How to Measure Topical Authority

Topical authority has become one of the most important factors in how well a website ranks. It’s no longer enough to publish a handful of high-quality posts and hope for the best. To compete in modern search, you need to show Google that you understand your niche thoroughly and can provide valuable, interconnected content that satisfies the full spectrum of user intent. In fact, the importance of topical authority in modern SEO cannot be overstated.

But how do you actually measure topical authority? Since you’ll spend so much time building topical authority, it is important to be able to measure your progress.

That’s the question we’re answering in this guide. We’ll walk through the clearest signals that indicate you’re building real authority in your chosen topic, how to quantify them, and how to use those insights to fine-tune your SEO strategy. We’ll also share examples, comparisons, and even methods that you can start using today.

There are many different ways to measure topical authority, therefore the methods discussed here in the post are best used together with each other to give you the big picture of how well your topical clusters are performing and signalling your topical authority to search engines.

Of course, if you need help with building and measuring your topical authority, take a look at our topical authority services and let us help you!

1. Check Rankings Across the Content Cluster

If you’ve invested time into building out a content cluster, which is a set of pages all related to the same topic, it’s worth stepping back and seeing how those pages are performing collectively. This is one of the most direct ways to assess your topical authority.

You’re not looking at individual keyword wins here. You’re trying to see whether Google views your whole cluster as valuable. When it does, the supporting articles (not just your pillar post) will begin showing up across a range of related queries.

What to do:

Identify a specific content cluster (pillar post and all supporting pages)
Use Google Search Console or a third-party SEO tool to gather average position data for each URL in the cluster
Calculate the average ranking across all the content in that group

Why it matters:

If several of your pages are sitting comfortably on page one, especially for long-tail and mid-level keywords, that’s a strong signal your site is viewed as a credible source on the topic. This method is a very direct way of assessing how your topical authority is developing, but one potential pitfall is the fact that sometimes you may start ranking low for new keywords, which will give an unfair representation of your topical authority.

New Keyword Topical Authority Measurement Pitfall Example. This is one of the keywords that our post on “How to Build Topical Authority on a Budget” ranks for. As we can see, this keyword ranks the page on 100th position which will drag down the average position of the page, but this is misleading, as we never intended the page to rank for such broad keyword and we are more concerned with rankings for more relevant keywords related to the page. Those keywords are a much better indicator of topical authority. In fact search engines ranking your page for new and broader keywords is a positive sign, even if those rankings are low for these type of queries.

Example: If your pillar page ranks in position 4, and five supporting pages rank between positions 6 and 10, that average cluster performance indicates your content is being rewarded for depth and coverage.

Compare that to a second cluster with only one article barely on page one and the rest floating in obscurity. The first is authoritative. The second isn’t yet.

2. Measure Aggregate Keyword Rankings for Top-Performing Content

This method provides a more granular way to quantify how well your cluster is doing. Instead of averaging all your content, focus on the top performers and the queries they dominate. This approach helps you avoid the previously discussed pitfall in cases where you start ranking low on brand new keywords, tanking your average position for these content pages, despite this in fact being a positive sign.

Step-by-step method:

Use Google Search Console to identify the top 10% of posts within your topic cluster based on average position.
Extract the keywords and queries that those posts are ranking for. Only keep the most relevant queries and keywords to track in the next step.
Calculate the average ranking position for all the selected posts across those queries.

Why it works:

By isolating your strongest content and examining the positions it holds for relevant queries, you can create a meaningful snapshot of authority within that topic. Like we discussed, this approach will help you reduce the issue with new keyword rankings skewing your analysis.

Example:

If your content cluster on “remote productivity” includes 30 posts, take the top 3 based on average ranking. Then gather all their most relevant ranking queries—say, 10 keywords in total. If the average position across all 10 is 7.4, you’re performing well.

Repeat this for other clusters to benchmark progress. If another topic cluster only averages a position of 18, you know where to focus your next push.

3. Use Internal Linking Structure as a Signal

When it comes to topical authority, internal linking is the unsung hero and overlooking it one of the most common topical authority mistakes. Google uses your site’s internal structure to understand relationships between content. If your topic cluster is fragmented, it won’t send a clear signal. If it’s tightly knit together, it will.

Internal linking can act as a metric for topical authority, as it will give you a clear indication of how much content you have on the topic, which will likely be proportional to your level of topical authority.

In fact, you can use internal link counts to estimate the size of your topical clusters to those of your competitors. To do this, you can use our free internal link visualization tool to map out your links and get the inbound and outbound link counts for each of the pages in your content cluster.

