A Comprehensive (Beginners) Guide to SEO
Our 8 part guide on all aspects of SEO, from how search engines work to the effects of UI and UX.
When you have topical authority, you dominate a topic with high-quality content. You become the power of influence, the go-to person in that topic. Search engines are looking for quality content to serve up accurate search results.
Topical authority contributes to your website’s search engine optimization (SEO). Higher quality content ranks higher in search results. Adding more content and including related keywords builds authority in more ways than one.
Your reward is more visibility in search engines and this means more traffic.
4 ways topical authority can help SEO and your website
First, it will increase visibility in search engine results.
When your content dominates a topic, the chances are good to rank higher in search results. It can also lead to more traffic and potential customers for your business.
Second, it can improve the quality of a website.
High-quality informative content wins the day. Any website can establish itself as a go-to resource for its business. You will encourage more engagement from visitors and improve the user experience. Don’t forget to optimize your site for mobile too!
Third, it can lead to more backlinks.
Backlinks from other websites pointing to your website is a huge plus. Building more quality content promotes your content to get inbound links. With high-quality backlinks, search engines consider the website a quality source of information.
Fourth, it can help to establish a business as a thought leader in their field.
Think of what this can do for your brand awareness! It translates into more potential customers and more sales!
How you can build topical authority?
Create high-quality content:
High-quality, well-researched, closely related informative content is the foundation of building topical authority. If you want to dominate your market with quality content. Show the search engines unique information. Keep adding related content to your existing topics that your competitors don’t have.
It’s wise to plan and do thorough keyword research. Include as many keywords related to your topics as possible. Expand with more pages covering related terms. This will give you more possibilities of covering and dominating more related topics.
Careful research here is the key.
Build a strong backlink profile: Get backlinks from other authoritative websites in your industry.
Backlinks are as important as high-quality content. They go hand in hand with one another. Quality content attracts good backlinks and vice versa. This can boost your page rank in search results.
Take part in industry discussions and forums: Social proof has grown and becomes extremely important to succeeding online today. Engaging in discussions and forums related to your industry or topic builds trust and credibility. It takes time and is well worth the effort over the longer term. Your content could go viral.
Be consistent in your efforts. Build relationships with other industry leaders. Keep on topic and post useful information.
Create a strong social media presence: social media is a powerful tool for building topical authority and should not be taken lightly. Share your expertise and connect with others in your industry. For example, many entrepreneurs have built empires on LinkedIn alone! They stand out as authoritative and always post useful information. Connect with them. LinkedIn is a great social business platform and worth getting to know how to use for business.
Study your competition: You can get useful information from your competitor’s websites. For example, check which keywords they are targeting and ranking for. See if you can write better content using the same targeted words.
Optimize your website for user experience: Choosing a suitable website template helps visitors navigate and find your content. Make it as easy as possible for them.
Keep the design of your website as functional as possible. A pleasing on-the-eye layout with easy navigation works best.
You can learn a lesson from Google’s pages. They are easy to navigate and simple to use. Keep this in mind when building or changing yours. Simplicity and functionality win.
How to Create a Topical Authority Map
To Create a topical authority map you need to identify your specific areas of expertise. Visualizing this information is an easy way to understand what you need to do. Here are some steps you can follow to create your topical authority map.
- Start listing subjects, industries, or services you have expert knowledge of. Be specific and detailed as possible, and break down broader topics into smaller sub-topics.
- Categorize your areas of knowledge. When you have a list of specific areas, group them into broader categories. For example, if you are an expert in “web design” and “graphic design” you can group them into a broader category of “design.”
- Create a visual representation. Once you have identified and categorized all your areas of expertise you can create a visual view using a bullet points list, a flowchart, or a mind map like the one in the photo. This gives you a better view of the information and makes it easy to understand and navigate.
- Prioritize your areas of Expertise. Look at your topical authority map and decide which areas are the most important or relevant to your goals. This helps you focus your efforts on areas you can make the biggest impact.
- Review your map regularly and update it. This is an ongoing process and your map will change over time as you gain more knowledge and ideas. Keeping it updated helps to ensure it stays accurate and relevant.
- Share your map with others. Once you have completed the map, share it with others. This is useful if you are in a leadership position. Many times, others can give you unbiased feedback and it helps them to understand your expertise.
If you’re looking for advise on topical authority or SEO Services in general, feel free to get in touch with one of the team at Phoenix Media today.
