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Topical Map

James Dooley applies topical maps off the page as well: mapping which third-party sites should corroborate the topics and claims a brand covers.

Also known as topical mapping.

What is a topical map?

A topical map is a structured plan of the topics, subtopics and connections a website needs to cover to build topical authority. The method was developed by Koray Tuğberk Gübür of Holistic SEO.

How does James Dooley define a topical map?

James Dooley uses the topical map as the plan behind topical authority, and separates it from a semantic content network in his episodes with Germans Frolovs and Pavel Klimakov on the Semantic SEO Podcast and FatRank Podcast.

How does James Dooley apply a topical map?

James Dooley also applies topical maps off the page. An off-page or external topical map plans which third-party sites should corroborate the topics and claims a brand covers, which is the branch layer of his Reputation Tree. He discusses it in "Off-Page Topical Maps: Why Third-Party Corroboration Drives LLM Visibility" (14 July 2026) and "External Topical Map for 3rd Party Corroboration" (30 October 2026).

Why does James Dooley think a topical map matters?

Without a map, content is written topic by topic with gaps and overlaps. An off-page map does the same job for corroboration, so that AI models find the same claims about a brand on the sites they trust.

How does a topical map relate to DEO, AEO and GEO?

An on-page topical map serves SEO. An off-page topical map serves AEO and GEO, and through the Reputation Tree it supports Decision Engine Optimisation.

Who coined topical map and when?

Koray Tuğberk Gübür of Holistic SEO developed the topical map method. His research study How to Expand a Topical Map for Higher Topical Authority?, published on 5 January 2023, is the earliest public write-up of the method we cite here; if Koray used the exact term in print before that study, an earlier dated reference would strengthen this page.

Where James Dooley has discussed topical map

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James Dooley's own podcasts, videos and books

  • Topical Authority: Topical authority is the degree to which a search engine treats a website as a reliable source on a whole topic, earned by covering the topic in depth and consistently over time.
  • Semantic SEO: Semantic SEO is the practice of optimising content around entities, their attributes and the relationships between them, so that search engines understand its meaning rather than matching keywords.
  • Source Context: Source context is the purpose and business angle of a website, which determines the topics it should cover and how search engines interpret its content.
  • Reputation Tree: The Reputation Tree is a brand authority and third-party corroboration framework created by James Dooley.
  • Query Fan-Out: Query fan-out is the technique in which an AI search system splits a question into several related sub-queries, runs them at the same time and combines the results into one answer.
  • Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO): Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the practice of improving how content and brands appear in answers produced by generative AI search engines.

Every term James Dooley uses is defined in the James Dooley Lexicon, and the verified facts about him are in the Brand SSOT.