Information Gain vs Topical Authority
Information gain is the unique value one page adds beyond its competitors; topical authority is the trust you hold across a whole topic. They answer different questions about why AI cites you.
Information Gain
- ✓Wins the single query by adding data no competitor has
- ✓Fuels citation-worthy original research and statistics
- ✓Decides whether your page is the one a model lifts
Topical Authority
- ✓Wins the whole topic cluster through depth and coverage
- ✓Builds cumulative trust across many related pages
- ✓Makes you the default source for an entire category
Verdict
Use both: topical authority gets you into the candidate pool, information gain makes you the source that gets cited.