- What is Topical Authority in SEO
- How Topical Authority Affects Website Promotion
- What is Hub-and-Spoke in Topical Authority
- How to Build Topical Authority in 2026: Step-by-Step Guide with Examples
- Topical Authority — Architecture, Not Autopilot
Topical Authority — is not an official trust metric at the domain level. It shows what your site represents to search engines, artificial intelligence, and the target audience: an expert source of information or just another resource with hundreds of disparate articles. A series of Google updates in 2026, including the May 2026 Core Update launched on May 21, only strengthens the arguments for building topical authority. So with the right approach, you can not only protect your site from search engine updates but also build a knowledge system that elevates all content in search results through confirmed expertise.
What is Topical Authority in SEO
Topical Authority — is the level of thematic depth that a search engine can confirm through the completeness and interrelatedness of materials. The key task is to write not separate nice articles, but to create related content in a specific niche to answer all audience questions.
Topical Authority should not be confused with Domain Authority from Moz — an external metric that reflects the strength of a site through its external link profile. If Domain Authority relies primarily on the quantity and quality of backlinks across the entire domain, then Topical Authority relies on the depth, quality, and structured coverage of the topic. However, a web resource with deep topical coverage is more likely to receive natural backlinks, which in turn positively affects domain authority.
Also read: How to Increase Domain Authority: Checking and Improving DA Score
How Topical Authority Affects Website Promotion
Topical Authority directly affects the positions of a site in Google and Bing, and the frequency of citations by AI systems such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity. There is also an indirect impact on search results pages: quality disclosure of one topic with complete coverage of related ones causes visitors to spend more time on the web resource. It is believed that Google takes into account behavioral satisfaction signals — in particular, whether a user returns to the search results immediately after visiting a page. If a person visits your web resource, gets all the answers, and does not return to the results with the same questions — this will be a positive indirect signal for the algorithms.
Let’s consider this with an example from my English-language site with reviews of mobile applications. If I wrote only three articles about meditation apps and then quickly switched to English learning programs, my web resource would become just another blog whose author knows nothing about the topic. However, if I first build a whole content system around meditation apps, then in the eyes of search engines, AI, and the target audience, my project will become an expert source of information. And then I can move on to other related topics, gradually scaling the project without losing expert status.
Why Topical Authority is Important for Google in 2026
On May 21, 2026, Google launched the May 2026 Core Update. As Google itself states on LinkedIn:
«This is a regular update aimed at more effectively surfacing relevant and interesting content for users from any type of website».
Although officially this is just a «schedule cleanup», in practice — it is another complete revision of the algorithms of the site database, where the focus is on assessing the quality of the text itself and how it addresses user questions. Accordingly, if a web resource consists of AI-generated garbage without personal experience and expertise, which is also not interconnected, prepare for a rapid change in positions in the results and a drop in traffic.
Comments from LinkedIn users Andrzej Białaś and M Rabah Zahid perfectly describe my state from this «regular update» of Google.
What does Topical Authority have to do with the May 2026 Core Update? Directly, as the update only confirms: Google wants sites to create content that truly helps users, not content written solely for ranking. And it is precisely web resources with a deep focus on one niche that build stronger authoritative signals.
Interestingly, the topical authority of a site is not a fundamentally new concept. As early as 2010–2016, there was talk about the importance of building an internet project with thematic sections, where pages on one topic were physically grouped and primarily linked within this block. In 2017, HubSpot publicly introduced the cluster system, i.e., more flexible links between related topics. And the series of Helpful Content Updates from 2022 to 2024 only confirmed that algorithms prefer comprehensive, useful content and penalize superficiality or automated generation.
Does Topical Authority Affect Promotion in AI Systems
In 2026, it is important to optimize the site not only for search engines but also for artificial intelligence. Although Google officially denied the existence of special site optimization for AI, as I wrote in the article about what GEO is, AI Overviews — is not the only AI system in the world.
When ChatGPT Web Search and Perplexity need a source on a specific topic, they turn to web resources that their training and real-time search systems recognize as consistently accurate and comprehensive. And this is precisely what a site with structured, deep, regularly updated content is: while superficial content receives almost no citations, recognized authority receives mentions across dozens of related queries.
