Building Topical Authority From the Bottom Up [Episode #43]

Georgios Chasiotis joins the SEO Rant Podcast to talk about how to good SEO means building topical authority from the bottom up. How to build your site's authority methodically The difference between topical coverage and topical identity How to use site identity & authority to move into more competitive areas on the SERP. Building Authority by Association with Small Libraries: Google works by associations. It understands that a site is associated with a given topic or set of topics. When thinking about your content from an SEO perspective it pays to start thinking about it in a far more targeted way. Think of your site as containing small libraries of very focused content that's clearly identifiable. By clearly identifiable we mean that it's clear that the topics are a focus of the site. This stands in contradistinction to casting a wide net with your content in the hopes of bringing in a large amount of content. Aside from targeted content being more valuable, you can't establish yourself as an authority in that manner. By creating small and concentrated libraries of focused content you're showing Google you comprehensively cover a topic. Meaning, you're showing Google you are an authority on the topic. In turn, when relevant keywords are entered into the search engine Google considers you relevant at the topical level. This means you want to start targeting the small terms that show a refined understanding of the topic area. This allows you to grow into more competitive subtopics as Google already understands that you're a relevant authority. By building authority at the topic level from the bottom up you give your site a chance, ultimately, to compete in more competitive spaces.