Building Topical Authority in SEO: Dani Leitner’s Expert Insights

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[OK]: I hope you enjoy this episode. Thank you for joining us! Dani, could you start by telling us a bit about your background? How did you begin your SEO career, and what inspired you to pursue it? It’s not a common choice — in today’s world, most people lean towards general marketing roles, and not many women, in particular, are aware of the possibilities within search engine optimization. How did you discover this path for yourself?

Dani Leitner [DL]: Well, we're diving in deep because I actually didn’t study marketing at all, so my background isn’t in marketing. I come from a technical background — I went to a technical school and worked as an IT project manager for a few years. Then I decided I didn’t want anything to do with computers anymore because it just felt boring to me. So, I decided to study civil engineering — because, well, why not?

After working as a civil engineer, I realized it wasn’t for me either. I didn’t enjoy driving to construction sites and working in that environment; it was complicated and not quite what I wanted. I knew I wanted something different. I’d always enjoyed building websites and working on side projects, and eventually, I found an SEO agency in Innsbruck, where I was living at the time. I applied twice, and on my second try, they hired me. That’s when I thought, "Yes, I want to learn about SEO," and that’s how I entered the SEO world. I never formally studied it — I just learned by doing and working on client projects.

[OK]: Cool. What’s the biggest difference between being a civil engineer and an SEO specialist? You know, people often joke that SEO is a dying field and that soon we'll all be heading to factory jobs because AI will take over our work. The SEO community jokes that in a few years, we’ll all be moving to factories or other non-digital jobs. But you have the opposite story!

So, how many years have you been doing this? How long have you been in SEO?

[DL]: I started working in SEO at the beginning of 2021, so it hasn’t been that long. However, the learning curve was incredible at the agency I worked for. Initially, I started with link building, which I didn’t enjoy at all. Basically, all we did was send emails to bloggers, trying to convince them to publish our articles. It was exhausting — spending entire days writing emails, often with no responses or, at best, unenthusiastic ones, and then writing more emails. I kept thinking, “Isn’t there something else I could be doing?”

Eventually, I transitioned into technical SEO, but I moved into it too quickly. Without a solid foundation in SEO basics or strategy, I found it challenging — technical SEO can be complex to grasp. So I shifted to strategic SEO, where I had great mentors who taught me keyword research and how to build effective strategies. I started working with five clients, developing their strategies from scratch and supporting them throughout.

Later, I moved to Switzerland and returned to technical SEO. This time, I finally began to understand it. I thought, “Okay, now I get it — now’s the time.” Not two years ago, but now.

[OK]: Okay. What is your favorite part of SEO in general?

[DL]: SEO strategy. So building the strategy for a client and keyword research. I know a few people say it's already dead, but I still love it.

[OK]: What tools can you recommend to for customizing the really big amount of keywords. Like, I know when we try to scrape the old travel keywords.

[DL]: For keyword research, I normally use SEMrush because I really like the database that they have in German. But for clustering afterwards, I need to admit I do it manually. I really go through the keywords that I was sorting out. I first clustered them in a sheet manually, how I think they would go together, and then I put them into the SERPs to see if it's really like that.

[OK]: Okay, okay. In general, yeah, I agree the best clusterization is human clusterization, but sometimes it can be really hard when you have big amount of keywords like 1 million. But in general for SEO, we don't need to cluster all of the keywords. We need to provide a structure first. Yeah, that's we are talking about about topical authority. Okay, let's let's start. Tell me, please, about what is topical authority for you?

[DL]: I actually brought a few definitions because I looked up some interpretations, and I thought we could go through them in the presentation. Different sources seem to have slightly different takes, and it feels like everyone has their own interpretation. For example, the SEMrush blog defines topical authority as a website's expertise and credibility on a specific subject, emphasizing the importance of focusing on one subject or topic.

Then, Search Engine Journal suggests that building authority means becoming the authoritative resource on a specific subject, which aligns more closely with my own understanding of topical authority. Ahrefs defines it as becoming the go-to authority on one or more topics. And Neil Patel puts it very simply: your website should be the place to learn about a particular subject.

What all these definitions share is the idea that your website becomes the main source for both users and search engines on a topic. To achieve that, you’d cover every possible aspect of the topic, including related questions and subtopics. Ideally, when a user arrives on your site, they wouldn't need to go elsewhere because they could find everything they need right there.

[OK]: I think people sometimes misunderstand topical authority because there are two aspects to consider. First, SEO in general has become more challenging due to Google’s evolving algorithms. These algorithms are constantly improving, and each update makes the system more complex. Even Google might not fully understand how all the data from the web is processed. We can read Google’s guidelines and pick out key points, but even with this documentation, it’s difficult to predict outcomes with certainty.

Over the past ten years, we’ve seen consistent documentation on content quality assessment, which Google updates slightly over time. The main goal has remained the same: "Create content for people." While this statement may sound clichéd, I’d like to add that indexing has also become a major issue. Many of us have experienced this; for example, five, six, or even seven years ago, I remember it was possible to get indexed within hours. Now, with so many HTML documents on the web, getting indexed isn’t as easy because crawling resources are limited.

