netmeg - 3:58 am on Apr 27, 2012 (gmt 0)

Two people discoursing on Panda and Penguin updates on their websites. One's me, and one's Danny Sullivan.

Danny would obviously be the authoritative source on this.

However, if the same two people were discoursing on, say, obscure DEC minicomputers, pyrotechnics, or Godzilla movies - well then in that case, I'd probably be the authority on those topics.

And the signals would be perceived by Google by means of cites, links, guest blog posts, social signals, etc etc.

One of my clients competes with the likes of Amazon, Staples and Office Max for about two dozen products. They're obviously brands, but we regular beat them in the SERPs on these products, because my client is the *authoritative source* for them. He knows them inside out, backwards and forwards. He has staff that can tell you which product is exactly right for your needs, and how to clean and maintain it for longer life. He sells extended warranties for the products. He's the one the news sources interview when the products are involved in current events. He's the *authoritah*.