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Having a content review process in place, one that you return to periodically, means that your content stays accurate, consistent with your brand, and in alignment with your marketing objectives. You likely already have a content workflow. As any seasoned marketing...
May 7, 2025
Writing and scaling authority content is tough. I get it. After writing over 450 pieces and constantly learning from the best in the industry, my biggest takeaway is… you can’t fake value.
Rather than filling an already competitive space, authority content means quality over quantity. And that’s built on trust, not volume.
Building authority content comes after establishing credibility in your industry. Scaling it means amplifying what works through thoughtful planning, consistency, and the right content planning tools to stay on track. Today, we’re exploring both.
Authority content refers to content that demonstrates expertise, credibility, and trustworthiness on a specific topic. It is well-researched, insightful, and data-backed, and it provides value to its audience. When you offer reliable, fact-backed information, your authority content builds trust with readers and positions your brand as a leader in its field.
What makes your content stand out in an oversaturated market? How do you move past the noise of low-effort, AI-generated blogs and recycled ideas?
You build authority through research-backed, authority content marketing (plus a thoughtful strategy).
High-quality authority content ranks well, builds trust, and is well-remembered. And trust isn’t something you can fake. Look at the facts: Google’s algorithm prioritizes EEAT. Social media algorithms promote pieces from trusted creators. And on AI search engines like SearchGPT, well, relevant content from trustworthy sources also comes first, as per OpenAI.
As Robert Thomson, the Chief Executive at News Corp notes:
“Sam and the truly talented team at OpenAI innately understand that for AI-powered search to be effective, it must be founded on the highest-quality, most reliable information furnished by trusted sources. For the heavens to be in equilibrium, the relationship between technology and content must be symbiotic and provenance must be protected.”
You can’t just write whatever comes to mind and expect authority. Every piece of authority content you create should serve a bigger purpose, whether that’s:
This starts with having a clear blog content strategy in place, one that ties your content to real goals.
For instance, if you’re aiming for SEO rankings, your content needs to be built around on-page best practices. Or perhaps you’re aiming for thought leadership, which means your content should spark conversations with unique insights.
The best channels to build this type of content are usually LinkedIn, Medium, Substack, or even Reddit and TikTok.
Authority content isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. For instance, your content management strategy might include:
You don’t need to restrict yourself to one format. Creating authority content can take many forms, and your approach should align with what best serves your audience.
Take Pretty Little Marketer, for example:
They’re pretty great at diversifying content across channels while keeping it authentic and valuable.
Producing high-quality authority content needs a well-thought-out strategy. Oftentimes, you’ll find that it needs a team of researchers, SEO specialists, and writers, all working together to produce data-backed, insightful content.
If you’re aiming to scale or diversify the formats of your authority content, consider whether your current team can handle the level of expertise needed. Can they conduct the research and dive deep into complex topics?
Are the tools you’re using helping or hindering your authority content efforts? When scaling high-quality content, your workflow needs to be efficient and effective.
A slow approval process, broken communication channels, or scattered project management can eat up your team’s time and energy. Authority content relies on smooth collaboration, structured approvals, and the right mix of planning and content curation tools to support your team’s output.
PS: A tool like Planable simplifies this by allowing teams to collaborate in real-time, track revisions, and approve content quickly — in one place
To develop a backlog of authority content ideas, start by:
When building authority content, “good enough” isn’t enough. It must be fact-based, well-researched, and valuable. Every piece should go through thorough quality control, including expert reviews, citations, and fact-checking.
Here’s what to focus on:
For authority content to maintain its high standards, you need to set clear expectations from the start. Document everything.
Key things to outline:
Freelancers can be a huge asset, but they need proper guidance to produce authority content tailored to your niche.
In my day-to-day work, I find that I produce the best assets when the outsourcing team starts with detailed onboarding, like explaining their content standards, tone, and structure expectations.
Clear expectations allow freelancers to easily and gradually adjust their workflows. After that, thoroughly reviewing the work using content collaboration tools like Planable can help keep everything moving smoothly.
In authority content, high standards are crucial (aka EEAT content that is accurate, well-researched, insightful, and free from errors). Low-quality work dilutes the trust and credibility you’ve worked hard to build. That’s why onboarding and training are so important.
To keep standards high:
Authority-building is ongoing. To keep improving, regularly assess your content’s impact through data, team feedback, and audience engagement.
Focus on these key areas:
Planable is THE content collaboration platform. It streamlines the creation, approval, and publishing of authority content, which makes it ideal for teams that produce thought leadership articles and research-driven materials.
Here’s why content teams from companies like KFC, Bolt, Mastercard, and more choose Planable:
For a visual overview of Planable’s capabilities, watch this quick tutorial:
By now, you’re probably asking yourself one of two questions, depending on where you are in your journey:
If you’re not positioning yourself as the expert in your field, then who will? Here’s how to truly elevate your content and make it impossible to ignore.
It all starts with trust. If your content lacks credibility, you’re wasting your time. Don’t just throw around numbers, but back up your claims with solid data from trusted sources. Think peer-reviewed journals, government publications, or respected industry leaders. If the focus is on your blog content strategy, SEO content that links to reputable sites with high domain authority is a must.
To build that trust:
Consider conducting your own surveys or sharing unique insights. That type of content often gets referred to across channels.
The SEO we know today goes way past keyword optimization. Here’s how to get it right:
Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. That means writing relevant content that resonates and answers the query through your unique perspective, derived from hands-on experience.