So, when you’re creating content on a topic with, say, 10,000 results on Google, it’s worth asking yourself: Is this content truly worth indexing compared to those other 10,000 documents?

[DL]: Yes, exactly. This problem seems to get worse each year, especially now that it’s so easy to generate content using artificial intelligence, allowing anyone to churn out content rapidly. One of my main recommendations for building topical authority is to avoid writing about everything. Just because a topic has a high search volume doesn’t mean it’s relevant to your business. Focus on what’s truly relevant to your niche.

When building my strategy around topical authority, I prefer to start with long-tail keywords — those very specific searches that might only have around ten searches per month, or perhaps 20 or 50 when added up. These often address questions that don’t yet have a clear answer online, allowing you to achieve quicker results and fill gaps in the content available.

For example, if I have a travel blog and want to build topical authority on Interrailing, my first article might explain “What is Interrailing?” just to establish the basics. But from there, I’d go more specific, targeting less obvious questions that help build depth in the topic.

[OK]: What is it? What’s Interrailing? 

[DL]: Interrailing is traveling around Europe by train using a special train ticket.

[OK]: Yeah, I got it.

[DL]: Yes, exactly. Those specific articles were where I started getting traffic. For example, I created an itinerary specifically for Interrailing in Italy. While the main website covered the Global Pass with general entries, I focused on the one-country pass just for Italy. It was a very specific long-tail keyword, but it still had search volume, and my small travel blog found it easier to rank for.

That’s what I recommend as well: don’t just target the high-volume, competitive keywords that everyone else is after. Instead, dive deeper into your topic and start with long-tail keywords.

[OK]: Yes, especially for a new website. For instance, imagine you’re working with a site that has no domain history and a blank slate on the web archive, and you’re aiming to build traffic over time. It’s always a dilemma: should you start with high-volume keywords and wait it out, or target low-volume keywords for quick, smaller wins? It’s a real question because a lot of SEOs recommend starting with high-volume keywords.

Let’s take Italy travel as an example. You could target big topics like Rome, Venice, or other popular destinations, but you could also focus on simpler, more niche questions like "How to take a train in Italy." Italian railways are notoriously confusing, and as a tourist, that’s often one of the first things I’d Google — especially when it comes to trains in Europe.

What would you recommend? How can we begin finding these keywords? What are your top three methods?

[DL]: To find specific long-tail keywords, I usually start by focusing on the main topic. If we're sticking with "Italy vacation," I’d look for keywords that include "Italy vacation" and go through the keyword list, focusing on terms with lower search volumes, like 0, 10, or 20 searches per month.

[OK]: I'm sorry, I’m not sure what to do. Let’s just continue. This is Lucy, my assistant.

[DL]: She wants to shine as well today.

[OK]: Sure. She also has her own opinion about topical authority. Okay, sorry — go ahead.

[DL]: Yes, I would really focus on those small-volume keywords. I also find it valuable to look at questions directly from users. If you’re working with a company that’s not brand new and has been around for a few years, they likely know what questions customers frequently ask. Starting with those topics can be beneficial because it directly helps customers or users. Even if these topics don’t rank highly or have low search volumes, they’re still helpful.

So, focus on two things: small search volumes and insights from the business, including ideas from customer questions or interactions. For example, on my travel blog, I get a lot of comments from readers. Their comments often give me new article ideas — when I realize I haven’t covered a particular topic that people are curious about, I know it’s worth writing about.

[OK]: Yes. Just yesterday, I was analyzing our corporate site, Collaborator. I went through Trustpilot and used the Perplexity plugin to ask a few questions. For example, I asked, "What do people like about our company according to Trustpilot reviews?" Using Perplexity, I received a summary of each review right there on the page, highlighting both the benefits and drawbacks customers mentioned.

For me, as a marketing or sales specialist, this was already a great starting point for research. It gave me insights into what our customers appreciate about us and what common challenges they encounter when working with our company. This is incredibly valuable because it informs me about the topics I should cover or highlight in my posts, articles, and other content for our clients.

So, yes, it’s really helpful!

[DL]: That’s a really good idea; please take a look.

[OK]: If you don’t have a company, you can, for example, go through your competitors.

[DL]: Look at the comments there; that can also be really helpful. Yeah, I mean, just...

[OK]: Understand the main points of each competitor and consider how you can use them in your strategy.

[DL]: I mean, sure, it’s easier to just export a keyword list, but that approach doesn’t get you into the depths of what the user truly wants to find. When you write about a high-search-volume, general topic, it doesn’t necessarily show any expertise — you’re just writing what everyone else is covering because it’s a common topic.

However, if you provide specific answers to niche questions and create content that dives deeply into the topic, it can signal to Google — and to people — that you genuinely know what you’re talking about. It’s not just about finding a popular keyword and repeating what the million other pages out there are saying. Instead, by going deeper, you’re showing real experience and insight, which stands out.

