If you’ve been in SEO long enough, you know that Google has been trying to figure out real expertise behind web documents for years. From the failed “Authorship” project to its E-E-A-T guidelines, we have lots of evidence of that battle.
This is where the term “Topical Authority” stems from, and here’s what you need to know about it:
What Is Topical Authority?
As the term suggests, topical authority stands for the go-to resource for or a well-known expert on (or both) a particular topic.
There are several slightly varying interpretations of the term:
- Some SEOs tend to talk about it in the context of a particular website (how well the site covers a particular topic)
- Others refer to it when talking about a (personal) brand and their expertise on a particular topic.
I tend to think it’s both because one can reinforce the other.
Google works by identifying and classifying entities, so if your (personal) brand is classified in a relevant category, you’re one step closer to becoming a topical authority.
To prove this point, this is the criteria Google News uses to identify and interpret topical authority for each story:
- “How notable a source is for a topic or location” (This is the entity classification).
- “How original reporting – is cited by other publishers” (These are backlinks/citations that help Google estimate the authoritativeness of that resource).
- “…a source’s history of high-quality reporting, or recommendations from expert sources, such as professional societies [and] journalistic awards” (These are references from other connections from other entities Google knows about).
But there are also good reasons that Google looks at the content and authorship when identifying topical authority:
Getting Scientific
Topical authority is not a new concept. Back in 2012 (the year when Google Authorship was still in place, by the way), Google filed a patent called “System and method for determining topic authority” that talked about identifying key topics of any web document and assigning “Authority Signature Value” to represent that document author’s expertise on a topic. It’s made up of one or more authority signature entries. The patent notes that the goal is “to determine users with expertise in certain topics.”
The patent also explores the possibility of how a series of documents can contribute to the “Authority Signature Value” of their author.
The authority signature value accumulates the author’s weighted authorship on a topic across multiple documents they have authored. The more authoritative content they write on that topic across documents, the higher their authority signature value will be.
Authors can rank according to their authority signature values for a particular topic. Those with higher values are ranked higher as having more expertise on that topic.
So the conclusion here is pretty simple: the more you write on a topic, the higher your “Authority Signature Value” becomes.
But this is a patent. Even though Google filed it, we’ll never know how much it was or is being used in the actual algorithm (or if it was used at all). It’s still revealing to know that Google has been giving this “authorship” data quite some thought for a long time.
Topical Authority in Search Results
Searching Google will help you understand topical authority even better. From Knowledge Panels to additional sections like “Articles” and “About,” you’ll have a better idea of topical authority with the results appearing for branded searches:
Google’s brand-driven image search is also helpful in understanding how Google classifies any brand:
How To Make It Easier for Google To Understand Your Topical Authority
Now, let’s get to some actionable tips here (I hope you got down here to find it, but all the boring stuff above is important to understand what we need to do to build topical authority).
So here you go:
Create Enough Content
For years the fundamental recommendation was “Create a lot of content.” Then it changed to “Create in-depth content” and “Create high-quality content.”
Now I say “Create enough content:”
- Enough for your target audience to get all the help they need.
- Enough for you to have time and resources to format it well, surface it efficiently on your site, and market it effectively to obtain other important signals (like links and engagements).
Work on Your Authorship
This sounds old, but it remains important. From everything I cited above, it’s obvious that Google assigns topical authority based on the authoritativeness of the resource. So, you need those highly trusted bylines that connect your expertise to your site.
Don’t make it about quantity, though. Focus on well-known authoritative resources.
Get Cited by Other Entities
If Google understands one thing well it’s entities and how these are connected. Being cited by other entities means becoming part of Google’s Knowledge base, that is, its map of the world. But this isn’t an easy process. You’ll need to take a few steps, including:
- Get nominated and win industry awards.
- Speak at conferences.
- Write for well-known industry publications (this is what I am doing here, for example)
- Take part in interviews (appearing in podcasts is also great).
- Get prominent publications to cite your content (invest in high-quality journalistic outreach).
- Become part of professional organizations (and mention that on your site).
Whatever you do will ultimately – directly or indirectly – help you establish yourself as a topical authority. Whether you are active on social media, become an active part of Reddit, or host niche webinars – every bit counts when it comes to (personal) brand recognizability.
All of these will contribute to your becoming an entity, one step at a time.
Use Schema
Schema helps Google connect all the dots. Google supports just a few schema types but it mentions many times: “Go beyond those.” Use Schema to link to your official channels, markup your authorship, and include your areas of expertise.
However, schema alone won’t make you a topical authority, but it will certainly help Google identify other documents you authored. Start by setting up a detailed Person schema to tell Google a little bit more about your brand and expertise.
Takeaways
- Topical authority refers to being a go-to resource or expert on a particular topic. It can apply to a website’s expertise on a topic or an individual’s expertise.
- Google has long tried identifying topical authorities through initiatives like authorship markup and patents on calculating “authority signature values.”
- Topical authority impacts things like Google’s knowledge panels, search result rankings, and brand-driven searches.
- Ways to build topical authority include creating enough content on a topic, establishing authorship and citations, getting referenced by other entities, using schema markup, and accumulating signals — like awards and memberships.
- The more authoritative content associated with a brand, the higher the topical authority.
Ann Smarty is the founder of Smarty.Marketing, a boutique SEO agency based in New York. Ann’s search engine optimization career began in 2005. She is the former editor-in-chief of Search Engine Journal and contributor to prominent search and social blogs. Ann is also a frequent speaker at Pubcon and many other digital marketing events.