Topic authority is the most significant Google on-page ranking factor, thanks to Google’s March core update, according to a report from Search Engine Journal.
Now what?
First, a TL;DR: related keywords and phrases significantly affect ranking. If you miss common keywords, your site will drop down the SERP. For many industries, top rankings depend on comprehensive coverage.
2 Best Ways to Build Topic Authority
- Offer breadth of content by diversifying topics; seeking guest commentary; asking for and using audience feedback; publishing case studies and examples; and integrating insights from other sectors.
- Offer depth of content via rich analyses, interviews with experts, data-driven content, technical deep dives and regular series.
This affirms that high-value, insight-rich, fleshed-out pages that load quickly will go a long way in keeping sites healthy and traffic high. We’re working with our clients to identify the topics they have to cover, then helping them expand both their breadth and depth of topical content. Here’s what it looks like.
Build Topic Authority With Breadth of Content
We tackle this for our clients in five ways.
Diversify Topics
We research and write about a wider range of subjects that matter within an industry. For instance, if a client is in the cybersecurity space, we expand content topics to zero-trust architecture or threat hunting.
Note that these topics should be both evergreen and in touch with trending and emerging issues, which means you should conduct research periodically to refresh your list of topics.
Solicit Guest Contributions
We invite experts from different fields to contribute content, and we collaborate with industry influencers to get their POVs on core topics. For the client example above, we might get a guest contribution on mobile malware attacks overseas, or invite an influencer to write about their take on the latest healthcare hack.
Incorporate Cross-Disciplinary Insights
Integrating perspectives from related fields can add understanding and layers to your core topics through interdisciplinary approaches. Our client above would benefit from getting digital forensics experts to contribute insights.
Ask for and Use Audience Feedback
Monitor audience questions, comments and requests that come in on social media and through customer service channels. Use surveys and comments to discover new and related areas of interest. Often, this will surface emerging trends faster than other methods of research.
Produce Case Studies and Examples
Content that shows how and for whom your client’s product or service works is applicable throughout the customer journey. Include a range of case studies from different sectors and highlight various applications of your core topic. For our hypothetical cybersecurity client, this could include enterprise SaaS and IT organizations.
Build Topic Authority With Depth of Content
Along with expanding your range of content authority, it’s vital to go into great depth for your core topic or topics. Once again, we break this into five initiatives:
Rich Analysis
Comprehensive guides and white papers, proprietary research and detailed case studies that provide insights on the challenges addressed are all valuable levers to use to build topic authority.
Interviews With Experts
Internal and external thought leaders and industry specialists who share their insights and advanced knowledge add tons of brand credibility. Along with full-length interviews, brands can break these into sound bites and quotes to thread throughout their owned media.
Data-Driven Content
Reports and analysis, including detailed statistics, benchmarks and findings, are gold for establishing topic authority. Make sure you’re using original research where possible and citing external sources when needed.
Technical Deep Dives
While you need content that speaks to the benefits of your product or service, there will always be an audience for more technical articles, tutorials and how-to features. These pieces of content should explore complex aspects of your field in detail.
Regular Series
A steady stream of thought leadership is always recommended, but you can take it a step further by formalizing the cadence in ongoing series on specific topics and subtopics. Your goal with developing a series should be to build upon previous content to deepen your audience’s understanding of the topic and increase your standing as an authority.
As we’ve been preaching nonstop at JDM, there’s another approach you need to incorporate into building topic authority: do it away from Google — on Reddit, LinkedIn, Quora, TikTok, industry forums and more.
In addition to building immediate brand sentiment and engagement on those platforms, good content with strong, well-informed perspectives has a good chance of being pulled into Google’s SERP.