[OK]: Yes, at the very least, our first goal is to create content that will be indexed. After that, we need to promote our content, and for that, the content really has to be top-notch.

But why has everyone started talking about topical authority? Can you explain why this topic has become so popular in the past 2 or 3 years? Or was it always popular, and maybe as part of a younger generation, we just didn’t know much about it?

[DL]: That's a great question. I did some digging into Google’s history, and what I found is that this shift actually started around 2013. We weren’t talking about “topical authority” back then, but it was the first update that pointed in that direction. Before 2013, SEO was heavily focused on individual keywords. Of course, I wasn’t doing SEO back then, and I don’t think you were either, right? In 2013, I was still working as an IT project manager for Swarovski and had only graduated a couple of years before.

[DL]: But I’m sure you’ve heard stories from back then — things like stuffing keywords on a page, focusing on how many times the keyword appeared, and even hiding keywords by making them the same color as the background. People would do whatever it took to outdo the competition, using techniques that worked at the time, even if they wouldn’t last. Then came the Hummingbird update, which was a major shift toward understanding meaning beyond individual keywords.

When we first started using Google, searches were very keyword-focused. If you typed a phrase instead of a specific keyword, you often couldn’t find what you were looking for because Google didn’t know how to interpret it. Nowadays, you can type in almost anything and find relevant results. Back then, it was all about getting the exact keyword and word order right.

The Hummingbird update marked the beginning of Google’s move toward semantic search, understanding context and intent rather than just matching keywords. This change paved the way for topical authority, which wouldn’t have been possible without it.

Then, in 2015, Google introduced RankBrain, a machine learning algorithm that further improved Google’s understanding of topics and context. This made topical relevance more important for ranking, although I don’t think topical authority as we understand it today was fully in place yet in 2015.

[DL]: The hype around topical authority we see today actually started building years ago. Then came the introduction of E-A-T guidelines — now E-E-A-T, with the core focus on expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. These elements are key because Google wants to know: do you have the expertise? Can you be trusted? Are you an authoritative source? All of these factors play a crucial role in topical authority today.

Next came updates that improved natural language processing, fueling even more discussions: do keywords still matter, or should we shift focus to entities? This debate is substantial because it’s about understanding the context and relationships within topics. Recently, I’ve been digging into the Google leak you mentioned. It’s a challenging document to interpret, but it introduces a model called Quality Authority Topic Embeddings (QATE), which sounds complex.

[OK]: Without spaces, yes.

[DL]: It’s actually quite interesting. Of course, we can’t be certain about the details in the Google leak. For anyone unfamiliar with it, the Google leak involves documents that outline certain functions potentially used in Google’s algorithm programming. We don’t know exactly how they’re applied; we only know these functions exist and were discussed as potentially useful, so any interpretations we make are somewhat speculative. But it does provide direction.

I organized the information in a table to break down what these parts of the Quality Authority Topic Embeddings (QATE) mean. For example, "page embedding" refers to the main topic of a specific page, while "site embedding" relates to the overarching topic of the entire website. With this functionality, Google could identify both the main topic of a page and the broader topic of the site. Through the "site radius" feature, it could even compare whether a page’s topic aligns with or differs from the overall website theme.

[OK]: Let’s take an example. Imagine we have a travel website focused on Italy, and suddenly there are a few articles about how to play casino slots in New Jersey.

[DL]: Because we wanted to make guest posting a lot.

[OK]: So what is our site embedding radius in this case? Is it close or far? How can we interpret it accurately? Honestly, I think it’s nonsense. What does Google think about it?

[DL]: I can actually explain this really well because I experienced it firsthand. It wasn’t about casinos, but I had a travel blog, and I’d built topical authority for Interrailing by writing extensively about it. I even set up an affiliate partnership with the Interrail website. When I started seeing traffic, I thought, “Hey, maybe I can make some money from this blog.” But just after I earned my first €100, Interrail completely stopped the affiliate program. I was so frustrated — I had just started to make money!

So, feeling annoyed, I decided not to write about Interrailing anymore and instead switched to topics like hiking, skiing, and solo travel. But nothing ranked. Before, I could post about Interrailing and hit the top ten results easily. Then I posted about hiking, and Google didn’t even bother indexing it! It was incredibly frustrating, even if it’s a bit funny in hindsight.

One article, for example, was about meeting people while traveling alone, with a focus on backpacking since I’d been solo traveling in Central America for two months. Somehow, it ranked for "how to meet people while Interrailing" even though I didn’t mention Interrail once in the article! Eventually, I changed the title to “How to Meet People on Interrail” to get it onto the first page, but I was baffled at the time.

This experience really illustrates how Google evaluates topic relevance. When I tried branching into hiking, Google assessed it and essentially said, “Hiking isn’t closely related to Interrail travel; it’s outside your area of expertise.” That’s a practical example of how topic relevance works in determining authority.

[OK]: Okay, so while conducting keyword research, we should investigate and understand the connections between topics, how they correlate, and how closely related they are. This way, we won’t overlook any potential bridges that can link these topics together. We can also apply these strategies to optimize our internal linking, reinforcing strong connections between topics within our site.

