We’re no strangers to the changing trends of search traffic and algorithms. With over 30 clients, our team monitors daily search traffic across several industries giving us unique insight into how you can stay highly competitive in a declining market.
Our solution: topic authority. In this article, we will break down everything you need to know so you can keep your company at the top of search results!
What is topic authority?
In its simplest form, topic authority is a way to organize and set up FAQs on your site based on content that is relevant to your products/services. Our Director of Web Development equates it to taking a test. If Google is the teacher, you and your competitors’ websites are the students. During the test, Google provides a list of questions. Whoever provides the most accurate answers gets the “A” and ranks higher.
Why is topic authority worth my time?
Frankly, topic authority is a core part of the newest Google Search Algorithm. Ignoring it gives your competition a competitive advantage allowing them to generate endless leads from search engine traffic. Secondly, we’ve noticed that first-to-market websites get the advantage. The early bird gets the worm here.
How does it work, and what’s the plan?
We approach topic authority with a simple seven-step process. No matter the industry, this is how we plan and execute topic authority.
- Keyword Research: Begin by identifying the key search phrases describing your product/service. Then dig into those related search phrases.
- FAQ Research: Once you have those, dissect the frequently asked questions for each search phrase. Note – Google provides specific questions it wants addressed for you to be considered an authoritative source. You may provide additional information, but you must answer the specific questions first.
- Topic Cluster: Organize your search phrases into groups around the core topic.
- Existing Content Review: Search your site and collect all the relevant content that may answer any of the FAQs.
- Content Organization: Develop a primary topic page including the required FAQs from Google and link to the “related search” pages that contain FAQs and supporting content.
- Content Creation: Write content that answers the Google FAQs and create new pages for those subjects as needed.
- Monitor: Check your search engine placement and repeat the last six steps.
What results can I expect to see?
Over just a few months, topic authority can improve your search engine placement and organic search traffic. You can see a current example of this upward trend below. We’ve worked with thisauto repair shop for over three years and began topic authority around May 2022.
Another client of ours has been able to maintain a competitive advantage during a sharp decline in its industry. You can see in the graph below to the left that the global search volume trend began to tank around July 2022. Despite this downward trend, they have maintained a steady level of organic search traffic in this local market because of topic authority.
Topic authority is a big commitment, but the numbers show it’s worth your time. Start small and grow your website’s expertise one keyword at a time. Before you know it, you’ll be trending up and outpacing your competition.
About Grapevine Communications
Grapevine Communications is a full-service creative marketing agency celebrating 20 years of success on the Suncoast of Florida. To learn more about what we do, visit grapeinc.com or call us at 941-351-0024.
