The Importance Of Topical Authority For SEO

To succeed on the SERPs, you need to prove that you’re an expert in your field. How? By showing Google that you have the knowledge and expertise to go in-depth on topics related to your industry. Not only that, but you also need to show that you have the ability to expound on these topics through multiple types of content. This strategy is all about building topical authority for SEO.

Even if you have already established your brand and your image to consumers in the real world, optimizing for search engines is a different game. Since Google utilizes algorithms to understand what your website is about, it’s important that you know what type of information you need to have to improve your rankings. That’s where topical authority comes in.

What Is Topical Authority?

Topical authority is achieved when Google or other search engines see your website as an authority on a particular topic. Why is this important? It’s simple. The more you build your authority with Google, the more it trusts you and the content you produce. The more trust you have, the more keywords you can rank highly for.

Let me give you an example. For one of our new clients, we created landing pages that talked about polo shirt uniforms, corporate uniforms, and work uniforms. One day, to improve rankings, I thought of placing the keyword “uniform supplier Philippines” in the homepage’s meta data. After a few days, I searched for the keyword again and found our client in the # 2 spot.

How did that happen? Well, we were able to establish topical authority.

How To Establish Topical Authority Through SEO Blogs

If you want to establish topical authority, it’s important that you understand what you’re optimizing for in the first place.

With the introduction of the Hummingbird update in 2013, Google advanced and improved search results using natural language processing. Instead of relying on the number of keyword mentions or the number of backlinks, Google’s algorithm started using semantic search and synonyms to understand content better.

Currently, if your content is able to target the right search intent, your website can start gaining authority. To boost your chances of ranking for more keywords, you should start looking into building your topical authority. Here are some ways that you can do that.

Use The Topic Cluster Strategy

One of the best ways that you can establish your topical authority is through the Topic Cluster strategy. The premise is simple — create cluster content that connects to a pillar content through hyperlinks. This strategy will have you creating content with interconnected topics, which can increase your topical authority.

Let’s say that you want to become an authority on construction wear. The first step is to make a pillar page about it. After that, you can show your authority by creating blogs that talk about the importance of high visibility workwear, fire retardant suits, and head protection.

Give Answers To User Questions

One other way to establish topical authority is by creating content that can give answers to user questions. Use tools to distinguish what type of questions people have regarding your industry. Then, create content that can answer it. Once Google sees that you have the information that people are looking for, your chances of ranking for keywords related to your industry will increase.

After you’ve done all that, you should see big spikes in your data.

What Are The Benefits of Topical Authority For SEO?

Besides better rankings, there are some other perks that come with having topical authority. First of all, it can lead to more clicks. The higher you rank on the SERPs and the more keywords you rank in, the more visible you become to users. If your content meets their search intent, they will click into your site.

Another benefit that comes with having topical authority is that it can lead to natural link building. Once people see that your content is relevant and made by an expert, more sites are guaranteed to build links to your pages. They may direct users interested in learning more about certain niche topics to your website. And, once they do that, your authority will increase even more.

Key Takeaway

If you want to be the go-to website in your industry, take note of the importance of topical authority for SEO. By creating content that is interrelated, you can establish yourself as an authority to the search engines and to the users. The more you do so, the higher your chances are to rank for all types of keywords related to the topic.

Have any other ways to improve topical authority? Let me know in the comments below!