I also have a website, so I understand exactly what you’re talking about. I'd like to share a bit about my experience and how I started — with Google Trends. The simplest way to start, without any paid tools, is to go to Google Trends. For example, my travel blog focuses on Portugal, and I chose this niche because I was frustrated by the lack of clear information in English on how Portuguese trains work. Naturally, I checked the search volume for this keyword, and I realized it was a great topic — everyone discusses the best destinations, but few cover the practical side of travel.

This is a tip for SEOs working in challenging niches: if you’re in-house and covering a difficult topic, you may not be an expert, but you still need to understand the connections between topics. Take “snowing machines” as an example. I’m not interested in snowing machines, plumbing, window cleaning, or roofing, but as an SEO, we need to dive into these areas and grasp how they connect.

Using Google Trends can help with this brainstorming. Even if Google doesn’t provide exact popularity metrics, you can at least see how it links related topics. This is a good starting point before moving on to deeper keyword research and clustering.

[DL]: Another useful tip for understanding how Google might categorize topics or see related ideas is to use Google Images. At the top, you’ll see various filters or suggestions that help you dive deeper into the topic, which can be really helpful. I came across this recommendation recently, and it’s a really cool approach — I hadn’t thought of it before.

[OK]: Totally agree. It’s a really good approach. We can also leverage image search by optimizing images in the right way. I think it’s a great addition to building topical authority when you include images in your article that clearly support the content. Thankfully, with tools like ChatGPT and AI in general, we can now create accurate descriptions.

Just don’t resort to keyword stuffing in image descriptions — it doesn’t work. Simply check the SERP and look at top images; that tactic is outdated.

[DL]: I’ve identified three key components of topical authority. I broke these down into three main areas, some of which we’ve already discussed. These are essential tips to start with if you’re aiming to build topical authority:

1. Quality and Depth of Content: As we mentioned, you should focus on high-quality, in-depth content rather than just targeting high-volume keywords that everyone else is covering.
2. Internal Linking: Always keep internal linking strategies like the hub-and-spoke model in mind. This helps you structure your content effectively. When you’re just starting out, and if you’re focusing on long-tail keywords, extensive structuring may not be as necessary. But as you cover more of a topic, it’s essential to organize and link content well, creating a cohesive structure across your site.
3. In-Depth Topic Coverage: To establish topical authority, you need to go deep and create thorough, comprehensive content. This way, you’re not only meeting user needs but also signaling to search engines that your site is a reliable source on the topic.

[OK]: Can I ask you a question about how deep our content should go? I mean, sometimes we all make mistakes, and that’s okay, but how deep is enough when it comes to building topical authority? For example, if we’re discussing how to get a visa in Berlin, should we cover everything about Berlin, or should we focus on more specific aspects? Where’s the line between establishing real topical authority and just scraping the surface around our keyword?

[DL]: For example, if we’re discussing getting a visa in Berlin, writing about the best free walking tours in Berlin might be too off-topic. Instead, focus on content that’s directly related, like how to find housing, the first steps for settling in, or what’s needed for a visa if you’re planning to live there. If it’s for travel purposes, then you’d cover information like getting a visa to visit, navigating the airport, and other relevant travel details — without straying too far off-topic.

It’s interesting in the SEO world how we sometimes assume "more is better." We often see articles that are 3,000 to 5,000 words long, and it can take hours to find a single piece of information you need.

[OK]: Yes, exactly! That’s what I’m talking about. Sometimes you just need clear information. I don’t want to read a lengthy introduction about how great something is — I have “reader blindness” and just skip over all of that.

[DL]: Exactly. I also find it frustrating when searching for SEO information, and it always starts with "What is this?" when I'm looking for something specific. For example, you search "Tips on email marketing for small businesses," and the article starts with "What is email marketing?" and "Why do you need it?" — but I already know that! Just get to the point.

This is where topical authority can really help. For instance, I’d split these topics up: one article on "What is email marketing," another focused on "Tips," and one on "Why you need a tool." With proper interlinking, readers can find more foundational information if they need it, but we avoid cramming everything into one article just to rank.

[OK]: I think it's a bit of an old-school SEO approach because a few years ago, it worked pretty well.

[DL]: The approach was to "write more words than the competition, and you’ll appear more in-depth."

[OK]: But now, it’s not about providing all-encompassing information. It’s about delivering clear, focused content on a few specific topics. This doesn’t mean you need to create a lengthy, exhaustive article.

[DL]: I’d also say that in-depth content doesn’t have to mean covering everything on a single page. You can dive deeper into a topic by linking to additional articles on the site, allowing for more thorough coverage of the general topic without cramming it all onto one page.

[OK]: Like technical documentation and confluence.

[DL]: So, if you want even more detail, here’s an article that delves into this particular point you might find useful.

[OK]: It’s easier to rank for a specific topic because you can, for example, check "allintitle" or "intitle" results and see that, even if a keyword has decent volume, there might not be many results on that exact topic. By offering this specific piece of content, you can reach the top more easily than by creating an overly lengthy article.

