How to Build Topical Authority with Content Hubs

How Content Hubs Build Topical Authority and Boost SEO

If you’re diving into SEO or exploring digital marketing, you’ve probably come across the term topical authority. This concept refers to how a brand or website positions itself as an expert on one or more topics, establishing itself as a trusted source for users and search engines alike.

In this article, I’ll walk you through how content hubs build topical authority and boost SEO, plus how a strategic approach to content hubs can help set you up for long-term success.

What is Topical Authority?

Simply put, topical authority is created by producing and publishing high-quality, reliable, and consistent content to help users and search engines understand a website’s purpose.

With countless websites and fresh content created daily, search engines like Google rely on topical authority to determine which websites meet user search intent by delivering the most accurate and relevant content. When Google views your site as an authority, it will rank your pages higher in the search results, thereby providing your audience with easy access to your content.

Imagine you own a local nursery that sells plants and gardening supplies. Having a blog that discusses plant species and care tips is a good start, but it likely won’t be enough to stand out in a competitive landscape.

Why? Covering an entire topic area with authority requires more than one or two articles. To establish genuine topical authority, you’ll want to build a cohesive content hub or create dedicated content pillars.

What are Content Hubs?

A content hub is a group of pages that each focus on a particular topic. These pages are linked together, enabling SEO authority to pass between them and making it easier for users to navigate related content.

Types of Content Hubs

There are two primary types of content hubs:

Topic Cluster: A set of related posts that provide comprehensive insights into a central theme, referencing other articles or resources on your site that expand on the topic. For instance, our broad article on What is SEO serves as a pillar page that links to additional articles covering specific aspects like keyword research and on-page SEO.

Content Library: A collection of pages organised around an index or category, often containing dozens (or even hundreds) of interlinked resources. These can include glossaries, knowledge hubs, or category pages. For example, our Knowledge Centre hosts articles, how-to guides, videos, and more, all in one accessible content library.

Benefits of a Content Hub

Content hubs streamline your content so you’re not simply publishing standalone articles that may touch on relevant topics. A content hub allows you to structure related resources under a broader theme, helping answer your audience’s questions and address their problems. The key benefits of using a content hub approach include:

• Better content structure – Organising content around core themes makes it easier for readers to find related information. This structured approach enhances clarity and flow, creating a seamless reading experience.
• More value for readers – Readers receive comprehensive answers in one place, eliminating the need to search elsewhere. Valuable resources are gathered within each hub, delivering a richer and more satisfying experience.
• Higher engagement – By encouraging the exploration of multiple related pieces, readers will likely stay on your site for longer. This engagement increases interaction, shares, and the chance of visitors returning.
• Increase topical authority – Demonstrating expertise on a subject through well-structured hubs helps establish your site as a trusted source. Over time, this authority supports better SEO and builds credibility within your industry.

Planning Your Content Hub Strategy

Building a successful content hub strategy requires patience and strategic thinking. While it may seem time-intensive, the benefits to your website make it worthwhile, as it clarifies your niche, target audience, and business purpose. Below is my approach to planning a content hub strategy.

Identifying Topic Clusters

Once you have identified your niche, your audience and their problem(s), you can start to identify core topic clusters. Following on from the example above, Phoebe’s Plant Shop sits within the horticulture vertical and sells products (plants and accessories). Phoebe’s customers include anyone within the local area (<15km or willing to travel) of her shop and she aims to bring joy and beauty to people’s homes and gardens with her range of plants.

Phoebe might start by conducting basic keyword research to find terms her audience uses to search for products like hers. Core topic clusters could be broad themes that link to related topics, with a focus on information rather than purely transactional content.

Examples of core topics for a plant shop might include:

• Indoor Plant Care: Advice on watering, lighting, and plant maintenance.
• Seasonal Gardening Tips: Guides on seasonal planting and garden care.
• Plant Styling for Homes and Gardens: Inspiration for arranging plants in indoor and outdoor spaces.
• Common Plant Problems and Solutions: Tips for tackling pests, overwatering, and other common issues.
• Choosing the Right Plants for Your Space: Suggestions based on lighting, room size, and personal style.

Researching Related Topics

Researching related topics allows you to branch out into complementary sub-topics, enriching the user experience. This process, similar to long-tail keyword research, uncovers niche areas and specific questions that your audience may be searching for, expanding the scope of your content.

Here are some related topics to the above core topic cluster – indoor plant care:

• How to Create a Watering Schedule for Indoor Plants
• Best Low-Light Plants for Homes and Offices
• How to Repot Indoor Plants Without Damaging Roots

As you can see, these sub-topics expand on common questions related to the core cluster, providing more detailed answers and linking to other articles or products that can help convert traffic.

