What are topic clusters?
En cluster topic (also called a content cluster) is a group of landing pageswhich deal with the same general subject. The group consists of a main page (a pillar page), targeting the main keywords of the topic, and a number of sub-pages (supporting pages) that support the main page content and link to the main page.
Here is an example of a topic cluster with one main page and six subpages. The main page targets the keyword 'car insurance' (because it is the keyword with the most searches), while the sub-pages target different keywords related to the main page. Each page is typically optimised for several closely related keywords (e.g. 'vintage motorcycle insurance' and 'vintage car insurance'):
A topic cluster is merely a way of structuring content. The process of finding keywords for the pages and optimising the content of the pages is the same as described earlier in this chapter. The number of sub-pages may vary, but should not be less than three. The sub-pages should link to the main page and vice versa - if possible with a anchor text (i.e. link text) that is identical to the keyword for which the linked page is optimised. You can link between sub-pages as needed.
There are several advantages to creating content in topic clusters:
- You build up great authority in a subject area.
- You support the main page and increase its chances of a high Google ranking.
- You cover a subject area comprehensively and achieve broad visibility on Google.
- You make it easy for readers to navigate between related content.
Points 1 and 2 are particularly important, because if you don't have several pages on the same topic, there is very little chance that you will achieve high visibility on Google within the topic.
You can see your competitors' topic clusters by doing a site search on Google followed by the name of the topic, for example site:if.dk car insurance. In this example, the search makes it possible to identify all pages on the if.dk website that deal with the subject of car insurance.
Listen to "Torbjørn Flensted - Topic Clustering" on Spreaker.