[DL]: I also think SEOs tend to stick to what we learn early on: look at the top ten rankings and create something similar, because that’s supposedly what Google and users want. But sometimes, Google just hasn’t found anything better. For example, with my Interrail article, it ranked in the top ten, even though I followed the same keyword research process and found the topic. I thought, “Oh, nice — I’ve done Interrail in Italy twice, so I can share some useful tips and help plan an itinerary.”

When I checked the top-ranking results, they didn’t really match my perspective. The highest-ranking article focused on the global pass, took a basic route to Rome, and then jumped straight to France by flight, which wasn’t at all what I had in mind.

So, even though I knew the top-ranking content wasn’t exactly what I wanted to write, I followed my own vision. I think that’s why my article ranked well, despite my site having a domain authority of only two compared to Interrail’s 80 and other Interrail-focused blogs. My article addressed a user need that wasn’t well-covered elsewhere, and that made the difference.

[OK]: I think it’s also a good approach when analyzing competitors. For instance, if you see outdated articles from authority sites or user-generated content (UGC) platforms like Quora or Wikipedia on the SERP, it can indicate that Google lacks strong options to rank at the top. For me, this is a signal that I should pursue this topic, as I may have a chance to rank higher with fresher, high-quality content.

Additionally, if you see the top ten dominated by authority websites but notice a small, low-authority site in the mix, that can also be a positive signal — it suggests that you may have a chance to rank well on this topic, even without many backlinks. Although ranking without links is challenging today, it’s still possible in some cases.

[DL]: Another crucial aspect of topical authority is that it’s a long-term strategy. While SEO in general should be a long-term approach, if your plan centers on building topical authority, be prepared for slow progress at the beginning. You’ll need to reach a critical mass of content before you start seeing results, so initially, you’ll just keep writing and publishing without immediate impact.

This is especially true for new websites or when shifting to a different topic, which can be one of the challenges with topical authority. If you’ve already established authority in one area and want to pivot to another, it takes considerable effort. I saw this firsthand at the agency where I started learning SEO. The agency was, and still is, a go-to resource for SEO topics. But as the market shifted, and with strong copywriters on the team, clients began asking us to write general content, such as about pages or content marketing pieces.

We thought, “Why not expand from SEO content to broader content marketing?” However, positioning ourselves for content marketing proved difficult. It was challenging to convince Google that we had expertise beyond SEO. Google seemed to keep us boxed into SEO content, so the transition was extremely hard.

The key takeaway is that building topical authority, or shifting it, requires sustained effort and patience. Don’t get discouraged if it takes time to see results.

[OK]: You just caught my thought — I was about to ask if you find it frustrating! How can we deal with it? I mean, both of us are experienced specialists, so we know our stuff, but what about newcomers? How can we encourage them if they’re just starting their journey or career? What would you recommend?

[DL]: I mean, it’s not easy. When you’re just starting and you have a client, you need to convince them of your strategy — and if you’re not entirely convinced yourself, that can be tough. You have to project confidence to the client, even if you’re still figuring things out.

If it’s your own project, though, it’s a different story. I believe every SEO should start a side project. For instance, you have your travel blog, and I have mine. It’s a great way to experiment and try new strategies.

Choose a topic you actually enjoy, so you’ll be more likely to stick with it. If it’s a topic you dislike — something you hate writing or reading about, but chose only because you thought it could make money through affiliate links — you probably won’t have the motivation to keep going. You’ll end up thinking, "This isn’t working; I’ll try something else."

But if you choose something you’re passionate about, like I did with my travel blog, it’s much easier to stay committed. You’ll want to write about it, enjoy the process, and feel excited to experiment. That passion makes a big difference.

[OK]: Yeah, travel is a great topic to start with because it’s an ideal example for building a topical map. It helps you understand how it works, letting you really dive deep into the topic and grasp the connections between different entities. You could choose any topic, but travel is one of the easiest for this purpose. Plus, it’s great for creating unique content, as you can always share your personal experiences and add your creative touch. So, it’s definitely a topic we recommend starting with.

[DL]: I mean, travel is a popular topic — lots of people love it. But one of my colleagues, for example, created a website about sustainable shoes, which seemed so random to me at first. I asked, "How did you choose that topic? Did it have a lot of search volume?" He said, "No, I’m just really interested in knowing whether my shoes are sustainable, ecological, and responsibly made." I was impressed — I had never thought about that topic, but he was genuinely passionate about it.

It’s a niche topic and a great foundation for a website. So while travel is a good starting point, especially if you're interested in it, you can also start with any topic you’re passionate about.

[OK]: Yes, I think you can expect to see initial results after about six months of consistent work on your content. After 12 months, you might start seeing really strong results. Until then, you’ll need to be creative, as you likely won’t have a large budget and may end up spending more than you earn. Be prepared for this financial aspect, especially if you’re working in an agency or for a client — you can’t guarantee any specific results.