What is Hub-and-Spoke in Topical Authority
Topical authority is built using the Hub-and-Spoke model. It has a central page (Pillar Page), followed by detailed articles for deeper exploration of key issues (Cluster Pages), and this is complemented by supporting materials (Supporting Pages).
Pillar Page — is the cornerstone of the content cluster. It is one page that covers a broad, popular topic at a strategic level — considering the full scope but without deep diving into any subtopic. The size of the material depends on the specific niche, but on average, it is 18,000–32,000 characters (3,000–5,000 words).
Returning to my site about mental health and mindfulness apps, one of the central pages could be «Best Mobile Apps for Meditation». It will mention premium programs, apps with a free tier, completely free apps, the best solutions for learning meditation, stress relief, improving focus, etc.
And there will definitely be links to all Cluster Pages (Cluster Articles) — detailed answers to one question or coverage of one specific aspect of the topic. Each cluster page targets a specific long-tail keyword or user intent related to the central material. And the content size on them is usually 10,000–17,500 characters (1,500–2,500 words).
In the main article, I only mention 1-2 programs for specific tasks, and then I make deeper selections, for example, apps for focus or sleep. I give users the option: some are satisfied with the Pillar Page (found a solution → went to meditate), others need a separate Cluster Page (compared several tools for one task → found the best for themselves → went to practice).
Supporting Pages (Supporting Pages) — are the third level of the topical authority architecture. It covers informational articles on the topic, FAQ pages, glossaries, cases, and commercial service or product pages. Their task is to close related questions of the target audience so that they can finally understand the topic.
For example, my article «Best Meditation Apps» often attracts newcomers who have heard about the effectiveness of meditative practices somewhere, want to try it, but do not understand how to do it. So when they get an effective app through my main and cluster articles, the Supporting Page «Guide to Daily Meditation for 30 Days» or «Effective Meditative Techniques in Mobile Apps» will help them finally understand the topic and start meditating regularly.
This architecture of topical authority will allow answering all possible questions of the target audience on a specific topic so that they do not return with them to the results, which in turn will improve the promotion of the entire site. In addition to convenience for the reader, another task is solved: when the Google crawler hits the Pillar Page, it gradually traverses the entire cluster through internal links and indexes each page in the correct thematic context.
Also read: What is a search robot and how to manage it
How to Build Topical Authority in 2026: Step-by-Step Guide with Examples
Building topical authority is aided by a Topical Map — a structural plan that organizes all related subtopics around a central theme. You choose a central theme, find ideas for cluster and supporting articles, based on which you create a content plan.
I suggest breaking down each aspect of how to build topical authority with free and paid tools. I will take one topic from my site, and Bohdana Haivoronska — Cityhost.
- Conduct an audit of existing content on the site
- Choose a central theme and build a Topical Map
- Classify subtopics by page type and intent
- Create a main page for Topical Authority
- Create cluster pages with proper prioritization
- Create pages to support Pillar and Cluster Pages
- Update and scale the site's topical authority
Conduct an audit of existing content on the site
If the site already has dozens or even hundreds of articles that were written without a single system, they need to be analyzed in detail first. Chaotic materials will not disappear on their own: without structure, they compete with each other for the same keywords, blur the thematic focus of the internet project, and hinder search engines and artificial intelligence from determining your expertise.
To start, go to Google Search Console → Performance → Search Results and look at the Pages tab under the graph. Go through each page and see what search queries the target audience is coming from. For example, my cluster articles receive almost all traffic, while the key page brought only 4 visitors. If you have a similar situation, the reason may be either ranking somewhere in the 15-30+ positions, or the title and description do not attract attention. Most likely — the first, and the reason is that the cluster around it has not yet been fully built.
Plus, pay attention to the types of pages. In my list, there are almost exclusively individual app reviews — Supporting Pages, and there are no Cluster Pages at all. And this is the main finding of the audit: the Pillar Page has supporting articles but lacks cluster materials, without which the supporting page simply cannot compete in such a niche, especially in the English-speaking market.
Additionally, check the internal linking to ensure there are no orphan pages that may break the thematic cluster. I have already explained in the Cityhost blog how to find orphan pages with free and paid tools, so I recommend reading the article, conducting an audit, and fixing orphan materials if you have them.
