reviews from users to your site, especially when curated for keyword-rich responses, can add that distinctiveness that separates your site from competitors and plays into E-E-A-T.
For sites that can allow for user discussions in comment threads or other interactive elements, it’s a great way to host user-generated content and bring the conversation to your proverbial doorstep. Social media, as always, also remains a prevalent method of getting users to talk about your website, brand, or products. In 2024, there’s no sign of that changing, and conversations around your content creation can add value to your quest for topical authority.
As Google reminds us, the end goal in all of our strategies leads to a singular destination: creating helpful content for users. When it comes to gaining topical authority, there are many tactics and choices we can make designed to improve the user experience, earn trust, and offer a distinctive voice that separates our site from every other site. What follows are just a few tips that can set SEOs on the road to improving topical authority by way of being helpful, informative, and unique.
The way users search is ever-evolving, and 2024 will see the unveiling of Google’s SGE and other developments that will potentially change tried-and-true SEO strategies. However, strategizing and working toward greater topical authority revolves around one constant: As SEOs, our goal is to make the most helpful and user-friendly content we can.
Take the plunge into heavy keyword research, map out your content clusters, and don’t be afraid to lean on personal experience. As humans, we value and trust authenticity and the human experience, which is why Google added that extra “E” for “experience” to E-E-A-T.
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