What is Topical Authority?
Topical authority is a measure of how comprehensively and expertly a website covers a particular subject. Sites with strong topical authority rank more easily for related keywords.
Building topical authority requires comprehensive coverage of a topic through interconnected content. The pillar-cluster model is the most effective approach:
1. Create a pillar page (comprehensive overview of the main topic) 2. Create spoke articles (detailed coverage of subtopics) 3. Interlink everything (spokes link to pillar, pillar links to spokes, spokes link to each other)
Google evaluates topical authority based on: breadth of coverage, depth of individual articles, internal linking structure, external links from topically relevant sites, and author expertise.
Example
A site with 1 article about 'SEO audit' ranks worse than a site with a pillar guide on SEO audits plus 7 supporting articles on audit checklists, tools comparison, technical vs content audits, etc. The comprehensive coverage signals authority.