10 Tips – How Do You Build Topical Authority for Your Website?

SEO in 2022 is about more than just ranking for the right keywords. Unlike 90s SEO, where you could stuff a web page with keywords and get away with it, modern SEO is all about user experience, authority, and trust.

As we’ve seen in recent years, Google is constantly changing its algorithm to favor websites that provide value and a great user experience. This means that as an SEO, you must always be on the lookout for new trends and changes so that you can adapt your strategy.

One of the most important factors that Google takes into account when ranking websites is what is called “topical authority.”

In this article, we’re going to look at what topical authority is and how you can build it for your website.

What is Topical Authority?

A topical authority measures your website’s relevance and trustworthiness for a given topic.

It’s a way for Google to determine whether you’re an expert on a certain topic or not.

If your website has strong topical authority, it means that Google believes you’re a reliable source of information on that topic.

This is important because when people are searching for something, they want to be able to find the most relevant and trustworthy results.

If your website has strong topical authority, it’s more likely that you’ll rank higher in the search results for your target keywords.

Where Does the Topical Authority Originate From?

With the Hummingbird update, Google began to pay more attention to the overall context of a query rather than individual keywords. This helped the search engine better understand the user’s intent and return more relevant results.

For example, before Hummingbird, if someone searched for “how to edit the photo in Photoshop,” Google would simply match that query with web pages that contain those exact words.

After Hummingbird, Google began to understand the user’s intent and returned results that were more relevant to what the user was actually looking for, such as “how to edit an image in Photoshop.” or “how to crop an image in Photoshop.”

This update was a game-changer for SEOs because we could no longer rely on keyword density to rank our pages.

Instead, we had to focus on creating relevant and helpful content for users.

In 2018, Google took this one step further with the introduction of E-A-T.

E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, and it’s designed to help Google surface high-quality content in its search results. To achieve a good E-A-T rating, content must be well researched and written by experts in the field. It must also be published on a reputable website that is seen as trustworthy by Google.

As a result of these changes, topical authority has become increasingly important for SEO success. Businesses that create useful, informative content on a regular basis are more likely to see their website rank well in Google’s search results. And when combined with strong backlinks and social signals, topical authority can be a powerful tool for driving traffic and improving your bottom line.

Why Is Topical Authority Important?

There are many reasons why becoming recognized as a go-to source of information and an expert in your industry is critical. Here are some of the most important benefits:

• Helps you rank higher in the search results.
• Gives you an edge over your competitors.
• Makes your website more trustworthy and authoritative.
• Help you attract high-quality natural backlinks.
• Lead to more social shares and engagement.
• Help you build a strong brand.
• Increase your website’s traffic and conversions.

How to Establish Topical Authority for Your Website

Getting started with topical authority doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are some actionable tips that you can use to get started:

Pick a Niche You are an Expert at

Consider an “E-A-T” update, you must be an expert in your field and produce high-quality content to get the attention of Google.

The first step is to narrow down your focus and choose a niche that you’re passionate about and have a lot of knowledge in.

Suppose you are a dentist and writing content about podcasting. In that case, it will be difficult to establish yourself as an expert because you are competing with people who have been podcasting for years and have built up a strong following.

On the other hand, if you focus on dental health topics, you will have an easier time becoming recognized as an expert in your field.

Not only will you be able to produce high-quality content, but you will also be able to get involved in relevant online communities and build relationships with other experts in your field.

Creating Relevant Content

Retake a dentist example. Dentistry is a broad field to focus on, and there are many different subtopics that you could write about.

To determine what content to create, start by brainstorming a list of dental topics you could write about. Make sure all topics must closely relevant to each other.

If you are writing content about aligners, you could write about the different types of aligners, how to choose the right aligner for your needs, how to care for your aligners, and so on.

Once you have a list of potential topics, you can use Google’s Keyword Planner to find out how many people are searching for each keyword.

You can also use Google Trends to see if the interest in a particular topic rises or falls over time.

Both of these tools will help you to determine which topics are most popular with your target audience and which ones you should write about.

Research Your Topic

When we search for a query on Google, we expect to find the most relevant and accurate results.

To ensure that your content is relevant and accurate, you need to do your research before you start writing.

Make sure to look for reliable sources that cover your topic in-depth. Once you’ve found a few good sources, take the time to read through them carefully and make sure you understand the information.

If there are any concepts that you’re not familiar with, take the time to research them further until you have a good understanding.

Once you have all the information you need, you can start writing your content.

Make sure to include relevant keywords throughout your content so that Google can easily index it and rank it in the search results.

In addition to including relevant keywords, also make sure to use synonyms and related keywords throughout your content.

This will help Google understand the topic of your content and match it with relevant intent-based searches – Hummingbird update.

Follow On-Page and Off-Page Best Practices

On-page SEO refers to the factors on your website that you can control, such as the content, title tags, and meta descriptions.

Off-page SEO refers to the factors that are outside your control, such as backlinks.

Both on-page and off-page SEO are important for ranking high in the search results.

To ensure that your website is optimized for both, start by ensuring that all your title tags and meta descriptions are unique and relevant to your page’s topic.

Use Keyword Tools to Flesh Out Your Topic

Once you’ve determined which keywords you want to target, it’s time to start writing your content.

If you’re not sure what to write about, you can use keyword research tools to help you flesh out your topic.

Make Sure the Site Structure Is Correct

Site structure is one of the most important factors for ranking high in the search results.

If your website is not structured correctly, it will be difficult for Google to index your pages and rank them in the search results.

Start with Pillar Content

Pillar content is long-form, in-depth content that covers a specific topic in detail.

Pillar content is the foundation of your website, and everything else should be built around it.

For example, if you have a website about dental implants, your pillar content could be an in-depth guide to dental implants.

This guide would cover everything someone needs to know about dental implants, from the different types of implants to the steps involved in the implant process.

Pillar content is important because it shows Google that your website is an authority on a particular topic.

Answer All Questions

Another important factor in ranking high in the search results is ensuring that your content answers all of the questions people might have about your topic.

To do this, you can use a tool like AlsoAsked.

Leverage Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) Keywords

LSI keywords are words and phrases that are related to your primary keyword.

For example, if you’re writing an article about dental implants, some LSI keywords could be:

LSI keywords are important because they help Google understand the topic of your content and match it with relevant searches.

Top Your Internal Linking Game

Internal linking is the process of linking to other pages on your website from within your content. Internal links are important because they help Google understand the structure of your website, and they help distribute link equity throughout your site.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can you tell if a website is authoritative?

There are a few key indicators that you can look for to determine if a website is authoritative:

• The website has been around for a long time
• A lot of backlinks from high-quality websites
• Website ranks well in the search results for high volume relevant keywords
• A lot of social shares
• High traffic
• Well-researched content

If you can tick all these boxes, you can be confident that your website is authoritative.

Do backlinks still count toward website authority?

Yes, high quality backlinks are still an essential factor in website authority.

Backlinks show Google that your website is popular and other websites are linking to it, which helps improve your ranking in the google search results.

Final Thoughts

Building authority for your website is important if you want to rank high in the search results. Not only will it help you rank better, but it will also help you attract more traffic and convert more customers.

Let us know in the comments if you have any additional useful tips for building authority for your website. We would love to hear from you!