What does topic cluster mean for SEO? Here are 3 tips!

Google’s algorithms are constantly evolving, and it’s important to stay on top of the changes to maintain stable visibility. For a long time now, searches have been phrased as full sentences with natural sentence structure. Search engine algorithms have adapted to this, and the focus has therefore shifted from keywords to evaluating the entire search phrase and the overall topic of the search. To adapt to Google, you therefore need to be strong at “Topic clustering”!

Audun Braastad

Audun Braastad

Subject Matter Expert · 28. september 2021 · 2 min lesetid

What does topic cluster mean for SEO? Here are 3 tips!

What are topic clusters?

Topic clusters are a way to group the pages on a website. This means categorizing the content created on the different pages of the website based on themes. You define main topics and categorize related subtopics under them. For each main topic and subtopic, dedicated pages are created.

By using this method, the overall topics clearly indicate which landing pages should be created on the website. In addition, the topics you present should be supported by a keyword analysis. This also ensures that the content you produce for the website is relevant to the target audience you want to reach. The methods can be used for both blog posts and landing pages.That’s why it is an important part of On-page SEO!

Why is topic clustering important for visibility?

By using topic clusters actively in your content production, you ensure a solid structure for your website. This theme-based structure aligns with how Google evaluates websites based on the context of the search being performed. In this way, you can use topic clustering to show the search engine that you have broad expertise on the topics the searcher wants to read about. This increases trust in your website as a whole and also helps you achieve higher rankings on Google.

3 tips for effective topic clustering

To achieve effective topic clustering, there are several important things to keep in mind. It’s crucial that the structure and relationship between the categories and the content on the page are clearly organized for both users and Google. Here are our three best tips on how to achieve this:

Tip 1: Focus on choosing the main topic

When you get started with topic clustering, it’s important to carefully consider which main topics you include. The main topic should be an overarching theme that is striking, interesting, and relevant for your business.

It is also important to define main topics that can generate many relevant subtopics. Choose main topics that can be explored from multiple perspectives and that cover a broad scope. This is how you build strong and in-depth topic clusters.

Tip 2: Use mind maps to structure your categories

One method you can use to get an overview of the topics you cover in both your main categories and subcategories is to create a mind map. This makes it easy to see which topics you can include and which subtopics belong where. In this way, you ensure a natural structure in your categories, which improves the overall user experience of your site.

Tip 3: Don’t forget your internal links!

Since the themes of the different categories in your topic clustering are connected, it’s important that you clearly show this connection to Google as well. One way to highlight the structure of your website is to use internal links between relevant pages. Make sure to link to other pages within the category of each topic cluster.

This gives Google a deeper understanding of your site as a whole, enabling the search engine to view your website as more valuable.

Summary

The most important thing about topic clusters is to create natural groupings of the content on a website. These groupings must be categorized by topic with relevant subtopics. With well-structured topic clusters that showcase the breadth of content available on the website, you will be able to increase your site’s visibility! We regularly work with topic clustering for our clients as part of our SEO-tjenester, so if it’s still a bit unclear, we’ll be able to help you.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Topic clusters are a way to group the pages that exist on a website. This means categorizing the content created on the different pages of the site based on topic. First, you create so-called “Cluster Pages” (subpages) that are targeted to specific search phrases within a given topic. Once you have created 5 to 10 of these pages, you can create a “Pillar Page” (main page) where you provide a brief introduction to each subpage. Click here if you want to see an example of what a pillar page looks like in practice: HR-System (Huma).

Our experience is that solid topic coverage (70–100% of relevant searches), combined with a Topic Clustering methodology, creates very strong organic visibility over time. Google is focused on delivering the most relevant search result, and when a company has content that covers most of a topic, this sends a very strong signal to give the website organic visibility.

Audun Braastad

Audun Braastad

Subject Matter Expert

Kamilla Krane

Kamilla Krane

Commercial Manager

La oss ta en prat

Fortell oss om prosjektet ditt, så tar vi en uforpliktende prat om hvordan vi kan hjelpe.

Relaterte artikler