We started publishing articles in the Cityhost blog in 2019, and some of them — were written for specific queries without any architecture. During the audit, we find materials that are essentially ready Cluster Pages — they just need a Pillar Page on top and proper internal links. Google Search Console shows well which pages have organic traffic, but there are no structural connections with related materials. Such pages are the first on the list to be included in the cluster, and we are already seeing a gradual recovery of positions in the search results and an increase in traffic without rewriting materials from scratch.
Choose a central theme and build a Topical Map
Now you need to define the subject area around which you can build 20-40 separate materials. And here it is important to find the «golden mean»: too broad a topic (for example, «mobile applications») — is hundreds of subtopics and years of work, too narrow («Calm app for anxiety when working on a laptop») — there won't be enough material for the cluster.
You can find a central theme using free tools:
- Google and Bing suggestions — enter the main query and look at the suggestions.
- «People Also Ask» — similarly, enter the main query, plus already found using suggestions, and click on the questions. Here, each click will reveal sub-questions, providing you with a tree of real queries.
- AlsoAsked.com — builds a visual map of questions around the topic, which is very convenient for the initial structuring of the Topical Map. The service provides 3 searches per day for free without registration or 10 for registered users.
Important! I showed examples in English to avoid confusing you, as my site is also English-language. However, Google and Bing suggestions, «People Also Ask», AlsoAsked.com work perfectly with Ukrainian. You can also use Semrush services (10 queries per day in the free plan) and Ahrefs (free for your site), which also work with queries in Ukrainian.
For example, I opened Semrush → Content Ideas → Topic Research, entered «best hosting», selected Ukraine, and clicked Get Content Ideas. For visualization, I switched the display to Mind Map. In the center, you can see our Pillar («best hosting»), and around it — clusters. Do not pay attention to the strange titles of the cards (features of recognizing the Ukrainian language), but look at the essence of the queries inside them. For example, from this data, you can write a comprehensive article «How to Choose the Best Hosting in 2026: A Complete Guide for Beginners», add clusters «TOP-10 Hosting for WordPress», «What is VPS Hosting and Who Needs It», «Best Free Hosting: Pros and Cons», etc.
Classify subtopics by page type and intent
For comfortable work on the content plan for building topical authority, I recommend creating a Google Sheet or Notion template. You will be able to work conveniently with them and give access to your team members. If you decide to automate content work through Make.com, Zapier, or n8n, you can also easily connect these automation services to your tables.
Example of Topical Map. Note the «Intent» column: Informational (I want to know), Commercial (I want to compare and choose), Transactional (I want to get/buy). You can also add frequency and difficulty of keywords, internal linking, URL, and other data.
For my site, I gathered 34 subtopics through AlsoAsked and Semrush. I distributed them as follows: 1 Pillar, 8 Cluster Pages (collections by tasks and types), 15 Supporting Pages (reviews of individual applications), 10 — informational supporting materials. This allowed me to obtain a content plan with a clear interconnected structure for building topical authority.
For the topic «WordPress», we built the Topical Map through Semrush Keyword Magic Tool — we searched for all queries containing the word «WordPress» and filtered by intent. Questions with «how», «what is», «why» — Cluster or Supporting. Comparison queries («WordPress vs Webflow» or «WordPress vs Weblium») — separate cluster pages. Supporting Pages with commercial intent («hosting for WordPress», «buy WordPress theme») — lead to our service pages. We maintain the Topical Map in Google Sheets — each new material goes through it and only then gets into the editorial plan.
Create a main page for Topical Authority
Content creation should start with the Pillar Page. It should cover all key subtopics at an overview level: you need to provide the reader with enough information to understand the topic, but not so deeply that there is no room for cluster pages. The material is structured through H2 and H3 headings, where each heading corresponds to a separate cluster.
On my site, the Pillar Page — is Best Meditation Apps. It contains 8 sections under 8 future Cluster Pages. In each section — 300-400 words of overview and a direct link to a detailed article. And the link must have a corresponding natural anchor, for example, «See the full comparison of free meditation apps →».