[DL]: I think it’s also important, especially with a client, to bring in some measurable results to show that their investment is paying off. One effective approach is to target long-tail topics with less competition. This allows you to demonstrate early successes, like ranking on page one for certain keywords, which are often easier to achieve.

Additionally, it’s helpful to have dual goals for content: one goal for Google ranking and another for user engagement. If you’re answering real user questions, the content can also be repurposed in newsletters or social media, adding value beyond just SEO.

When it comes to building topical authority, it’s crucial to go beyond your own site. Instead of only creating content for your website, put it out on social media to attract followers and drive traffic. Also, consider collaborating with other niche websites. For instance, I wrote a post on topical authority for Moz, which allowed me to showcase my SEO expertise to a relevant audience.

The main goal isn’t just to earn backlinks but to build your brand by reaching a broader audience and reinforcing your authority on the topic.

[OK]: Yes, a great example! A few days ago — apologies if I mispronounce his name — there’s a talented SEO specialist named Gus who works at Indeed. He wrote an article for the Wix blog on how to get a knowledge panel, and he actually got a knowledge panel himself. It’s pretty funny!

[OK]: It’s a really great example. He actually did it! I analyzed his personal website a bit, and it’s quite simple — just a basic site about himself with a standard JSON schema. Nothing fancy, just the basics that most people use. He’s built his brand primarily through LinkedIn, providing authoritative guides on various SEO topics across different websites. He’s published some great articles on ChatGPT, Screaming Frog, and, as mentioned, his piece for Wix on how to get a knowledge panel. And here we are — he succeeded!

It’s an impressive example because, as an SEO specialist, he earned a professional knowledge panel in SEO.

[DL]: Oh I want one like this as well.

[OK]: It’s really cool because I know a lot of specialists try different approaches — like writing their own book, promoting it, and then earning a knowledge panel as an author. So, yeah, that’s a whole other topic to discuss, but it’s a very interesting example. Definitely worth checking out as a good model to follow — a recommendation for all of us.

[DL]: That’s also important because it shows Google that you’re not just writing on your blog — Google sees other websites where you’re active, too. The algorithm can recognize the connections between you and various sites, especially when they share the same name, picture, or logo. This helps Google understand your broader online presence.

I have a fun anecdote about this! I asked Perplexity, “Who is Dani Leitner?” Just for fun. It responded with details about me, saying I write a newsletter. Then I asked about the content of my newsletter, and Perplexity provided bullet points that were surprisingly accurate. It seems the information came from various sources I’d published on, like my website where I mentioned my newsletter, LinkedIn posts promoting it, and an article I wrote for GetResponse about email marketing for small businesses, where I shared tips on managing a newsletter efficiently.

Perplexity had combined details from all these sources — my website, LinkedIn, and the article on GetResponse. It was fascinating to see how it pieced together information from different places to create a cohesive description.

[OK]: We need to recognize that every external link matters for your website. I think a lot of us in SEO probably do this test! If you’re a specialist, please let us know in the comments — do you Google yourself and try to build your knowledge panel? Just to confirm we’re not the only ones!

I do Google myself, and recently I came across a Q&A session with Craig Campbell and Chris Palmer. I left a comment asking, “What do you guys think about…” and it was wild to see that yesterday, when I Googled my own name, Chris Palmer had posted a screenshot of the session with my comment alongside him and Craig Campbell. This screenshot, with my tiny avatar and text, now appears in my search results!

Google clearly understood it was my comment and even scanned the text within the image, linking it to my profile. It’s now part of my knowledge graph in a way — it’s fascinating to see how a small Instagram screenshot with my comment has become part of my brand. Thankfully, it was a good question!

[OK]: One. They probably decided my question was a good one to announce their Q&A session, and since I had a nice profile image, they decided to use it. But now Google has found it, and all my comments — even on old profiles like Quora from my early days as a link builder — are showing up. Google knows everything about you!

When working on content for your own website, don’t forget to ensure quality for external backlinks. As you mentioned, for example, you put significant effort into a high-quality article for Moz, investing extra time because it’s a reputable site. It’s a common mistake to think, “I’ll just buy a few backlinks and not worry about the content,” or to rely on generated content. But this approach doesn’t work, especially for indexing. Websites where you submit guest posts or articles also require quality, because if the content isn’t up to standard, it may not be indexed at all.

Moreover, your reputation is on the line — those reviewing your submission may reject low-quality, generated content, which could lead to being blacklisted from future collaborations. So, be mindful of this.

Now, if we already have an established website, how can we improve our strategy further?

[DL]: The first step is to really narrow down your topic. I know it may sound strange to say “choose a topic” because you already have a brand and products or services you're focused on. But what I mean is to pick a specific subtopic. For example, if you run a travel blog, the general topic of travel is huge — you can’t build topical authority for “travel” as a whole. Instead, you could focus on a niche like “traveling in Portugal” or “Interrailing.” It needs to be a focused subtopic.

If you’re in a broad niche, choose a specific area to concentrate on. For example, when I started my travel blog, I wrote about a variety of topics, but after seeing interest in Interrailing, I decided to concentrate on that. So, focus on a clear subtopic instead of putting out random content.

