One good page rarely wins a topic on its own. Search engines judge whether a site covers a subject thoroughly, and they learn how pages relate through internal links. A cluster is a set of pages on one topic, linked to each other and to a central page.
For SaaS, the best clusters are built around the jobs the product does, because those are what buyers search for.
Short on time? Comppound does this work for SaaS companies. AI-native, and a person reviews every page.
Have us do itChoose the hub
The hub is the page that covers the topic broadly, such as “time tracking for agencies”. It links to every page in the cluster and gives a short answer on each subtopic. It is often a use-case page or a solid guide.
Fill the spokes
Spokes go deep on one part: a how-to, a template, an integration, a comparison. Each answers one search fully and links back to the hub and to its neighbours where a reader would want to go next.
Comppound can do this for you
Want your SEO foundations handled?
Comppound finds the searches your buyers make, fixes what stops Google reading your site and builds the pages that win them. Our system is AI-native, and a person reviews every page before it ships.
- Buyer search map from your sales calls
- Technical fixes on the pages that matter
- Pages published to your CMS
Link with intent
Internal links pass both readers and authority. Use anchor text that says what the target page is about. Put the important links in the body text, not only in footers and sidebars. Link from your strongest pages, often the homepage and popular guides, to the pages you most want to rank.
- Every new page links to its hub and at least two neighbours
- The hub links to every spoke
- Commercial pages are linked from relevant guides
- No page in the cluster is an orphan
Worked example · an illustration, not a client result
Tallyroom's agency time-tracking cluster
Tallyroom built one cluster before moving on to the next, so each new page added to a topic it was already known for.
| Page | Role | Links to |
|---|---|---|
| Time tracking for agencies | Hub | Every page below |
| How to track billable hours | Guide | Hub, timesheet template, Xero page |
| Agency timesheet template | Free template | Hub, how-to guide |
| Tallyroom + Xero | Integration | Hub, pricing |
| Timewell alternatives | Alternatives | Hub, Tallyroom vs Timewell |
Do it yourself
Sketch one cluster
- 1Pick the job your product does best and name the hub page.
- 2List six spoke pages: guides, templates, integrations and comparisons.
- 3Mark which already exist.
- 4Add links from each existing page to the hub and two neighbours.
- 5Schedule the missing pages in order of business value.
Free tool for this: Draft quality check
Common mistakes
Clusters around words, not jobs
A cluster built around a keyword rather than a buyer job tends to collect overlapping pages that compete with each other.
Linking only from navigation
Menus and footers help, but links inside the body text carry more context.
Starting five clusters at once
Finish one cluster so it can build authority before spreading thin.
Rather not do it yourself?
Want your SEO foundations handled?
Comppound finds the searches your buyers make, fixes what stops Google reading your site and builds the pages that win them. Our system is AI-native, and a person reviews every page before it ships.
- Buyer search map from your sales calls
- Technical fixes on the pages that matter
- Pages published to your CMS
Questions
Enough to cover the questions buyers ask about the topic. For a focused SaaS job that is often between five and fifteen pages.
Yes. Thorough, well-linked coverage makes a site a more likely source for questions on that topic.
Key terms
- Topic ClusterA topic cluster is a group of related pages around one subject: a broad pillar page linked to detailed pages on each subtopic, all linked to one another.
- Pillar PageA pillar page is a broad, comprehensive page on a core topic that links out to more detailed pages on each subtopic. It anchors a topic cluster.
- Internal LinkingInternal linking is linking from one page on your site to another. It helps search engines find and understand pages and guides readers to the next step.
- Topical AuthorityTopical authority is the idea that a site covering a subject thoroughly and well is treated as a reliable source on it. It is a concept, not a metric.
- Orphan PageAn orphan page is a page with no internal links pointing to it, so visitors and crawlers can only reach it through a sitemap, search or a direct URL.
- Contextual LinksContextual links are links placed within the body text of a page, surrounded by relevant words, rather than in menus, sidebars or footers.
- Site ArchitectureSite architecture is how a site's pages are organized and linked together, which shapes how visitors and crawlers find and value them.
