Content & topical authority
What to write, what to consolidate, what to delete
Based on demand and on what already ranks — not on keyword volume pulled out of a tool. Most sites have more content than they need and less authority than they think.
The work
How the plan gets made
I don’t pull random keywords out of third-party tools. I map the landscape from two real inputs: Search Console performance data, and commercial conversion priorities.
That means looking at what the site already half-ranks for on pages two and three — queries where Google already considers you somewhat relevant — paired with entity gap audits against competitors who dominate the space.
The input is what real buyers search across the decision funnel. Not vanity volume.
Substance
Keep, consolidate, delete
A strict triage matrix.
Keep and update
Pages that drive traffic or conversions and need a fresh angle or better data.
Consolidate
Multiple pages targeting the same intent, or cannibalising each other. Take the best sections, build one definitive asset, and 301-redirect the weaker URLs into it.
Delete
Zero-traffic, zero-backlink, zero-intent zombie posts that dilute overall site quality. If a page has no links and serves no business purpose, it gets a 410 Gone or a 404. Cut the dead weight.
Delivery
Who writes it
I architect it: complete editorial briefs, search intent targets, exact structural headers, entity inclusions, and internal linking instructions.
From there it depends on team capability. If you have subject matter experts or an in-house copy team, I hand over the blueprints and run editorial QA. If you have no internal bandwidth, I can oversee execution — but an expert on your side still has to supply the real product facts, case data and proprietary proof.
Definition
What topical authority actually means
A deliberate hub-and-spoke architecture. Not one isolated 4,000-word ultimate guide.
A core pillar page covering the broad subject, flanked by tightly interlinked spoke articles answering every specific subtopic, objection and technical angle.
Google doesn’t grant authority for one lucky article. It awards authority when you cover a topic so comprehensively that a user never has to bounce back to the results page to find an answer.
Your side
What I need from you
Search Console and GA4 access. A direct line to someone who understands your product or service at expert level. And unvarnished sales data.
I need to know which services print margin, what real prospects ask on sales calls, and the green light to delete old, low-performing legacy posts that the marketing team may be emotionally attached to.
Fit
When this is the wrong thing to buy
If the plan is to churn out a hundred cheap automated articles a month to flood the index. That burns the domain under modern spam systems.
If the business model changes every two months, or there’s no internal resource to write or approve detailed, opinionated content.
Authority demands consistency and deep subject knowledge. If you can’t commit to quality, keep your money.
Engagement
How it’s scoped
The content audit, the pruning list, the consolidation redirects and the initial topical authority roadmap are project deliverables.
Building and defending that authority is ongoing. Writing, publishing, monitoring query shifts, refreshing decaying pages and expanding new clusters takes consistent execution across multiple quarters.
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