Glossary
Topical Authority
The degree to which a website is recognised by search engines as a comprehensive, trustworthy source on a subject, built by covering a topic in connected depth rather than publishing isolated pages.
In plain terms
Being recognised as a comprehensive source on a subject rather than a site with one page about it. Authority accumulates from covering a topic in connected depth: the main question, the follow-up questions, the decisions around it, all linked so the relationship is obvious.
It is the opposite of publishing isolated articles on whatever seemed popular that month. A site with twenty connected pages on one subject will outrank a site with two hundred scattered ones.
Why it matters in Kenya
It matters more in Kenya than in larger markets, because the competitive bar is lower. Very few local sites cover a subject thoroughly, so a business that genuinely does can establish itself on a topic within months rather than the years it would take elsewhere.
What to do about it
Four checks you can run on your own site this week.
- Pick one subject your business is genuinely expert in before publishing anything
- Map the questions a buyer asks, in the order they ask them
- Give each question one page, and link the pages to each other deliberately
- Publish at a cadence you can sustain for a year, not a burst then silence
More terms
Other words you will meet when commissioning web, e-commerce or search work in Kenya.
- Semantic SiloA group of pages tightly interlinked around one theme (typically a hub, pillar pages and spoke pages) that concentrates topical relevance and internal link equity on the subject.
- Pillar PageA page that summarises a broad topic and links down to detailed spoke pages.
- Spoke PageA page that answers one specific head query in depth, links up to its pillar and across to sibling spokes.
