Topic authority is recognized expertise on a given subject. A company, publication, or person can possess it.
In May, Google published an article in its Search Central Blog titled “Understanding news topic authority.” The article explains how Google assesses expertise for responding to News and Search queries.
Here’s what we know about topic authority and its impact on rankings.
Topic Authority, per Google
The May article listed Google’s prominent signals for topic authority:
- How notable a source is for a topic or location.
- How original reporting is cited by other publishers.
- A source’s history of high-quality reporting or recommendations from expert sources, such as professional societies.
