Topic authority system (2023): how Google ranks expert news sources

What Google changed#

Google did not announce a change on 23 May 2023. It explained an existing system. In a Search Central post, Jen Granito of Google wrote that Google “developed a system called topic authority that helps determine which expert sources are helpful to someone’s newsy query in certain specialized topic areas, such as health, politics, or finance.”

Google named three of the most prominent signals. The first is how notable a source is for a topic or location. The second is influence and original reporting, meaning how other publishers cite a publication’s reporting. The third is source reputation, such as a history of high-quality reporting, recommendations from professional societies, or journalistic awards.

When it rolled out#

The date on this page is the date Google published its explanation. The post does not say when topic authority first went live, and Google made no rollout announcement for it, so there is no start or completion date to report. It covers “Top Stories and other news features” in Search, as well as Google News.

What is known about its impact#

Google gave no figures. Its description of the effect is qualitative: “Local publishers are more likely to show up more often for news events they cover in their area.” Its example is a flood, where the system helps surface publications that regularly cover that city or town, even when larger national outlets also cover the story.

What site owners should do#

Google’s advice to publishers was direct: they “should do exactly what their publications would normally do: provide great coverage about the areas and topics they know well.” Google said that work should align with its general guidance on helpful, people-first content.

• Build depth in the topics and places you already cover, rather than chasing every story.
• Do original reporting that others cite.
• Show the reputation you have earned, such as awards and editorial standards.

Google’s current ranking systems guide does not list topic authority by name. It does list related active systems for news, including local news systems and original content systems.

How to check whether it affected you#

Topic authority has no rollout window, so there is no before and after to compare. For a news site, a more useful check is the Search Console Performance report filtered to the News search type and to Google News, broken down by topic section. Search Console keeps 16 months of data, so 2023 comparisons need archived exports. The Google Algorithm Updates timeline lists dated updates.

Related updates#

• MUM (2021) was the previous Google system explained in a post rather than a rollout.
• The September 2023 helpful content update was the next content-focused change.