How AI Makes Building Topical Authority Faster and Smarter 

One of the best things you can do for your SEO is to build strong topical authority for subjects related to your business.

What’s that?

On Google, topical authority refers to the amount of credibility and expertise its search algorithm perceives your brand to have on a particular topic (or topics). 

You build topical authority by consistently publishing high-quality, interlinked content on the same topics. 

However, establishing topical authority requires a large investment of time and money into content creation. 

How can you speed things up while saving money?

AI in SEO has the potential to do both, but you have to use it properly. 

When used correctly, AI-powered SEO tools will:

• Speed up the keyword research process
• Generate and structure SEO-friendly content clusters (which are crucial for building topical authority) 
• Strengthen internal linking 
• Scale content production (with human oversight) 

Thanks to AI’s rapid evolution, it can now speed up and enhance a ton of SEO tasks. 

In this guide, we’ll show you the most effective ways to use AI tools for building topical authority in the quickest and cheapest way possible. Stay tuned to find out how! 

How AI is Changing SEO and Topical Authority 

Artificial intelligence in the search engine world is nothing new, as Google has been using AI and machine learning in its algorithms for quite some time. 

In fact, according to Google’s official blog, they’ve been using machine learning since 2001 (albeit only to correct user’s spelling, but the fact still remains). 

More recently, the BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) language model released in 2019 helped Google understand words in context for the first time. This meant users could ask questions as they naturally would (like in a conversation) instead of stringing together individual keywords. 

Here’s the example they gave on their blog of the difference before and after BERT:

As you can see, the BERT example demonstrates an understanding of the context behind the query, whereas the pre-BERT example doesn’t satisfy the search intent. 

The company took things even further with the release of MUM (Multitask Unified Model) in May of 2021. Google claims that it’s 1,000x stronger than BERT due to its use of the T5 text-to-text framework – a powerful NLP (natural language processing) framework that uses text strings for both inputs and outputs (which is something BERT couldn’t do). 

It’s also multimodal, meaning it understands text, audio, and visuals. 

Put simply, thanks to AI, Google’s algorithms now prioritize context and relevance over exact-match keywords, so the days of keyword stuffing are long gone. 

AI has also made long-tail keywords more viable targets than ever before since search users are able to use longer queries. 

For example, instead of searching for ‘best pizza near me,’ a modern search user (or voice search user) might go with, ‘what are the top-rated pizza restaurants in my neighborhood?’

The point?

SEO strategies must adapt to these changes in order to remain successful. 

The good news is AI tools can help you do just that. 

AI is able to understand search intent, which will make it easier for you to create content that aligns with your user’s needs. You can also use AI chatbots like ChatGPT to brainstorm topic ideas based on trending keywords in your industry (which you can find using our free keyword planner). 

AI’s role in keyword research and content strategy 

Speaking of keywords, AI tools are extremely helpful with the research process. 

However, we still suggest that you use AI in combination with traditional SEO tools to get the most accurate results. 

That way, you can leverage AI’s speed and ability to process large volumes of data while not neglecting crucial SEO metrics like search volume and keyword difficulty. 

AI tools can:

• Analyze complex search patterns and vast amounts of keyword data (which isn’t possible manually)
• Identify emerging long-tail keyword trends 
• Help you break down competitor strategies 

Not only can they perform these tasks, but they’re able to complete them way faster than you could on your own. 

For example, a tool like Clearscope uses AI to suggest related keywords that come straight from Google’s autocomplete. Whenever you’re writing an article about a certain topic, it uses your primary keyword to find related keywords from Google’s database (like ‘high-performance culture,’ in this case):

It includes related keywords, how many times you should use them, and whether they should appear in headlines or not – all of which are helpful guidelines for writers. 

The Research tab provides a series of questions you can use to help brainstorm subheading ideas (clicking on each one also performs a Google search for each question):

Clearscope uses a combination of IBM’s Waston and Google’s Natural Language AI to provide these helpful features, and it has become a staple tool for many SEO writers (along with Surfer, which has similar capabilities). 

AI and internal linking for stronger content clusters 

Producing content clusters is one of the quickest and most reliable ways to start building topical authority. 