[OK]: What do you think — how can we… let’s take the same example. Let’s say you’re a young website with high-quality content — at least, we believe it’s good, even though it’s not ranking yet. How can we show Google the value of our content beyond the text itself? What additional components can we use to make it more appealing, not just for users but as a signal to Google that says, "Look, I’ve put in my best effort"?

[DL]: Exactly. So you’re not talking about building more content, but rather promoting the content you already have and making it more engaging. On your site, if it’s mostly text, consider adding images, videos, tables, or other visual elements to make the content more interesting.

Beyond that, if you already have great content but are still a young site and not yet ranking, it’s essential to get your name out there. Write for other sites, appear on podcasts, and build your brand. As you build your brand, you’ll attract backlinks, which boosts your page’s authority. Plus, as people get to know you, they may recognize your name, which helps in establishing credibility — not just with people but with Google as well.

If that sounds like a long-term strategy because it involves finding podcasts, pitching blogs, and creating a network, start with social media, where you have direct control. On LinkedIn, for example, you could share summaries of your articles. Use tools like ChatGPT to generate summaries, then refine them to post weekly highlights of your articles. This way, people will see and engage with your content, and these signals can add up over time.

[OK]: Yes, some experts recommend making at least 16 posts per month on LinkedIn to maintain a strong social media presence.

[DL]: Thinking about 16 blog posts on your blog that would be like, no.

[OK]: I think 16 posts a month is quite a lot. Aleyda Solis — hopefully, I’m pronouncing her name correctly — recently shared advice that stuck with me: “Before you can expect to get, you need to contribute.” It makes sense, and it’s solid advice not only for SEO but for building a reputation in general. If you want to be recognized, you need to contribute first so people know who you are, what you do, and what you stand for. No one will trust or engage with you until they know you’re credible and knowledgeable.

It’s a valuable tip for building your brand or aiming for substantial traffic. You need to consistently contribute valuable content; people are busy, and they want quality information. If you can’t provide it, maybe it’s time to reconsider your approach or even your field.

I think we’ve covered a lot on the importance of expertise and thinking beyond classic SEO practices. SEO is definitely more complex now. Previously, a basic understanding of HTML, algorithms, keywords, and on-page optimization was enough. Now, you need to think about search engine reputation, user experience, and broader marketing strategies.

SEO alone isn’t enough — you also need to understand social media promotion and ways to enhance your overall strategy. And on top of that, measuring the effectiveness of your actions is key.

So here’s my question: I’m a young website with a tight budget and no paid tools. How can I measure my efforts effectively and ensure I’m on the right track?

[DL]: That’s a really good topic we haven’t covered yet: how do you actually monitor progress toward topical authority? It’s not easy without tools. You could do keyword tracking, but if you don’t have access to paid tools, it’s challenging — you might have to check your rankings manually every few days in incognito mode. Of course, Google Search Console helps; it lets you track your main keywords and see which ones you’re attracting.

A key indicator that you’re moving in the direction of topical authority is when it’s not just your latest articles ranking well, but also older ones. That’s how topical authority works: at first, it feels like nothing is happening. Then, once you reach a critical mass of high-quality content, Google starts recognizing your expertise and ranks you better. Not only do your recent articles start ranking, but content you published two, three months, or even a year ago also begins to improve — provided it’s all within your chosen topic.

[DL]: You’ll want to watch for steady growth not just in your most recent articles but across all content on the topic. It’s essential to take an overall view, noting improvements in older articles as well. This way, you’re not only focusing on the latest content but also seeing how your older pieces perform over time.

If you’re not using any advanced tools, I always recommend Google Search Console — it’s indispensable for tracking where you truly stand. Use it to monitor rankings over time and see how they evolve. If you do have access to a tool, you can track keywords more precisely, checking if you’re improving or declining, even by small percentages.

If you don’t have a tool, you’ll need to do more manual work: look at each article’s performance, especially older ones. Ask, “How is this one performing?” Check if an article that’s been live for six months is improving, and track manually from there. It’s more work, but it provides valuable insights.

[OK]: What should we do if we’ve written a lot of articles, but unfortunately some of them aren’t performing well? What actions can we take?

[DL]: Of course, one option is to update the article. I like to use Google Search Console to see if an article ranks for the intended keywords. If it’s ranking but only around positions 25-30, it’s clear that Google understands the topic, but it’s not performing where we want since hardly anyone clicks through at that level.

In such cases, adding more context or relevant details can help. Go through the article and consider what might be missing — could you add more information, relevant FAQs, images, or details that enhance the content?

I’m a big fan of publishing an article early and iterating on it afterward, creating a second, third, and even fourth draft while it’s live. This approach helps you avoid perfectionism before publishing. Once the article is up, you can see how it’s performing and make incremental improvements as needed.

[OK]: It's hard to produce content for non-native speakers. For example I would like to add just about the connection between words. For example, if you if you are writing about traveling. So we we should to build connection in general on this topic and use the most common keywords which are also in this topic.