Our topical authority tip here is that you’re aiming for a hub-and-spoke structure: a central pillar article that links out to various supporting pieces—and those supporting pieces link back to the hub and sometimes to each other where relevant.

What to look for:

Each supporting article links to the pillar with keyword-relevant anchor text
The pillar links back out to every support piece
There are no orphan pages within the cluster

When this structure is present, users can easily navigate between posts and search engines can follow a clear topical map. It’s one of the strongest passive ways to reinforce authority.

Example of topical authority internal linking — Example of strong topical authority internal linking. As we can see, this page has tons of interlinked content on a singular topic of gift giving. This is a good indication that this particular site has strong topical authority in this area.

4. Compare Performance to Larger Competitors

You don’t need the highest Domain Rating to win. One of the most telling signs of rising topical authority is when your content starts outranking bigger competitors for very specific searches.

This is especially useful if you’re working with a small site and want to know where you’re making headway. Look for specific keyword battles where you are outperforming large sites that traditionally dominate the SERPs.

What to check:

Are your articles showing up higher than those from high-DA domains?
Are you capturing featured snippets or appearing in “People Also Ask” boxes?
Are your pages ranking for high-intent long-tails that align with your content depth?

If the answer is yes, you’re on the right path. Google is rewarding your content because of its relevance, depth, and cluster strength instead of your overall site authority.

Example of the impact of topical authority. As we can see, a small website secured the top and 3rd spot for the search, despite having far lower domain wide authority compared to its competitors in the SERPs. This is due to topical authority and its impact. As we can see there are huge competitors in 4th and 5th positions that are being outranked by the small site. This is a very clear indicator of the website’s topical authority.

5. Monitor Search Impressions Growth Within a Topic

As you build out a topic cluster and improve its structure, you should start seeing more impressions in Google Search Console—even before you see major gains in clicks.

Search impressions show that Google is testing your content in the SERPs. When your impressions rise steadily within a topical category, it indicates that your pages are gaining visibility across more relevant searches.

How to track:

Go to Google Search Console
Filter the report to only show URLs that are part of your topic cluster
Compare impression and click data over 3-month or 6-month windows

An increase in impressions, even without a matching rise in clicks, often precedes improved rankings. It’s a positive early signal that authority is being built.

Topical Authority Measurement - Impressions Example — Topical Authority Measurement – Impressions Example. This is Google Search Console Chart of an example website. As you can see, since we just started working on particular topic cluster, clicks may not be there yet, but the impressions are skyrocketing! This is a good sign that the topical authority is growing.

6. Analyze External Backlinks to the Cluster

External links are very powerful, but relevance is more important than volume. When authoritative sites in your niche link to multiple pages within your topic cluster, it reinforces the idea that you are a trusted source.

You want a backlink profile that mirrors your topical depth, not one built randomly across unrelated content.

What to look for:

Links pointing to more than one article within the same cluster
Anchor text that references the topic clearly (e.g., “beginner gardening tips” linking to your cluster on indoor plants)
Links from niche-relevant sources

Use tools like Ahrefs or Majestic to spot patterns. If you’re seeing links flow into your cluster over time—especially naturally earned ones, that’s a strong sign your topical strategy is working.

7. User Engagement and Dwell Time Within Clusters

Topical authority isn’t just about search engine signals. It’s also about how users interact with your content. Strong engagement shows Google that your site isn’t only relevant—it’s also valuable.

Metrics to consider:

Time on page: Are users staying long enough to read and absorb?
Pages per session: Do users click through to related articles in the cluster?
Bounce rate: Are they exiting after one post or digging deeper?

If users bounce quickly, it may mean your content doesn’t align with their expectations—or the internal linking structure isn’t clear enough to keep them engaged.

Combine behavioral data with search metrics to get a complete picture of your topical authority.

Conclusion

Topical authority isn’t a vanity metric. It’s a working, evolving measure of how much trust you’ve earned on a subject, not just from search engines, but from readers too.

By using the methods in this post: ranking analysis, internal structure, impressions tracking, external links, engagement signals, and keyword ranking audits, you can develop a full and accurate understanding of how well your strategy is performing.

Topical authority doesn’t happen all at once. But with the right data, the right structure, and a clear set of benchmarks, it can absolutely be measured. And when you measure it effectively, you’ll know exactly how to scale it.

Stay consistent, review progress regularly, and let the data guide your growth.

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