{"id":96459,"date":"2023-05-31T18:00:15","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T18:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rockcontent.com\/?p=96459"},"modified":"2025-09-17T01:50:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T04:50:49","slug":"google-topic-authority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pingback.com\/en\/resources\/google-topic-authority\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Topic Authority: Are We Back To Talking About E-A-T And Topic Clusters?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Well\u2026 Google Topic Authority is not a new subject. Therefore, I’ll use this space to reinforce the importance of E-A-T<\/a> and the tactics of Topic Clusters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is an old classification system which Google is talking about again<\/a>, with a recent post on its official blog. Maybe because the market still didn’t know how to put it into practice or because that wasn’t the focus when I needed to talk about written content for the buyer persona or about the various algorithm updates.<\/p>\n

So, I’ve put together a brief introduction to Google Topic Authority here and then we’ll talk a little more about how brands and SEO professionals can take advantage of this system.<\/p>\n

What is Google Topic Authority?<\/h2>\n

As previously mentioned, this is a system already used by Google that seeks to address user needs when looking for information or a specific idea on a subject.<\/p>\n

Shall we give an example different from those cited by Google? Imagine you’re a marketer looking for more information or expert opinion on HubSpot’s report, The State of Marketing 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The algorithm is smart enough to understand who the authorities on the subject are to show good content options to its user. Searching for \u201cThe State of Marketing 2023 report\u201d on Google, you will find the report itself in first place and then three pages of other options of reports and events, in case your intention was different.<\/p>\n

In fifth place, serving your search intent, for example, is a Rock Content post<\/a> with an expert opinion highlighting key insights from the report (by the way, congratulations on the good work, Erick).<\/p>\n

This is because the Rock Content blog meets the requirements of Google Topic Authority.<\/p>\n

According to Google, \u201cthe topic authority system looks at a variety of signals to understand a publication’s degree of expertise in specific areas. Some of the most prominent signs are<\/em>” the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. How outstanding a source is for a topic or location<\/li>\n
  2. Influence and original reports<\/li>\n
  3. source reputation<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Of course, all these signals sound pretty high-level when you first read them. The truth is, earning \u201cauthority\u201d isn\u2019t something you can just slap together overnight with a couple of well-placed keywords and a hope. It\u2019s actually more about persistence\u2014building up a genuine track record over time, where a site demonstrates not only depth in a subject but also a history of trustworthiness. You can smell the difference, sometimes, between sites that go the extra mile and those just churning out content for clicks. I mean, Google\u2019s not perfect, but it\u2019s getting better at sniffing that out too.<\/p>\n

    There\u2019s also usually a bit of a lag between when a publication is actually producing quality, focused work and when Google starts to really take notice. That\u2019s probably why smaller brands or new blogs sometimes feel invisible for a while despite great content. I\u2019ve seen cases where, six months in, things finally start snowballing\u2014not necessarily because anything changed, but because the credibility just needed to sink in. It does help to keep pushing out genuinely helpful pieces, even when no one\u2019s watching yet. At least, that\u2019s been my experience slogging through niche topics where patience is your best friend.<\/p>\n

    Continue reading to understand how Rock Content \u201cattacks\u201d E-A-T and the first steps towards a Topic Clusters strategy.<\/p>\n

    E-A-T for Google Topic Authority<\/h2>\n

    Now that we finally have a name for the topic authority system, perhaps the market will start to embrace E-A-T best practices.<\/p>\n

    E-A-T (which is now E-E-A-T, right?) is well described and clear in the Google Search fundamentals<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    \u201cE-E-A-T itself is not a specific ranking factor, but it is helpful to use a combination of factors that identifies content with appropriate E-E-A-T. For example, our systems give even more weight to content that aligns with an appropriate E-E-A-T on topics that could significantly affect people’s health, financial stability or security, or societal well-being. We call these themes “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL).\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    And some of the methods Rock uses to put E-A-T into practice are:<\/p>\n