[DL]: Like semantic keywords. I was actually reading Kevin Indig’s newsletter, and in one of his posts, he suggested a way to measure topical authority. His idea is quite interesting, though it’s difficult to do without specific tools. You might manage with something like Keyword Planner, but dedicated SEO tools make it much easier.

Kevin’s approach is that for a topic — let’s take ‘Interrail’ as an example — you’d gather every keyword related to it that shows up in tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, etc., focusing on those with search volume. If you could hypothetically rank on page one, in position one, for every one of these keywords, you’d have 100% topical authority. While that’s nearly impossible, this concept allows you to see who ranks for these keywords, compare their topical authority with your own, and evaluate your competition.

I’ve included his article below because he provides some examples for different niches, which show just how complex yet insightful this method can be. It’s a lot of work to pull this data and match it, but his idea of calculating ‘topic share’ is quite smart. I’d love to see a tool that could measure it like this, as they already have the data. To my knowledge, though, no tool has implemented it yet.

[OK]: I think that for these cases, we just need to learn Python to create advanced solutions that work with embeddings and vectorization. It's definitely a bit more technical and complicated, but for those who want to automate and expand their capabilities, learning Python is essential.

[DL]: And you can learn this very well with ChatGPT.

[OK]: No and yes, well, sort of — because, yes, in general, it can probably help you a little bit to create a roadmap. Thank you for providing examples; I think it will be helpful to go through the link and learn a bit more.

[DL]: I really like it. It's not a long article, but I think he nailed the idea of how we could measure it. I believe that covers everything I prepared in my slides.

[OK]: Great QR code! I’ll keep it for a while. Feel free to scan it and subscribe to her social media and email newsletter. I know it's in German, but give it a try!

[DL]: Google Hates you — that's the name! Funny enough, I didn’t come up with it. A friend of mine, Corinna, a fellow Swiss SEO freelancer, called me out on LinkedIn after reading my newsletter. She posted, ‘Hey, do you want a really cool SEO newsletter? Dani is writing a daily newsletter about SEO called Google Hasty!’ And I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a great name — I hadn’t even considered it!’ Later, I mentioned to her, ‘You actually named my newsletter,’ and she responded, ‘It didn’t already have that name? I thought it was!’ And just like that, it became official.

[OK]: What are your top three sources that you really enjoy reading about SEO and content marketing?

[DL]: I'm a huge fan of Kevin McAllister and Eli Schwartz. They have fantastic Substacks, and I really enjoy reading their articles. They also have a podcast together called The Contrarian Marketer, though they haven’t posted in the last few weeks — which I'm quite disappointed about because I’d definitely keep following them. Another favorite I read regularly is SEO FOMO from Aleyda Solis, of course. Every Sunday, you get an email with the latest news and insights. Her newsletter seems to get longer each month as she adds new sections, which is really cool! I’m sure you read it too, right?

[OK]: Yeah, absolutely, I’m subscribed! For me, it’s almost like a ritual. I set aside time, go to my favorite café, order a botanica and a pastel de nata, relax with a drink, and enjoy reading it. I even jot down some notes. It’s like my perfect Sunday mood.

[DL]: I need something like that too! Right now, I’m usually reading it on the train, highlighting as I go because I want to read the articles she links to, but I never quite get around to it. It's frustrating — I keep thinking, ‘I still need to read these articles,’ because I really want to dig deeper. But I think you're right; it would be great to have a dedicated time for it.

[OK]: Thank you so much! We really enjoy diving into this topic, and I think it will be valuable for beginners as well as anyone who just wants to listen and relax a bit. Just know — you’re not alone. We understand that it’s challenging, and everyone makes mistakes, which is perfectly okay. In fact, your superpower lies in those mistakes, because each one gives you valuable experience that pushes you forward.

Right now, it's popular to see success stories everywhere on LinkedIn and Twitter. But remember, behind every success story is a long journey filled with mistakes, tests, and a lot of hard work.

[DL]: This is especially true because there's no single road to reach Rome. You really have to try, mess up, try again, experiment with something new, and keep going until something finally works. And with each attempt, you learn — discovering what works and what doesn’t. Every time you switch niches, it can feel completely different, so the process starts anew.

[OK]: Yeah, absolutely! For me, this is so true because it really depends on the niche. Different niches have completely different rules. For example, in blackhat niches like gambling or betting, it’s an entirely different game. So, if you were working in a more ‘white hat’ area and then switch to gambling, you’d be in for a surprise. You’d see a whole new world of link-building strategies, content tactics, and the technical knowledge needed about server setups, rendering, and even hidden techniques. It’s pretty wild!

Thank you so much for this episode! And guys, if you enjoyed it, please like, comment, and subscribe. We put a lot of effort into making this podcast interesting for you, and it really helps us out. I get a little nervous each time I record, so every like means a lot. It’s not hard to click, and we’ll see you in the next episode. Thanks, and see you soon!

[DL]: Thank you.

[OK]: Bye-bye.