Topical Authority Adjacency
Rank by starting where you're already known, then expand into semantically adjacent topics.
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 90%
Google's authority is topical, not just domain-wide: a site disproportionately known for a narrow theme can outrank higher-authority competitors for that theme and its adjacent topics. The strategy is to identify what you already have authority for, then branch out along the semantic graph into neighboring topics you can now credibly win.
Origin
Ethan Smith, building on Google's shift from pure PageRank to topical authority and the recent 'helpful content' emphasis on domain experts.
Core principles
- 01Authority is topical; disproportionate authority for a narrow theme beats larger total domain authority
- 02Ranking for a topic spills over to semantically adjacent topics, even on unlinked pages
- 03Authority inputs include backlink anchor text, shares, and branded search
- 04Map topics onto a graph (e.g. an ingredient tree) to find the next adjacent step
How to run it
- 1
Identify your existing topical authority
Determine what your domain is disproportionately known for via backlink anchor text, most-shared content, and branded search terms.
Pro tip MasterClass had authority for instructor names (Gordon Ramsay) before it had authority for food in general.
- 2
Map adjacent topics on the semantic graph
Place your topic in its category graph (jello shots sit under alcoholic drinks under drinks) and identify the neighboring nodes you can plausibly win next.
- 3
Expand outward step by step
Target topics adjacent to your authority first (Gordon Ramsay is known for beef wellington, poached eggs, steak), rank there, then branch to the next ring.
Pro tip This lets a lower-authority site outrank bigger competitors on themes it's specifically known for.
Watch out Jumping to a topic with no authority adjacency (butter lettuce, when you're only known for Gordon Ramsay) won't rank early on.
In the wild
A recipe site's viral '10 jello shots worth the hangover' post (4M likes) ranked ~#6 for jello shots, but the whole domain then started ranking for vodka and whiskey recipes, semantically adjacent topics, on pages that weren't even linked from the post.
→ Topical authority from one viral post lifted the entire domain across adjacent alcohol topics.
Common mistakes
Chasing topics with no authority adjacency
Targeting a theme unrelated to what you're known for means competing on raw domain authority you don't have, so you don't rank.
Assuming authority is only domain-wide
Treating authority as a single site-level score misses that a narrow, disproportionate reputation can beat far larger competitors on-topic.
Is it for you?
Best for
Lower-authority sites choosing where to compete against entrenched incumbents
Not ideal for
Sites with no established topical reputation yet, or those chasing wholly unrelated verticals
From the transcript
“the entire domain then started to rank for vodka recipes and Whiskey recipes and things that were semantically related to jello shots”
“we focused on things adjacent to Gordon Ramsay and we knew we could rank there”
“then you have very high top bull Authority for that”
From the episode
The ultimate guide to SEO
Ethan Smith (Graphite)