Google Introduces The Topic Authority System

Google has announced that they have developed a system that helps determine which expert sources are helpful to newsy queries in certain specialized topic areas such as health, politics, or finance. They call it the topic authority system. This system aims to better surface relevant, expert, and knowledgeable content in Google Search and News.

Major news events are often covered by a wide array of news sites, which can present a challenge for users who are looking for publications that have a particular expertise on the topic – for example, a finance outlet for a query about the impact of an economic report or a local publication reporting on a disaster in their area. These types of sites may be overtaken by the bigger news outlets that have a more general coverage. This is why Google has developed the topic authority system – to better surface relevant, expert, and knowledgeable content in Google Search and News.

According to Google, the topic authority system looks at a variety of signals to understand the degree of expertise a publication has in particular areas. Some of the most prominent signals are:

• How notable a source is for a topic or location: Google’s systems understand publications that seem especially relevant to topics or locations. For example, they can tell that people looking for news on Nashville high school football often turn to a publication like The Tennessean for local coverage.
• Influence and original reporting: Google’s system looks at how original reporting (for example the publisher that first broke a story) is cited by other publishers to understand how a publication is influential and authoritative on a topic. In 2022, Google added the Highly Cited label to give people an easier way to identify stories that have been frequently cited by other news organizations.
• Source reputation: Google’s system also looks at a source’s history of high-quality reporting, or recommendations from expert sources, such as professional societies. For example, a publication’s history doing original reporting or their journalistic awards are strong evidence of positive reputation for news websites.

According to Google, topic authority has been an important signal to better serve local news queries—giving readers around the world more helpful local and regional content in both Top Stories and other news features.

As an example of how the system can help in search – for example, there was a flood where you lived. The topic authority signal helps identify content from publications in that region that regularly cover topics in your city or town and surface them towards the top of your search results. These are likely familiar publications that are trusted voices in the community, even though larger national outlets may be covering the flood as well.

Google’s emphasis on topic authority means that they are also able to serve original reporting from the news teams that are intimately familiar with the location and topic. Local publishers are more likely to show up more often for news events they cover in their area. Publishers with a specific expertise are more likely to surface when their content is most helpful to understand a news story about a specific topic or field.

As for publishers who are looking for success with topic authority, Google says that they should do exactly what their publications would normally do – provide great coverage about the areas and topics they know well. Such work should naturally align with what Google’s topic authority system measures.

And if you haven’t yet, reviewing Google’s guidelines on creating helpful content is a must.

Learn more about the news topic authority in the blog announcement.