Marie Haynes, one of the most well-known experts on understanding Google’s search algorithms, explores this in depth in her E-E-A-T and SEO: A Comprehensive Guide.
Find long-tail, high-intent keywords that signal users are looking for expert advice.
Integrate keywords into your content, but never for the sake of stuffing them in. Aim for quality, not quantity.
Build internal links to other trusted pages on your website and link to external sources with authority. Google loves this.
I asked Gary about E-A-T. He said it’s largely based on links and mentions on authoritative sites. i.e. if the Washington post mentions you, that’s good.
He recommended reading the sections in the QRG on E-A-T as it outlines things well.
@methode
#Pubcon— Marie Haynes (@Marie_Haynes)
February 21, 2018
Speaking of backlinks, don’t just wait for them to come. You need to actively earn them.
Look for guest post opportunities or collaborate with other industry thought leaders. Share your content on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, and encourage others to do the same.
Social shares, comments, and engagement signal that your content is valuable, and this matters to people. The more it’s shared, the more Google sees it as authoritative.
If your content is top-tier, you’ll earn backlinks from other reputable sites in time.
And remember: not all backlinks are created equal. According to Ahrefs, the best backlinks come from authoritative, relevant websites that are trusted by both users and search engines. Focus on quality over quantity.
Don’t scratch the surface with AI-generated LinkedIn posts or blogs that just state the obvious. Depth is where the real authority lies. In fact, longer, well-researched content consistently ranks better than shallow, 500-word fluff. Longer pieces (minimum 1500 words) allow you to cover a topic in detail and naturally rank for multiple keywords.
To build real authority:
PS: If you need any help managing your entire content marketing from one place (yes, that includes your social media, blog, video marketing, and more), you need to get started with content management tools. Planable is here to help.
Authority covers the what, but also the how behind your content. Poor user experience kills even the best content. Make sure your content is easy to read.
This means that headlines, subheadings, and bullet points are optimized for readability. Nobody wants to read through a wall of text, so make sure to use Hemingway Editor for free to optimize your content.
In 2023, Google finalized its mobile-first indexing for a reason, a shift that underscored just how essential mobile-friendly content has become. If your content isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re losing a massive chunk of potential traffic.
Videos, infographics, and animations improve your content as well as retention rates.
Authority content marketing grows with what others say about you. User-generated content, reviews, testimonials, and community engagement all add credibility.
So, make sure to:
Creating authority content is one of the most powerful ways to position your brand as a leader in your industry. When you do it right, it builds trust, drives traffic, and ultimately increases conversions.
Here’s what makes it so effective:
Content that’s well-researched and insightful positions you as an authority. Think about Moz and their killer SEO guides or Neil Patel and his “How-To” articles. They’ve earned their spot as the go-to for digital marketing advice because they’ve been consistent and valuable.
High-quality content ranks better on Google. It attracts backlinks and drives organic traffic. The better your content, the more visible you are. It’s a no-brainer.
When your content is valuable, it keeps people coming back. Look at HubSpot’s blog: marketers from around the world dive into their posts, engage in the comments, and share them. Why? Because the content is genuinely useful.
Trustworthy content builds awareness, but it also helps move leads down the sales funnel. Case studies, how-tos, and real-world examples speak volumes, and that’s where conversions start.
Great content gets shared. It’s as simple as that. When your content resonates, it spreads, expanding your reach and increasing brand exposure.
If you want to see real results, focus on creating content that’s both valuable and strategic. Don’t just write for the sake of it. Create content that answers real questions and solves problems.
Tools like Answerthepublic.com help you find the right topic and angles for your content, while Planable can help you streamline your content strategy.
Creating valuable content like educational blog posts and witty social media posts comes at a cost: time and money, usually. When scaling authoritative content, many fall into the trap of under-investing in one or the other. So, here’s what you should not do when scaling:
Scaling authority content without the right plan can overwhelm your team. When writers and creatives are stretched thin, burnout sets in, and quality suffers.
To avoid that:
Manage approval, real-time conversations, dissemination across various channels, and website content planning with briefs and planning features, all from one dashboard.
As you scale, bottlenecks begin to appear, and they slow down the entire process. For instance, adding more freelance writers without expanding the editing or approval team creates delays.
To keep things flowing:
When businesses push for high volume, they risk creating low-quality content that doesn’t resonate with their audiences or rank well in search engines.
For example, Red Ventures, the parent company of CNET, faced criticism and even legal troubles for publishing AI-generated articles that contained inaccuracies and instances of plagiarism. The situation ended in public mistrust and an online backlash.
Take a step back. Reassess. Stick to the number of assets you decided in your carefully curated content marketing strategy. Building authority is a marathon, not a sprint.
Creating authoritative content is one of the most powerful moves you can make for your brand. It will help you build trust, position you as an expert, and ultimately drive business results. In this process, balancing consistency with quality is where the vast majority fails to deliver. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
As you scale, platforms like Planable can help you maintain that quality without the chaos. The tool helps you create a custom space for collaboration, approval, creation, and distribution so you can keep delivering content that resonates.
Maria is a content marketer, SEO copywriter, and social media specialist with experience working for a wide range of B2B businesses. She loves to keep up with the evolution of digital marketing, particularly in areas such as social media management, content, SEO, and PR. She is passionate about her work and loves to add a unique spin to any topic.
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