What is topical authority and its importance in SEO
What is Topical Authority?
Instead of giving you a standard definition that you can find on any website, I’d like to explain with an example what topical authority is.
Right now, you’re reading an article about Topical Authority written by me (Sico de Andrés), instead of asking GPT about this topic. This happens because you believe that with my experience in SEO and link building since 2002, I can tell you something about topical authority that a machine, or any blog that limits itself to technical descriptions, won’t. Over all these years, I have been working through talks at events, books, social media publications, and articles in different media to demonstrate my knowledge about link building and become a reference in this field. That’s exactly what topical authority is: when your website is considered a reliable and expert source on a specific topic.
I appreciate that you consider me relevant on this topic, and I promise to try to add more value than any AI.
Importance of Topical Authority for Google Ranking
One thing I have very clear after all these years as an SEO professional is that Google is trying to understand authority and reputation just as a human would. Whether they are succeeding or not is another matter, but their goal is clear. Gone are the days when getting high DA, DR (or similar) links was the way for a brand to gain authority. The implementations of Hummingbird, RankBrain, BERT, MUM, among others, aim to understand not only user queries but also the reputational value of a website by the real value it adds in its niche. That’s why it is essential to start thinking about specialization when planning an SEO strategy.
Moreover, topical authority not only affects search engine ranking. It can go beyond your website. If done correctly, it will accompany you everywhere, giving you credibility on social media, in the content you publish, and even in conversations within your sector. All of this impacts client acquisition, which, in the end, is what matters more than rankings.
Key Points to Improve Topical Authority
Specialization
I have bad news. You can’t know everything, and basically, you can’t convey to search engines that you are an authority on everything. As my grandmother used to say, “Jack of all trades, master of none.”
I always use the example of that know-it-all relative who, no matter the topic, knows everything about it. Not true, right? If this article were about maritime knots, you would prefer to look for information elsewhere. Preferably from someone who is a topical authority in that field.
Google also doesn’t like it when we talk about everything or when what we say on our websites is not backed by anyone. In fact, the importance of Topical Authority has increased since the proliferation of AI-generated content.
One of the keys to achieving good topical authority for our project or our clients’ projects is to thoroughly analyze and focus on the experience and knowledge of the professionals behind it, adding value based on that experience. So the first step will be to define in which area or areas we are specialized.
To define a specialization strategy, I recommend designing what is called a “Topical Map,” which is simply structuring your content strategy by focusing on those information pillars in which your project is relevant. We usually work with central information pillars, topics, and subtopics. Each pillar should link to its corresponding topics, and these should link back to their pillar. Here is a scheme of how I designed my own Topical Map with Link Affinity for this cluster you are reading. As you can see, I already have topics prepared within this “Topical Authority” pillar.
Experience
Your “Topical Map” would have no value if it is not supported by real people with real experience. It is time to define who will endorse each type of content. NOTE: If you don’t have experts within the project, you can look for collaborators to review, provide data, or anything that adds credibility to your content through the contributions of that expert.
Semantics
At this point, it is clear that Google has implemented many changes in its algorithms to “understand” both user searches and the content found on the Internet. To become a topical authority, one of the fundamental pieces will be conveying that semantics to the search engine. For this, we usually work with “SEO Entities.” SEO entities refer to concepts, people, places, things, or ideas that search engines can uniquely identify, classify, and relate to. It’s not about keyword stuffing as we did years ago but about addressing specific identifiable concepts directly related to the topic at hand. There are many tools that can recommend entities to use within a text or extract entities from an already written text.
https://wordcount.com/es/entity-extractor You can use tools like Blinpete to find relationships between entities on Wikipedia. Remember that it’s not about adding words but getting ideas about the topics to cover, including these concepts in our content.
https://blinpete.github.io/wiki-graph/ To analyze the entities your competitors use on Google, you can use a Chrome extension. It was created by Fede Gómez and is now managed by Jose Gris. Here is the link. There are dozens of tools related to semantic SEO, entities, and structured data.
By the way, I haven’t mentioned this. Use structured data to make it easier for search engines to understand.
Diffusion
Once we are clear that our content is transmitting the appropriate semantics for search engines to understand that we are specialized in a certain topic, we must plan the strategy to convey these same signals not only in our content but also in media relevant to these topics. This is where the rules of the link-building game have changed significantly in recent years. Your digital PR and link-building strategy should have as its central objective to convey in media the three previously mentioned indicators: Specialization, Experience, and Semantics.
Dissemination of Specialization
Instead of writing useless articles for users in high-authority media, you should plan a communication strategy that enhances your specialization. Think about helping your potential client to become a real reference, not thinking about the PageRank a link will pass on to you. This is old news. Don’t you think?
Dissemination of Experience
I consider this part fundamental. Throughout my career, I have encountered countless companies that, despite having professionals with extensive experience within their project, do not worry about bringing these professionals to light to become a reference. Imagine that an expert only talked about SEO on their blog. Their content might seem interesting to you, but if you see that this expert appears in relevant specialized media, they will have more credibility. What we call popularity. I always use the example of the hermit expert in medicinal plants who lives in a cave. They may have a lot of knowledge (Expertise) and experience (Experience), but no one knows about them, and they will NEVER be a reference. To rank on Google, you need to be a reference, so Experience and Knowledge alone won’t be enough. You will also need Authority. Google wants to know who is behind the projects and evaluate their reputation. Hence the importance of dissemination.
Common Mistakes When Working on Topical Authority
Superficial or shallow content
It would be a mistake to limit yourself to including a series of generic concepts that can be found anywhere. Research and support yourself with experts, whether internal to the company or external collaborators.
Not designing your content plan or internal linking
It is a mistake to launch content randomly without planning or strategy. If you want your Topical Authority strategy to work, you need to plan your content and design a “Topical Map” to establish how your internal linking will be. Often, companies work on their external links and neglect the links on their own site when these are very important.
Not Using Structured Data
Implement structured data markup (Schema.org) to help search engines better understand the content and improve its appearance in search results.
Not focusing on specialization
Always remember the “know-it-all.” You can’t convey relevance signals to search engines for all topics. Analyze and focus on content both on your website and for your digital PR strategy where you can add real value.
Conclusions and final recommendations about Topical Authority
Topical Authority has become a crucial component in modern SEO and link building. As search engine algorithms evolve to better understand content and user queries, the relevance and credibility of websites in specific thematic areas have become more important than ever.
Patience and effort
Topical authority is not gained overnight. It requires time, effort, and constant demonstration of real experience and knowledge in the specific area. Experts and collaborations with professionals in the field reinforce this credibility.
Specialization as a central strategy
Trying to cover too many topics will dilute the perception of authority. Focus on the area or areas where you can truly add knowledge and experience. This way, you will build solid topical authority.
Importance of Semantics
As mentioned, Google has significantly advanced in understanding the semantics of content. Using SEO entities and ensuring that the content is well-structured and semantically related helps search engines recognize the relevance and specialization of the site.
Strategic dissemination and promotion
It is not enough to have quality content; it is also crucial that this content is visible and backed by mentions in relevant media. Execute a digital PR and link-building strategy that emphasizes specialization, experience, and semantics. Needless to say, with Link Affinity, you can design and execute your strategies.
Impact beyond SEO
Topical authority not only improves search engine rankings but also strengthens the overall reputation and credibility of the brand. This can translate into greater trust from potential clients. In fact, you should work with this objective. Ranking will be one of the effects of correctly implementing your Topical Authority strategy.
