How to achieve topical authority
Gaining topical authority is like being crowned ‘prom queen’ of the SERPS. Ever wondered why your amazing blogs – the ones that have been researched, reviewed and referred to – don’t seem to get any traction in search results?
Well, it’s also down to popularity. Rather than sheer traffic alone, the key to attracting Google’s attention is to establish yourself with topical authority. This is especially helpful for blogs that operate within a specific niche and need to be seen as a trusted source.
In this guide, our team of in-house experts will touch on all things topical authority, from its benefits and how to integrate it into your long-form content strategies.
Why should I put all this effort into topical authority?
Whether you’re looking to boost your search rankings or become a go-to source for your readers, gaining topical authority is a great way to do it.
When it comes to SERPS, search engines like Google love websites that showcase valuable understanding of a particular niche. From here, becoming tried, tested and trusted translates into topical authority. This signals your innate expertise – making your blog more likely to rank for related searches and topical enquiries.
Once you’ve cornered your respective ‘niche’, you will likely find that your content ideas will come much easier. Why? Because you’ll better understand what your audience is actively looking for, giving you the ability to tailor content specifically for them.
Finally, topical authority can help you attract backlinks from other websites, which not only strengthens your internet presence but boosts your overall credibility and traffic.
Charlie Meyler, Embryo’s Brand Content Manager, adds:
“Topical authority is hugely important for brands. Being an authority on a topic is one of the ways you can gain an edge over your competitors.
Doing this requires your brand to write comprehensive content on as many topics that relate to your industry as possible – think both breadth and depth.
When deciding what websites to rank for keywords, Google scans and indexes billions of websites daily and will often promote websites that have clear topical authority and strong internal linking between relevant pages.”
How to build a topical cluster
If your content feels scatter-gun? Luckily for you, topical clusters are the perfect way to tackle this, offering an organised solution that can boost your SEO activity.
In this section, we’ll break down the process of creating a topical cluster, with handy tips:
First, make sure you choose a topic that’s relevant to the niche where your business operates. From here, you can target your audience – but ensure the topic is broad enough to boast subtopics, but specific enough to guarantee focus.
Now it’s time to look up your keywords. To help you find them quickly and efficiently, use SEO tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to spot keywords related to your topic that are being actively searched by your audience.
But remember: you must consider user intent behind the keywords. At what stage of the Messy Middle are they? Are they looking to purchase or are they still exploring? Let this guide your planning.
Build a pillar page as the main support for your core topic, offering an in-depth overview into a subject. This means that structure is imperative, so use headings, subheadings and internal links to weave your subtopic pages together.
Unlike a pillar page, a subtopic page goes into a smaller, more specific aspect of the core topic in more detail. This means you can afford to get creative with it, using different content formats like guides, listicles, or case studies to keep readers clicking and reading.
Make it easy for users to navigate between related content within your topic cluster by cleverly linking between subtopic pages. Ensure each link is useful and relevant to the topic and user, ensuring it ‘connects the dots’ for your readers.
How to show – and grow – your expertise
Building topical authority is a marathon, not a sprint.
To ensure you grow in a steady and sustainable way, here are some things to keep in mind throughout your strategy.
- Choose a focus: Identify a topic that you love – and know quite a bit about – before making sure you’ve got a dedicated audience who’s interested in it.
- Thoroughly research your keywords: Use SEO tools to help you discover what types of queries your target audience is using to search for online. Then, you can use these to drive your strategy.
- Quality over quantity: Create in-depth, informative articles that address your readers’ questions and solve their problems – avoiding any fluffy, superficial content that will stifle them.
- Build a network: No man is an island, so make sure you connect with fellow bloggers in your niche. That means contributing to guest posts and gaining backlinks, engaging in online communities to help you gain backlinks and cultivating professional relationships, perfect for expert comments.
- Patience, grasshopper: Establishing topical authority is always going to be a long-term process. Make sure you’re consistent in producing high-quality content, and you’ll begin to see slow and steady growth in rankings and readership.
Senior Content Manager, Shona Worsman, explains:
“Topical authority relates to E-E-A-T, too. Writing expansive copy evidences your experience, expertise all of which helps to grow your authority and trust.
In short, I do think topical authority is important. In fact, I’d go as far to say it’s as important as keyword research.
Targeting one or two keywords while good is not as powerful as sharing your expertise about dozens and dozens of topics.”
Want to become a topical authority?
If you want to develop a robust and readable topical cluster, implementing these strategies can help you position your website as a go-to resource. Remember, steady effort is what grows results – so maintain your focus on producing valuable content, and you’ll see your topical authority grow.
But what if you’re unsure about your first steps? That’s where our team comes in, with extensive experience crafting tailored content plans and SEO strategies. We can help lay the groundwork for your website’s SEO success, ensuring a solid foundation for your online presence.
To get key insights into your existing SEO position – or to get your content journey started – get in touch with us today!