A content cluster is a series of interlinked web pages that cover a similar topic. A content cluster always consists of a pillar page, which provides an overview of the main theme. From there, cluster pages dive into further detail for each subtopic related to the main topic:

For instance, let’s say you want to create a content cluster for starting a business from scratch. In that case, your cluster would look something like this:

• Pillar page: The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Business 

• Cluster page: How to Write a Business Plan in 5 Steps 

• Cluster page: The Basics of Funding a Startup 

• Cluster page: The Licenses and Permits You Need to Register a Business 

• Cluster page: Setting Up Efficient Business Operations: A Beginner’s Guide 

As you can see, each cluster page builds off of the main topic presented by the pillar page. The key component of a content cluster is the internal links that connect the pillar pages to the cluster pages (and vice versa).

If you forget to include these internal links, Google’s algorithm may not be able to discover each cluster page, throwing the rhythm off for the whole thing. 

The good news is AI tools can help ensure that all your pages are properly interlinked. 

As an example, Link Whisper is a tool that uses artificial intelligence to provide automatic internal linking suggestions in real time while you create content. 

It will also identify your ‘orphaned’ content in no time, which are pages that have no internal links. 

How AI Accelerates Content Creation for Building Topical Authority 

Next, let’s explore how AI helps speed up the content creation process, especially when attempting to build topical authority. 

In order for Google to view your website as an authority on a particular topic, you need to consistently create lots of in-depth, helpful content for it, which can be an intimidating task without some automated assistance. 

Using AI for quick topic and keyword clustering 

Without the help of AI tools, it can take ages to form clusters of related keywords to use in your content. 

You can potentially spend hours digging through Google autocomplete and various keyword research tools to find suitable groups of keywords, but that doesn’t have to happen anymore. 

A free tool like ChatGPT can create clusters of keywords and topics for you in literally seconds. 

While you should vet these keywords through other tools, this still speeds up the process significantly. 

After all, typing a simple prompt into ChatGPT is a lot easier than wearing out your eyeballs looking through enormous keyword lists like these:

Granted, SEO experts are used to this sort of thing:

But that doesn’t change the fact that it can be daunting for newcomers. 

Instead of sifting through unending keyword lists, you can just ask ChatGPT to create a keyword cluster for you:

As you can see, it’s quick, easy, and concise. From here, you can simply take the keywords you like and run them through a tool to check the metrics. 

Here’s the data for the keyword ‘AI powered marketing automation’ on Ahrefs:

Looks like the keyword difficulty isn’t too bad (which is what we asked for), and it has a decent search volume with the potential to generate $2.6k worth of traffic. 

Simply rinse and repeat this process for any other keywords you want to target, and you’re good to go. 

AI-assisted content research and outlining 

When it comes time to start creating content, AI tools can help with the planning and outlining phases as well. 

In particular, they will:

1. Generate detailed content outlines based on competitor insights
2. Help you identify content gaps where other businesses are outperforming you 

You can take the keywords you uncovered in Step 1 and ask a tool like ChatGPT to create a content outline based on it. 

Going with the same example from before, here’s an AI-generated outline based on the keyword ‘AI in marketing automation’:

Here we have an outline for an article based on AI-powered marketing automation, but it’s pretty basic. In other words, it’s covering the same subtopics that 99% of articles on the subject cover. 

How can we make it more original?

One of the best things you can do when working with AI tools is build on your existing prompts to get more detailed information. 

So, let’s ask ChatGPT to redo the outline with some more unique subheadings that are less commonly discussed:

Now, things are getting good. Instead of the basic ‘what is (blank), benefits of (blank)’ outline, we’ve got something a lot more unique. 

This improved brief will make for a far more interesting article than the first one ChatGPT provided, so don’t be afraid to continue to build on your prompts until you get what you want. 

AI-generated content and optimization 

You can continue to use AI in the actual content creation process, although we recommend including at least a little bit of human oversight. 

Tools like Jasper, ChatGPT, and Copy.AI are all capable of generating entire articles from scratch, but you shouldn’t publish their outputs without some fact-checking first. 

In our experience, the best way to use generative AI tools is to have a team of human editors revise each article before publishing them to your website. Have them look for:

• Factual errors 
• Awkward or robotic phrasing 
• Generic information that needs embellishment 

As long as you take care of these issues, your AI-generated content should be just fine. Google’s official stance is that they don’t care how content is created, just that it’s high-quality. So, if your AI content still caters to the needs of your target audience, it has the potential to rank well. 

AI for content refreshing and optimization 

AI tools can also help you keep your content updated and optimized to reduce drops in your search rankings. 

