Topical Authority: What It Means, What Google Actually Says, and How to Build It

In May 2023 Google published Understanding news topic authority. It describes a system that helps determine which expert sources are helpful for news queries in specialized areas such as health, politics and finance, using signals like how notable a source is for a topic or location, how often other publishers cite its original reporting, and its reputation. It is used in Top Stories and other news features.

That is the only system Google has named with this label. Outside news, Google's guidance on helpful, people-first content asks related questions of site owners, including whether the site has a primary purpose or focus and whether content demonstrates first-hand expertise and depth of knowledge.

So a fair summary: focus and depth are things Google says it looks for. A single topical authority score for ordinary websites is not something Google has published.

• Pick the subject you want to be the source for. Narrow beats broad. A site about payroll for restaurants can own that subject faster than a site about all of HR.
• Map the questions, not the keywords. List what buyers and practitioners ask, including follow-ups and comparisons. Each distinct question deserves one clear answer.
• One page per question. Duplicate pages compete with each other and blur which one is the answer.
• Connect the pages. A main page for the subject links to supporting pages, and they link back, so the structure is obvious to readers and crawlers.
• Add something only you can. Original data, tested comparisons and first-hand experience are what make a page worth citing. Rewrites of what already ranks add nothing.
• Earn mentions from others in the field. Google's news system looks at whether other publishers cite a source. Being referenced by respected sites on your subject is a strong signal in any context.

AI search makes depth more valuable. When a system splits a question into narrower searches, a site with a strong page for each narrow question has more chances to be retrieved. Our own teardowns show specialists getting cited: in the help desk teardown, a vendor with a program of help desk comparison articles was the third most-cited source in ChatGPT's answers, ahead of Freshworks and G2.

Building that depth on purpose, and making sure it is the kind of source AI answers draw on, is part of any serious AI SEO program. For the concepts underneath, see semantic SEO.

Is topical authority a Google ranking factor?

Google has not published a general topical authority score. It has described a topic authority system for news, used in Top Stories and other news features. For other searches, the term is SEO shorthand for signals Google does describe, such as a clear site focus and first-hand expertise.

How many articles do I need for topical authority?

There is no number. What matters is whether your pages answer the questions a buyer or reader actually has on the subject, without duplicates competing for the same question. A focused set of strong pages beats a large set of thin ones.

Does topical authority help with AI search?

Our data suggests specialists get cited. In our help desk teardown, the third most-cited source in ChatGPT answers was a vendor with a program of help desk comparison articles, ahead of Freshworks and G2. Covering a subject in depth gives AI systems more pages that match the narrow questions they search for.

What is the difference between topical authority and domain authority?

Domain authority is a third-party metric, mostly based on links, that estimates a site's overall strength. Topical authority is about depth on one subject. A site can be strong overall and still be a weak source on a topic it rarely covers.

• Google Search Central: Understanding news topic authority (May 2023)
• Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content

Every High Salience engagement starts with the Category Salience Brief: your commercial questions run across Google and the AI surfaces, competitors side by side, and a ranked list of what to fix first.