SEO is a tricky little thing to navigate sometimes, and staying ahead of the curve means getting smart with your keywords. Topical authority is a clever way to make the most out of your keywords and gain more visibility on your website.
What is topical authority?
Topical authority is a way to determine how much you know about a given subject. If you have a lot of high-quality content on a particular topic, it means you have high topical authority. And the higher your topical authority, the better Google will rank you for that topic.
A website is seen as more trustworthy when it has topical authority because users know what content they’re going to get when they visit it For example, when you go onto the WebMD website, you’re expecting to get articles related to health and fitness. If WebMD wrote an article about the latest fashion trends, you’re not going to take it seriously. Users want predictability. It’s hard to know who to trust online these days, so establishing credibility is important.
The more you know about a topic, and the more you share that knowledge with others, the higher you will rank. It’s that simple.
How can you build topical authority?
- Create a list of headings and subheadings related to your topic: At Content Hive, we’d love you to use our blog writing services, so ‘blog writing’ could be a keyword we use to find customers. But this is too broad. We need to expand this to include more around that topic. By providing articles based around blog writing we are showing that we are knowledgeable in that field, and we’re proving to our potential and current customers that we are trustworthy. Articles like, ‘How many words should a blog have?’, ‘How often should you post on your blog?’ ‘Why SEO is so important in blogs’ are all different posts related to the same subject, and the more we have the better our topical authority will be.
- Create content based on your list: It’s now time to create content around the list you created. The best part about focusing on topical authority is that it gives you a lot more ideas for content creation. When creating your blog posts, remember to optimise them for SEO, keep them visually pleasing, and make sure you’ve researched your topic well. Also, use internal links to link the various articles together to gain more traction.
- Monitor your progress: Topical authority doesn’t happen overnight, so it’s important to constantly monitor your progress through analytics to see if you’re using the right keywords and hitting the right tone. Update old blog posts, repurpose existing content, and don’t be afraid to make changes to your marketing strategy if you need.
At the heart of it all, topical authority is a great way to show that you are an expert in your field, and a smart way to prove credibility and trustworthiness to those who visit your website. The best thing about having strong topical authority is that Google will rank you higher and your website will be more visible to potential customers.
So, today, go on your website and ask yourself, ‘Am I proving my topical authority?’