Since it takes so much time and effort to achieve high rankings on Google, it only makes sense that you’d want to safeguard them for as long as possible. Tools like Surfer’s SEO Content Score will identify content on your website that needs updating and optimization. 

The Content Score ranges from 1 – 100, with 100 being the most optimized:

The tool also provides guidance on what needs improvement, such as adding images, tweaking headings, or using more related keywords:

These features will help you keep your strongest SEO content optimized and updated so that you can hold onto your high rankings for as long as possible. 

The Top AI Tools for Enhancing Topical Authority 

Now that you’re familiar with all the ways AI can help you create the high-quality content you need to build topical authority, let’s explore some of the top-rated AI tools. 

For your convenience, we’ve broken down the tools into separate categories. 

AI tools for keyword research and content clustering 

First, let’s look at some tools that expedite keyword research and topic clustering.

Ahrefs and Semrush

These are two of the leading SEO platforms in existence right now, and they both use AI to enhance key features. Both tools have extensive tools for researching keywords, and they use data that comes straight from Google (through Google’s Keyword Planner, Google Search Console (GSC), and other channels). 

For example, Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer gives you the option to use AI to suggest related seed keywords:

Clicking on the search bar gives you a long list of options for customizing the keywords the AI generates:

We went with emerging trends for the keyword digital marketing, and here’s what we got:

Semrush has its Copilot AI that provides real-time suggestions for improving your SEO:

Keyword Insights 

When it comes to structuring related topics into neat little clusters, you can’t beat Keyword Insights. 

In fact, the tool was built specifically to help site owners build topical authority, so it’s perfect for building content clusters:

AI tools for content creation and optimization 

Next, let’s look at some tools that will help you create and optimize content to build topical authority. 

We’ve already looked at some of the features of Clearscope and Surfer, which are two of the top AI-powered content creation tools that emphasize SEO. 

The top features of these tools are:

• AI-driven content grading 
• The inclusion of semantically related keywords 
• Suggestions for improving readability 

Besides them, Frase.io is great for providing AI-based topic research and content briefs, and it works (and looks) similar to Clearscope and Surfer.  

AI tools for internal linking and site structure 

Internal links are necessary for building topical authority, especially in your content clusters. A logical site architecture is also important, especially if you have a lot of pages you want to rank on search engines. 

We’ve already mentioned Link Whisper, which is a fantastic tool for identifying internal link opportunities and orphan pages. 

SEO Scout is another solid option, as it also provides AI-powered internal link suggestions. Without internal links, Google’s crawler bot won’t be able to identify all the pages on your website, so it’s important to include them on all the pages you want Google to crawl and index. 

AI and Topical Authority: Best Practices and Common Mistakes to Avoid 

Before we sign off, it’s important to mention some best practices to follow when using AI to build topical authority:

• Maintain a human touch in AI-generated content. It’s worth restating that you should use human oversight when generating AI content. Besides fact-checking (see below), you should also have your human editors add original insights and clean up robotic-sounding text. 

• Verify AI-generated facts and data. AI tools still aren’t 100% reliable, so you will need to fact-check all the facts and data provided by them. 

• Avoid over-optimized AI content. Resist the temptation to go hog wild with keywords in your AI content, as that can trigger Google’s Helpful Content penalties. Instead, use natural language and semantic search optimization (as provided by tools like Clearscope and Surfer). 

Also, here are some common mistakes to steer clear of:

• Don’t rely entirely on AI for content creation. Google’s search algorithm has long prioritized human expertise, so only using AI tools to create your content isn’t a good idea. Pure AI-generated content tends to stick out like a sore thumb, so don’t forget to put your own spin on it. 

• Don’t ignore AI-powered internal linking. Internal links are extremely important for your SEO, so don’t forget to leverage AI-powered tools that will ensure all your pages are properly interlinked. 

• Don’t forget to update AI content regularly. It won’t take long for your content to become outdated, so you should periodically revisit it and update it to maintain your rankings. 

Wrapping Up: Boosting Your Topical Authority with AI Tools 

To summarize, there are many AI tools that you can use to help build topical authority, but you have to use them the right way. 

You should primarily use AI tools for research, structuring, and optimization. Doing so will accelerate and amplify your topical authority and content strategy – just remember not to rely on AI too much. 

Do you want to improve your topical authority?

HOTH X, our managed SEO service, is your hands-free ticket to topical authority and higher search rankings. Also, our Blog Writing Service will provide you with the thought-leader-worthy content you need to become an authority figure in your field, so don’t wait to sign up!