Our Pillar Page — «WordPress: Complete Guide 2026». It has a structure with an introduction to each major aspect of WordPress: what it is, WordPress.org vs WordPress.com, advantages and disadvantages, domain and hosting search, themes, plugins, security. Each section ends with a link to the corresponding detailed article. But the material is self-sufficient: if the reader wants to know only «what is WordPress» — they will get an answer instantly, if they want to learn about site protection — they will go to the security cluster.
Create cluster pages with proper prioritization
A common mistake — is to publish a Pillar Page and then write Cluster Pages in any order. To build topical authority, it is worth prioritizing cluster pages based on search query volume and intent. For example, for new sites with low authority, it is often more effective to start with informational materials, and publish commercial ones when the cluster already has some weight.
In my case, these could be articles:
- «Best Apps for Guided Meditation: My First 30 Days of Practice»
- «7 Meditation Apps for Sleep and How They Help with Insomnia»
- «Best Completely Free Meditation Apps Without Ads»
- «My TOP Meditation Apps for Coping with Anxiety While Freelancing»
Our WordPress cluster was built gradually. The first articles addressed the most common support questions: «How to Install WordPress», «What are WordPress Plugins», «WordPress Themes». These materials immediately generated traffic from long tails and simultaneously strengthened the authority of the Pillar Page. Articles with lower demand, such as «How to Protect a Site on WordPress» and «How to Migrate a Site to WordPress» were published later when the cluster already had weight.
Create pages to support Pillar and Cluster Pages
Supporting pages should be added when the cluster already has the main material and 3-5 cluster articles. That is, you are literally building a «skeleton», and then attaching other pages to it.
On my site, Supporting Pages — are individual reviews (Calm, Headspace, Insight Timer) and informational articles like «Best Meditation Techniques». Each material links to the Pillar Page and to a thematically related Cluster.
For Cityhost, Supporting Pages — are primarily glossaries of terms: what is SSL, DNS, shared hosting, etc. These pages do not claim to generate broad traffic on their own, but they close all questions of the target audience and demonstrate our expertise. Additionally, there are supporting articles with high potential, for example, for the cluster about plugins, this would be «Yoast SEO Review» and «Rank Math Review», which not only close the cluster but also generate a lot of traffic.
Update and scale the site's topical authority
Topical Authority should not be treated as a one-time action. If you simply publish Pillar, Cluster, and Supporting Pages and forget about them, trying to quickly move on to other topics, you will gradually lose positions.
The frequency of updates depends on the specific niche, but you can orient yourself to two key time intervals:
- Every three months — check Pillar and Cluster Pages. If necessary, update old information, add new data, personal observations, and conclusions. And check internal links: whether all new articles are connected to the cluster, whether there are orphan pages after edits or global changes on the site.
- Every year — review and update the entire Topical Map. Plus, compare it with leading competitors (you can use the free version of Semrush or Ahrefs) — find subtopics that they have already covered, and you have not.
And here is the main question: when should you move on to another topic? You do not necessarily have to write 50-100 articles until you cover the entire topic. If the first topic already has a Pillar, 6-8 Cluster Pages + 2-3 Supporting Pages, plus they are interconnected through internal links, and the main page is in the TOP 10 for high-frequency keywords, then you can move on to another topic. This way, the new cluster will enhance the overall authority of the site rather than dilute it.
We closely monitor the relevance of content, as everything changes very quickly in the technical niche — constant Google updates, versions of WordPress, new plugins, changes in hosting panel interfaces. Once a quarter, I look at the top articles and mark those with outdated screenshots or statistical data. Plus, we are currently actively updating the entire site, applying this cluster approach to both old articles and new materials.
Topical Authority — Architecture, Not Autopilot
Topical authority — is not a way to «win SEO» through correctly placed links between intermediary articles. It is architecture that determines how search engines and artificial intelligence see your site. But the result depends on what is inside each page. If it is superficial content without real experience, verified data, and specific benefits for the reader, then a new series of Google updates will not only hit an individual page but the entire cluster.
When architecture and quality combine, topical authority becomes a strong system, as I mentioned at the beginning of the article. Your new pages start to get indexed faster, the Pillar Page — rises higher in the results, and the site as a whole — receives more citations in AI system responses. And this is indeed one of the most sustainable content strategies in 2026, as it gives the target audience and algorithms what they are truly looking for.