Creating a Content Hub Map

Once you’ve established your core topic clusters and sub-topics, it’s time to map out your content hub. Visual representation is invaluable here, providing both a roadmap for creating new content and a frame of reference for updates. Tools like Lucidchart and MindMeister can help, but a simple Excel or Google Sheet works well too. In your spreadsheet, use each tab for a core topic cluster, with columns for sub-topics, keywords, URLs, and internal linking details.

Updating Your Content Hub Map

Regularly reviewing your content hub map ensures that your strategy aligns with changing search trends and user needs. Search volumes and search intent can shift over time, so it’s important to update keywords and ensure each article still meets its purpose. Mark off newly published articles, link them with clear anchor text, and update your map as you go to enhance navigation and internal linking. This process ensures your content remains relevant, accessible, and easy to navigate.

Optimising Content for Humans First

Creating content that resonates with your audience builds credibility and engagement. Google’s algorithms now prioritise Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust (EEAT), so optimising for people rather than search engines will help your content stand out.

On-Page Best Practice For Content Hubs

To make content easy to discover and understand, prioritise clear, relevant headings, and incorporate keywords naturally within the text. Use meta descriptions that entice readers and include optimised images with descriptive alt text. This ensures your content is accessible and valuable.

Best UX Design for Readability and Engagement

Design plays a critical role in user engagement. Use clean layouts, readable font sizes, and plenty of white space to make content easy to consume. Include visual elements like images, infographics, and bullet points to break up text and maintain interest. This keeps readers engaged and more likely to explore further.

Internal Linking Strategies

An effective internal linking strategy is essential for guiding users through related content. Link to relevant sub-topics and other resources within your content hub. This helps readers find additional information effortlessly while also optimising site structure for search engines.

Keep track of your anchor text and URL in your content hub so you can easily see ‘at a glance’ the density and variety of keywords used throughout your website’s pages.

Schema Markup for Improved Visibility

Schema markup enhances how your content appears in search results by providing structured data about your page. Use schema to highlight FAQs, articles, or product features, which improves click-through rates and makes it easier for search engines to understand the context of your content.

Building External Authority

The high-quality content that you’ve written is important for establishing topical authority, but building and earning external links is still important.

Outreach and Link-building Strategies

Establishing your content as a trusted resource requires links from reputable, relevant sites, which signal to search engines that your pages provide valuable information. Effective outreach begins with identifying websites, influencers, or publications within your niche that align with your topics and audience.

Tailoring outreach emails to these connections with personalised pitches—such as offering to share a unique perspective, collaborate on content, or provide expert insights—improves your chances of securing valuable backlinks. Additionally, creating highly shareable content like infographics, original research, or guides encourages natural backlinks as others find your content and link to your resource.

Leveraging Social Media for Content Promotion

Leveraging social media for content promotion not only drives traffic to your site but also strengthens your brand’s presence, authority, and SEO. Actively sharing new articles, guides, and resources across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X connects you with audiences where they already engage, making it easier to boost visibility and encourage interaction. A strong social media presence helps establish your brand, amplifies content reach, and builds lasting authority in your niche.

Measuring and Improving Topical Authority

Measuring and improving topical authority is crucial for ensuring your content ranks well and is seen as a trusted resource by both users and search engines. As part of the many data sets we have available to us as SEO professionals, there are a few that relate to topical authority that you should be tracking.

Key Metrics to Track

To gauge and improve your topical authority, key metrics to track include:

• Organic Search Rankings – Monitor keyword rankings within your topic clusters to see if your pages are climbing in search engine results pages (SERPs), indicating authority growth.
• Backlinks and Referring Domains – Track the number and quality of backlinks from reputable sites, as high-quality links show trust and relevance in your field.
• Content Engagement Metrics – Measure page views, average time on page, bounce rate, and scroll depth to see if users are engaging deeply with your content.
• Search Visibility and Impressions – Review search visibility scores and impressions in Google Search Console to assess how often your content appears in searches.
• Internal Link Growth – Track the number of internal links within your topic clusters, as a strong internal linking structure supports topical relevance.
• Traffic from Related Keywords – Monitor organic traffic growth for related keywords across your clusters, which will indicate how comprehensively you are covering a topic.

Ready to Build Your Topical Authority and Achieve Long-Term Success?

Building topical authority through a content hub strategy elevates your site’s visibility, credibility, and engagement. By focusing on quality content, structured topics, and regular optimisation, you create a valuable resource that keeps users engaged and satisfied. Now is the time to implement a content hub strategy and set your brand up for lasting success.

If you’re ready to boost your content and digital strategy, book a session with us to get started!